Table of contents for 2023-06-13 in Cape Times

THUNGELA Resources’ shares took a nosedive of 7% yesterday following the company saying its profits for the six months ending June 30, 2023, were expected to decrease due to a sharp decline in coal prices and continued rail underperformance by Transnet Freight Rail (TFR). The shares closed 0.66% lower at R138.58 on the JSE yesterday and have decreased by 51.36% in the past six months. In its trading update for the half year released yesterday, the thermal coal exporter said headline earnings were expected to drop by as much as 75% to between R17 and R23 compared to R67.23 during the same period last year. Thungela said for the half year it expected that the benchmark coal price has averaged $135.47 (R2 531) per ton for the year to…

THE budget for salaries of employees in the Health Department has dropped by R458.4 million compared to the 2021-22 financial year. This has negatively affected human resources capacity in the public health sector and as such forced provincial departments to freeze or cut posts funded through the Equitable Share to avoid overspending in compensation of employees, according to Health Minister Dr Joe Phaalha. The overall vacanct posts were 45 072; 35 462 of them being health-related and 9 610 administration and support-related posts at the end of April. “The situation was further aggravated by the cessation of the Covid-19 grant budget as on March 31, 2023, which resulted in termination of employment contracts for employees employed through the grant,” he said. Phaahla said the provinces were unable to fill…

POLITICAL party Al Jama-ah has voiced its concern over an alleged “attempt to chip away at the culture of the Bo-Kaap” in Cape Town. This is after the City approved plans for the area’s Local Spatial Development Framework (LSDF). Al Jama-ah spokesperson and former Bo-Kaap resident advocate Shameemah Salie accused the City of “failing” to take the residents and those connected to Bo-Kaap into consideration. Salie added that the “haste” in which the City was pushing the LSDF through was “very worrying”. “Questions posed included, Why the haste? Why not defer the matter until public participation has been completed and the final document presented as part of the public participation process? But there has been no response from the City. “This matter was pushed through by the votes of the…

TO CELEBRATE Father’s Day, the Whiskey Bar at Taj Cape Town is giving away 10 whiskey tastings for two, each valued at R800. This beautiful venue, unveiled as part of the upgrades to Taj Cape Town’s ground floor last year, boasts no fewer than 80 varieties of whiskey from around the world. Whether you prefer peaty or smooth-sipping, you’ll sure to find something to your taste among the many bottles curated by the Taj’s whiskey sommelier, Andrew Chiruaka, according to management. “New to whiskey and not quite sure how to navigate this exciting world? Or simply looking for something new and different? Then try one of the Whiskey Bar’s whiskey tastings. Here, you’ll be able to sample a wide range of whiskeys, all complemented by a carefully designed menu that…

THE PASSENGER Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) will have to cough up to cover damages a commuter suffered when he fell from a moving train whose doors weren’t closed, between Heideveld and Nyanga in 2019, the Western Cape High Court has ruled. Commuter Siyamthanda Maphela made a claim of R3.5 million from Prasa for negligence after he described in his claim that he was struck by a stone thrown by an unknown person through the open doors of the carriage of the train upon which he was a fare-paying passenger and the incident caused him to fall from the moving train. He suffered a right frontal decompressed fracture of the skull and blunt trauma injuries to his upper and lower body. Prasa, however, denied the particulars of the claim and…

THE Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) has welcomed the arrest of seven suspects from North West who allegedly defrauded the fund of R2 million. The suspects, including an employee of the Department of Employment and Labour as well as one former employee, were apprehended by the police’s Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (HAWKS) on June 10. According to a preliminary investigation, the suspects operated a syndicate that acted as a recruitment agency who recruited unemployed persons in the province for among other things, job opportunities. Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Tinyiko Mathebula said some of the claimants were allegedly informed that they were being assisted to lodge claims with the Drought Relief Fund. “The claimants were allegedly each given R50 to open bank accounts but the bank cards were kept by the suspects.…

OUR hospitals across the country are being brought to their knees because of the rolling blackouts that have persisted. Over and above this, fraud, theft and incompetence are rife in just about every single national health care facility. The majority of our people rely on having at least some access to these health care facilities. When they get there, they find the facilities are unable to help them. This is a fact of life. Unfortunately, our government still believes that a national health system should be implemented. This form of national health will have a devastating effect on the last few institutions that can function and at the same time will destroy the ability of private institutions to deliver. The government seems absolutely hell bent on destroying the last bit…

The four children found alive after surviving for 40 days in a Colombian jungle were told by their mother to leave the site of a plane crash and seek help, their father said. According to the oldest child, their mother lived for about four days after surviving the impact of the crash that left the group stranded in the wilderness, their father, Manuel Ranoque, said. Rescuers found the siblings, aged 13, 9, 4 and 1, on Friday, after combing the remote area of the Amazon wilderness for five weeks, tracking scattered signs of their survival that included a makeshift shelter and half-eaten fruit. The children are recovering in hospital. Last month, searchers found the wreckage and the bodies of three adults, including the children’s mother, but the siblings – who…

