Table of contents for 2023-04-06 in Cape Times

EOH, AN IT group that has required a turnaround plan, has flagged a small increase in revenue and a sharp decrease in net profit for the six months to January 31, 2023. EOH CEO Stephen van Coller said: “For the first time since 2019, I am able to address our stakeholders in the context of EOH being a normal business. “For many years, we have been battling corruption scandals, unprofitable legacy contracts, inefficient corporate structures, huge debt burdens, and a highly inefficient capital structure.” Its results released yesterday showed that operating profit from continuing operations decreased to R110 million in the six months to end-January, from R162m in the prior comparative period, but comparing favourably to the R100m operating profit for its full 2022 year. Revenue rose 8% to…

THE GOVERNMENT should be providing some recourse for small businesses that have been hard hit by the unreliable power crisis, according to the Franchise Association of South Africa. Maria D’Amico, chairperson at Franchise Association of South Africa (Fasa), which represents franchise brands that cut across 14 different business sectors, said they were concerned about the domino effects of load shedding on their members. “Some franchises on free-standing properties will incur costs to install generators or solar solutions; those in shopping centres that provide alternate power are often paying a premium for that service and then those in malls that don’t provide backup power find themselves simply trading in the dark or closing shop during load shedding because they cannot generate their own power within the mall. “In all cases they…

In the spirit of giving, with the Easter Holiday here, Gift of the Givers has pledged to support an Ashbury soup kitchen in Montague for the next year, as well as invest in a local food garden. The team visited the area yesterday and donated food parcels and wheelchairs to those in need. The suburb, with a population of just over 7 000 residents, has been hard hit by poverty and unemployment since the Covid-19 pandemic. Carol Burton, from the non-profit organisation Rescue Among Many, said it faced lot of strain, particularly during the holidays. “We have four kitchens and serve meals six days a week to the elderly, children and animal shelters. “We make 2 000 meals a week. “The challenge that we have is that winter is here…

A BEAUFORT West ANC councillor is expected to appear in court today after he was allegedly caught withdrawing money from Sassa cards at an ATM on Tuesday. Opposition parties have called for the removal of councillor Jason Mdudumani, who allegedly had various cards and an undisclosed amount of cash in his possession at the time of his arrest. Police spokesperson Christopher Spies said Mdudumani was expected to appear in the Beaufort West Magistrate’s Court on charges of contravening the National Credit Act. “This office confirms that a 45-year-old man remains in police custody following his arrest on April 4, 2023 at about 6pm near Hillside, Beaufort West,” Spies said. “Information available at this stage indicates police found various cards and an undisclosed amount of cash in his possession. The items…

BELOVED Sonderend Primary School principal, Ruwayda Achmat, has bid farewell to the school she says she loves more than anything after more than 40 years of service. Achmat, who grew up in District Six, has been in education for 44 years. She became permanently employed at Sonderend Primary School in Manenberg in 1980 as a teacher, and was later appointed as the deputy principal of the school. In 2017, she assumed the position of principal. “I attended primary school in Bo-Kaap and high school in Bonteheuwel. “After that, I went to college for a Teaching Diploma. It is my love for children that drew me into teaching and into doing the job at my utmost best,” she said. Achmat, who is in her sixties, told the Cape Times that what…

THE Wholesale and Retail Sector Education and Training Authority (W&RSETA) says it will comply with the recommendations of the Public Protector, following findings made in an intervention report relating to maladministration. This follows a complaint by Breede Valley informal trader Zelda Baxter, in which she detailed how the W&RSETA and then national Department of Trade and Industry (DTIC) allegedly unduly delayed delivering infrastructure and equipment for the Upliftment Project in the province. The R17 million project, which ran in the 2015/2016 financial year, was aimed at informal traders in the Western Cape, but due to factors including the formation of the new national Department of Small Business Development (DSBD), the project was delayed by seven years. Baxter reported the matter to the Public Protector in 2019. It was established in…

Hidden Brilliance: Unlocking the Intelligence of Autism Lynn Kern Koegel and Claire LaZebnik Harper Wave There’s a terribly specific sub-genre of horror stories about how autistic children supposedly behave: temper tantrums in museums, failures in the classroom and more. These are the narratives that tend to be pulled out when we have the temerity to talk about how we’re happy adults or aren’t sold on some dubious treatment. Lynn Kern Koegel and Claire LaZebnik’s Hidden Brilliance: Unlocking the Intelligence of Autism, a book that uses the tool kits of academia and child development to highlight the importance of meeting autistic children at their level, even in the case of seemingly insurmountable behavioural issues. The authors bring a simple thesis to the table, much of it conveyed by the title: The…

THE International Day of Sport for Development and Peace is celebrated annually on April 6. According to the UN, it presents us with an opportunity to recognise the positive role sport and physical activity can play in communities and in people’s lives across the globe. Sport has indeed played a positive role in South Africa’s past by uniting communities and organisations against apartheid. It is, however, important to note that sports development in the 21st century takes place in a world that is unequal as far as the distribution of natural and human resources is concerned. Considering the threat of cataclysmic nuclear war, over-exploitation of the earth’s natural resources, uncontrolled corporate and governmental corruption, and institutional nepotism, among others, it is heartening to see that the theme for this…

Israeli police entered Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque in force yesterday to try to clear groups it said were barricaded inside, leading to clashes with worshippers and triggering an exchange of crossborder fire with Gaza. The incident, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadaan and on the eve of the Jewish Passover, came amid fears that tensions built up during a year of escalating violence could be unleashed at the Al-Aqsa mosque, a flashpoint site in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Palestinian militants fired at least nine rockets from Gaza into Israel overnight, prompting air strikes from Israel which hit what it said were weapon production sites for the Islamist group Hamas, which controls the blockaded coastal enclave. Hamas did not claim responsibility for the rocket attacks but said those who carried them out…

ST LOUIS: Four people were killed in a reported tornado that touched down in south-eastern Missouri yesterday, state police said, and teams of first responders were combing destroyed homes and businesses for more victims. The fatalities were reported in Bollinger County, where multiple local agencies were conducting search and recovery efforts, police said. Multiple people were injured. In Glen Allen, Missouri, 177km south of St Louis, houses were severely damaged, trees were downed and powerlines and debris covered roadways and yards. The twister was spawned from a storm front sweeping across the Midwest and South yesterday. About 24 million Americans were under the threat of possible tornadoes. | Reuters…

RISING geopolitical tensions and the resulting fragmentation of the global economy could increase financial stability risks, reducing cross-border investments, asset prices, payment systems and banks’ ability to lend, the International Monetary Fund said yesterday. The IMF has long warned of increased costs, economic friction and gross domestic product output losses associated with the global economy fragmenting into geopolitical blocs, with US-led democracies on one side and China and other autocratic states on another. This can lead to competing technology systems and reduced trade. But a new IMF working paper highlighted the potential for rising tensions to drive outflows of cross-border capital, including direct investment, from countries, with particularly high risks for developing and emerging market economies. Such stability risks are driven through financial channels, IMF researchers said in the paper,…

International exhibitors in the aviation industry will gather for the first African Air Expo SA on the continent from February 10-17, 2024. The expo will be the first commercial, general, civil, airport infrastructure, tourism and technology exhibition and conference in Africa. It is being organised by aviation- related event management company, Adone Events and about 15 000 people are expected to attend the event which is by invitation only. Delegates will include airlines, aircraft owners, operators, pilots, aviation enthusiasts, trainees, aviation executives, industry experts, and regulatory bodies. Similar events have been hosted in cities such as Paris, Farnborough (UK), New Delhi, Abu Dhabi, Geneva and Dubai. The expo is organised in collaboration with Global Centre of Excellence and Neonhive, and endorsed by the City, Premier Alan Winde, the Airports Company…

Government caved in to mounting pressure THE National Treasury’s omission of the Auditor-General in its decision to exempt Eskom from disclosing irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure in financial statements would have made their audit process onerous and rendered them irrelevant. This, coupled with the possible litigation over the National State of Disaster at Eskom is what pressured the government to abruptly abandon some of the plans it had hoped would address the persisting power cuts. In moves that shook industry yesterday, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana withdrew the recent exemption granted to power utility Eskom, in order to undertake further consultations. Godongwana, however, now plans to come with a revised exemption before Eskom submits its annual financial statements for auditing purposes in two months’ time. “Yes, I am confirming the…

CITING a critical shortage of antivenom in the country and on the continent, 27 experts in the field of snakebite treatment have written to Health Minister Joe Phaahla for urgent intervention. “Antivenom is a critical lifesaving treatment in patients bitten by venomous snakes and has excellent outcomes when used timeously and correctly,” said trauma surgeon Professor Timothy Hardcastle, who is a member of the National Snakebite Advisory Group (NSAG) and the Trauma Society of South Africa. Hardcastle said that the main source of antivenom against the common major venomous snakes in South Africa and other parts of the continent was the South African Vaccine Producers (SAVP) group of products, namely the 10-snake polyvalent, the Echis monovalent and the Boomslang monovalent antivenoms. “At present, our greatest concern and challenge is the…