JPMorgan Chase reached an agreement in principle to settle a class action lawsuit brought by victims of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking scheme, the two sides said yesterday. They gave no financial details of the agreement, and said the settlement is “subject to court approval”. The agreement comes on the heels of a parallel Deutsche Bank settlement announced in May, as the litigation forces Wall Street banks to reckon with their role in the scandal involving the disgraced Epstein, who died in prison in 2019. News of the agreement came on the same day that US District Judge Jed Rakoff granted class-action certification to the claims, which were brought by plaintiff Jane Doe 1 “individually and on behalf of others similarly situated”. In a 30-page ruling, Rakoff concluded that Jane Doe…

PARIS: An 11-year-old British girl has been shot dead in the garden of her home in Brittany, western France, following a years-long dispute between neighbours over adjoining land, officials said. The family were enjoying a warm evening on Saturday in their garden in the small village of Saint Herbot, near Quimper, when a Dutch neighbour, 71, shot at them several times, the prosecutor said. The girl’s parents were both hurt, with her father suffering life-threatening wounds, the prosecutor said. The couple’s second daughter, 8, was unharmed but in shock. The Dutchman surrendered when a police negotiator coaxed him out of his property. | Reuters…

Rome: Silvio Berlusconi, the former prime minister who reshaped Italy’s political and cultural landscape while fending off multiple legal and sex scandals, died yesterday aged 86. The billionaire media mogul had been suffering from a rare blood cancer. Mourners laid flowers and notes outside Villa San Martino, Berlusconi’s home near Milan. Berlusconi will have a state funeral in Milan’s gothic Duomo Cathedral tomorrow. He had suffered ill health for years, from heart surgery in 2016 to a 2020 hospitalisation for Covid-19. Despite being re-elected to the Senate last year, he was rarely seen in public. But he remained the official head of his right-wing Forza Italia party, a junior partner in Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s coalition government. “Berlusconi was above all a fighter,” Meloni said in a video message posted…

MONEY owed to municipalities across the country for services provided to consumers has increased to a staggering R294.7 billion and not all of it is realistically collectible, the National Treasury has said. Treasury released the local government revenue and expenditure report yesterday for the third quarter of the 2022/23 financial year. It covered a nine-month period from July, 2022 to March 31, 2023. The report is part of the “In-year Management, Monitoring and Reporting System for Local Government (IYM)”, which enables the provincial and national governments to exercise oversight over municipalities and identify possible challenges in implementing municipal budgets and conditional grants. According to the report, the money owed by consumers spiked in the third quarter compared to the same period in the 2021/22 financial year. Government institutions accounted for…

THE ANC’s axing of its former secretary-general Ace Magashule, the first in the party’s history, was the tip of the iceberg which will deepen the factions within the organisation even further, according to one political analyst. The ANC confirmed his expulsion following the party’s national disciplinary committee (NDC) finding that he was guilty of contravening the rules and the constitution of the ANC. It had given him seven days to give reasons why he should not be expelled, a deadline it said he failed to meet. “Upon the lapse of seven days, the NDC had not received any representations to that effect.Consequently, the NDC confirmed the expulsion of comrade Ace Magashule from the ANC as a final sanction,” said ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri. His expulsion emanates from a letter,…

15ml olive oil ½ medium onion, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, crushed 500ml cream 6 eggs 125ml butter, melted 45ml cake flour 10ml baking powder 5ml salt 1 x 410g can Rhodes Quality Whole Kernel Corn, drained 1 x 410g can Rhodes Quality Sweetcorn 250ml grated Cheddar cheese 45ml flat leaf parsley, chopped Heat the oil in a small frying pan and sauté the onions until softened. Add the garlic and fry for a few more minutes. Remove from the heat. In a large bowl, mix together the cream, eggs and melted butter. Whisk in the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in the onions and garlic. Stir in the Rhodes Quality Whole Kernel Corn and the Rhodes Quality Sweetcorn. Stir in the cheese and parsley. Pour the corn…

AS Durban beaches are open and keen swimmers are getting ready for the Oceans 8 Charity Swim this weekend, coming in as the oldest competitor at 76, Dundee-born Trevor Lauf said he was more than ready to give it his best shot. The Oceans 8 Charity Swim was started by five charities – the Duzi Umngeni Conservation Trust, the National Sea Rescue Institute, Project Rhino, Singakwenza, and WILDTRUST – to provide a reliable and sustainable flow of funding. All funds generated through the 8 Mile swim will support the work of the five main charities. In addition, funds generated by the 1 Mile swim will assist a further nine invitational charities. “Swimming is now my first love, and I swim with the DUC (Durban Undersea Club) with a great group…

POLICE have been lauded following the rescue of a kidnapped business owner and the arrest of a suspect. The 35-year-old man was kidnapped from a family business in Diep River on Saturday after the shop was robbed by three men. Police spokesperson Novela Potelwa said a getaway vehicle was identified when the incident was reported. “Later in the day the same vehicle drove towards a police roadblock mounted by Delft SAPS members on Symphony Way. “Upon noticing the roadblock, the driver made a U-turn and sped off. “The vigilant police officials gave chase. “Three occupants managed to flee, but the police apprehended the driver and rescued the kidnapping victim who was still in the vehicle. “The vehicle that had false registration plates was impounded by police,” she said. Western Cape…