A SENIOR City Council electrical official is recovering in hospital from several gunshot wounds, while the police are searching for the suspects who fled after opening fire in Gugulethu last week. The superintendent in the City’s Electricity Generation and Distribution Department was shot while he was on his way home from the depot site. The incident came a month after another City official, Wendy Kloppers, was shot and killed at a Delft housing construction site on February 16. Police are investigating attempted murder, and the City has offered a R5 000 reward for information which leads to the arrest of the suspects. Police spokesperson Joseph Swartbooi said Gugulethu police responded to the latest incident on the corner of Lansdowne and Link Road. “They found a vehicle at the traffic intersection…

The Misery Merchants Ruth Hopkins Loot.co.za (R199) Jacana The Misery Merchants is a hard-hitting exposé of G4S, the company running one of South Africa’s private prisons in Mangaung. Hopkins presents up-close encounters with the gangs who run the prisons, and a unique insight into the minds of the men on the torture squad, who doused inmates with water before electrocuting them, and in some cases, strapped down ‘unruly’ prisoners and forced anti-psychotic medicines into their systems. In the Free State of Ace Magashule, both the gangs and the prison bosses competed to run Mangaung Prison, one of South Africa’s few private prisons. Torture and forced medication were the order of the day. Hopkins, a seasoned journalist, has interviewed more than 100 prisoners and many prison warders in order to understand…

It will fully support SA to make the BRICS summit a success The first session of the 14th National People’s Congress has recently concluded successfully in Beijing. The session deliberated on and approved a series of important reports, including the government work report, clarifying the overall requirements, major goals, and work priorities for China’s economic and social development this year. A new generation of national leaders was elected at the session, with General Secretary Xi Jinping being unanimously re-elected as the president of the People’s Republic of China. This fully reflects the common aspirations of the entire Communist Party, army, and people of all ethnic groups in the country and fully embodies the high degree of unity of the will of the party, the will of the people, and the…

US voters woke yesterday to a uniquely volatile 2024 presidential election landscape, where Donald Trump, the leading Republican candidate, now faces trial and the incumbent, Joe Biden, has not even confirmed he’s running. Trump pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to 34 felony charges linked to alleged attempts to silence damaging personal information during his triumphant 2016 race for the White House. The man who went from 1980s playboy real estate magnate, to TV reality show star in the 2000s, then right-wing populist president, made history as the first serving or former commander in chief to face a criminal trial. But while he had to go through the humiliating process of arrest in a New York courtroom, polls show Trump remains by far the strongest Republican candidate. In fact, his numbers…

ROMELU Lukaku said yesterday that history was repeating itself in Italian football after the Inter Milan striker was subjected to monkey chants by Juventus fans during the two teams’ stormy cup clash. Lukaku scored a stoppage-time penalty which secured Inter a 1-1 draw in Tuesday’s first leg of the semi-final between Italy’s most widely supported clubs, a game that ended with three players sent off and the two teams at each other’s throats. One of those red cards was for an incredulous Lukaku, who was dismissed for a second booking for his celebrations following his dramatic equaliser, before which he was abused by a small number of home supporters. The Belgium striker held his finger to his mouth as he has after scoring for his country and told Juve supporters…

GOLD FIELDS said its 50:50 joint venture with Gold Road Resources, the Gruyere joint venture (JV), this week achieved its first one million ounces of gold production. The long-life, low-cost, Tier 1 gold mine is located 1 200km north-east of Perth in Western Australia’s north-east Goldfields region. Gold Road Resources CEO Duncan Gibbs said: “The Gruyere team has performed safely and sustainably at an impressive rate that has seen this milestone achieved in line with annual guidance.” Gold Fields Australia vice-president Stuart Mathews said: “We are proud of the team on reaching this milestone and on the delivery of projects like the Gruyere solar farm that was launched in 2022 and supports our global decarbonisation objectives. “The solar component of Gruyere’s hybrid microgrid accounts for about 10% of the…

LACTALIS South Africa (LSA) has invested R140 million in a new evapo- rator dryer powder plant facility at its cheese-manufacturing plant in Bonnie- vale in the Western Cape. LSA general manager Alban Damour said in a state- ment yesterday that the new plant would significantly boost skimmed milk production capacity. The plant was officially opened on Tuesday. The group’s Bonnievale factory is one of the biggest cheese factories on the African continent and currently provides employment to 800 employees. “This investment demonstrates the commitment by Group Lactalis to strengthen its business in South Africa. We remain focused on finding innovative business solutions that enable the production of high-quality food pro- ducts while creating employment and making a difference in the communi- ties in which we operate,” said Damour. The…

A MPUMALANGA mother is demanding R20 million from Police Minister Bheki Cele for the death of her daughter, who is alleged to have been shot by the police. The mother, Nomsa Ngema, is accusing the police of shooting her teenage daughter, Thabi Msibi, during a service delivery protest in Kwa-Ngema, Mpumalanga, in January. On January 16 this year the local community embarked on a service delivery protest due to a lack of water and other human rights needs and necessities within the community. However, it ended in tragedy when the Msibi, in Grade 11, was shot dead while visiting a friend following being let out of school early due to the public action. Now Ngema, through her lawyer Makhakheni Mashele, is demanding that Cele fork out R20 million in damages.…

POLICE are yet to arrest a suspect on the run for the murder of 13-year-old Thimna Kuze, nearly two weeks after she was raped and killed. The teenager from Site C, Khayelitsha, was raped and killed while at a sleepover at her twin friends’ home on March 25. According to reports, the suspect, who is the twins’ uncle, allegedly bought alcohol and forced the girls to drink before raping all of them and subsequently killing Kuze. Police spokesperson, Joseph Swartbooi said: “The circumstances leading to the incident are still under investigation. The investigating officer is going the proverbial extra mile in a bid to obtain information which can place the suspect on the scene and ultimately detain the suspect.” Kuze’s mother, Nokuthula, said she was battling to accept the death…

An ONLINE company which has been the victim of “click fraud” – where an advertisement is repeatedly clicked to increase the costs to the advertiser – for the second time failed in its bid to force Vodacom and other cellphone providers to disclose information to it regarding the fraudsters. Giftrap Trading (applicant), which sells corporate gifts and clothing online, managed to obtain the local Internet protocol addresses of devices from which it believed the click fraud had emanated. It earlier launched an unsuccessful application in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, in which it wanted the disclosure of the information from the cellphone service providers so it could identify the wrongdoers and take legal action against them. After the high court turned down its application, the company turned to the Supreme…

OF 701 murder cases in which 1 664 people were killed between April and December 2022, only three suspects have been convicted. This is according to Police Minister Bheki Cele, who provided the conviction stats in response to questions by FF Plus leader Pieter Groenewald, who asked about the number of mass murder incidents, murders as well as arrests and convictions. Cele said that 1 664 people were murdered between April and December 2022, and 388 suspects were arrested with cases before court. Groenewald noted that murders increased from 438 incidents and 1 009 deaths in 2019/20, to 769 incidents and 1 791 deaths in 2021/22. “Most incidents and deaths occurred in KwaZulu-Natal, with Gauteng following closely,” Groenewald said. “With a murder rate five times the world average (7/100 000,…

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) is set to make a decision on the Easter holiday bus strike today, after a “do or die” mediation meeting between them and bus operators. This was according to Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim after the parties went on to a late night mediation after reaching a deadlock with their employers – the South African Bus Employers Association (SABEA) and the Commuters Bus Employers Organisation (COBEA), on their demands for an 8% salary increase and medical aid for all workers. “The commissioner of the South African Road Passenger Bargaining Council SARPBAC, which is the bargaining forum, has arranged a meeting on Thursday (6 April 2023) in order for all parties to find one another. “This is a crucial meeting, it is…

The Vintage Shop Of Second Chances Libby Page Loot.co.za (R240) Orion AMONG the cobbled streets of the Somerset, England, town of Frome, Lou is embarking on the start of something new. After the death of her beloved mother, she takes a deep breath into the unknown and is opening a vintage clothes shop. In upstate New York, Donna has just found out some news about her family which has called into question her upbringing. The only clue she has to unlock her past is a picture of a yellow dress, and the fact it is currently on display in a shop in England. For Maggy, she is facing life as a 70-something divorcee and while she got the house, she’s not sure what to fill it with now her family…

THE ANC is being short-sighted with its instruction barring all members from commenting publicly on former president Thabo Mbeki’s letter criticising the party’s handling of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala saga. The decision communicated by secretary-general Fikile Mbalula’s office borders on censorship and dictatorship. It proves once again that the ANC has learnt little, if anything, from the Jacob Zuma Nkandla scandal. In fact, that is among the concerns Mbeki raises in his 17-page letter, that many people will entertain the suspicion that the Phala Phala matter includes corruption. “In that sense this is no different from the ‘Nkandla matter’ which, once again, many among our people suspected involved corrupt practices. History had made the firm and unequivocal statement that we should never have acted as we did for a…

The Hague: International police have shut down “one of the world’s largest” online markets dealing in millions of stolen identities and account details, Europol said yesterday. The global sweep resulted in 119 arrests, involved 17 countries and was led by the FBI and Dutch police, the EU’s policing agency said. “An unprecedented law enforcement operation involving 17 countries has resulted in the takedown of Genesis Market, one of the most dangerous marketplaces selling stolen account credentials to hackers worldwide,” Europol said. “Genesis Market listed for sale the identities of more than 2 million people,” the agency said. The raid took place in Australia, Britain, Canada, the US and more than 10 countries in Europe. | AFP…