IT WAS a dark start to the new week for police as brazen criminals shot dead two off-duty cops and wounded three officers in separate incidents. Three police constables aged between 26 and 32 were shot and wounded at about 8am yesterday when fleeing robbers opened fire on their marked vehicle at the Junxion mall in Philippi. Two of the wounded were in serious condition. “The suspects were fleeing the scene of an armed robbery on foot which they had perpetrated at a retail store inside the mall when they encountered the marked police vehicle with four SAPS members outside in the parking area. In a bid to evade arrest, the suspects fired several shots at the members, wounding three female constables and narrowly missing the male constable who was…

SA should deepen its relationship with BRICS allies and not be pushed into in proxy wars DECADES after his seminal book, Citizens and Subjects, Mahmood Mamdani decried the dominant dual phenomenological analysis post-Cuban revolution buttressed in Marxist analysis in its varying degree of analysis. The post-Cuban revolution analysis assumed that history and society is moving in a unilinear evolution. Prominent to Mamdani criticism of post-Cuban Revolution analysis was that it created a binary opposite with “modern”, “industrial”, and all the different factors associated with modernity accorded the value and universal state. On the other side was the residual factor, denied its uniqueness and defined by what it lacked. What Mamdani decried about qua dual phenomenological analysis was not something new. For instance, the Asian states in the 1950s…

Vaccine-maker BioNTech yesterday faced its first legal claim in its home country of Germany over adverse effects allegedly suffered by some users of its Covid-19 vaccines, more than two years after one of the world’s fastest and most extensive inoculation campaigns. In the face of the deadly pandemic that emerged in early 2020, which prompted border closures and lockdowns that trapped millions of people in their homes, the arrival of Covid-19 vaccines had been widely hailed as a life-saver. But the jabs, developed at breakneck speed and granted early approval for usage, are now the focus of legal procedures in several countries including France and Britain where plaintiffs argue that the vaccines harmed their health. In Germany, a court in Hamburg was to hear a case yesterday against BioNTech, which,…

BENI: At least 46 people, half of them children, were killed in a militia attack on a camp for displaced people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s Ituri province yesterday, a local official and the head of a civil society group said. They said the Co-operative for the Development of the Congo (Codeco) group, one of many militias operating in Congo’s conflict-ridden east, was responsible for the killings at the “Lala” camp. Codeco claims to defend the interests of Lendu farmers, who have long been in conflict with Hema herders. Its fighters have killed hundreds of civilians in Ituri and forced thousands to flee their homes, according to the UN. | AFP…

BRUSSELS: A Ukrainian war refugee has won ¤500 000 using a scratchcard, the Belgian national lottery said yesterday. The man bought the scratchcard for ¤5 last month in a petrol station, meaning his bet has been increased a hundred thousandfold. The winner, whose identity will remain unknown as is the case for all Belgian lottery winners, is between 18 and 24 years old and has been living in Brussels for the past 12 months. Joke Vermoere, a spokesperson for the National Lottery, said that the winner wanted to throw a party with the money to thank everyone who had helped him integrate in Belgium. | Reuters…

LONDON: Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf said yesterday that he would not suspend his predecessor, Nicola Sturgeon, after her arrest as part of a police inquiry into the finances of the governing, pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP). The police are probing what happened to more than £600 000 (R13.9 million) in funding raised by Scottish independence campaigners in 2017 that was supposed to have been ring-fenced, but may have been used for other purposes. After she was released on Sunday, Sturgeon said she had committed no offence. | AFP…

EXCITEMENT always arrives in town at the same time as a new fast bowler. And even more so when he’s just 17-years-old, only in Grade 11, and hails from the same school as Proteas great Kagiso Rabada. That was the expectation on the slight shoulders of left-arm seamer Kwena Maphaka when the St Stithians pupil flew into Sri Lanka last week to replace the injured Proteas Test bowler Lutho Sipamla in the South Africa ‘A’ squad for the two-match ‘Test’ series. Even more remarkable was the fact that the teenager had yet to play a single first-class match for the Lions and had not even participated in a match that was longer than two days. But Proteas Test coach Shukri Conrad, who is overseeing this ‘A’ team tour, had seen…

AC Milan, the football club which won a host of domestic and European titles under Silvio Berlusconi's ownership, called him "unforgettable" in a tribute after his death aged 86 yesterday. "Thank you, Mr President. Always with us," the club said in a statement, adding it was "grieving the passing of the unforgettable Silvio Berlusconi". "Tomorrow, we will dream of new ambitions, create new challenges, and seek new victories. Which will represent the good, the strong, and the true that lies inside us, in all of us who shared this adventure of binding our lives to a dream called Milan," the statement continued. Berlusconi reigned supreme at Milan from 1986 until 2017, during which time the club won 29 trophies, including five Champions League and eight Italian league titles. Carlo Ancelotti,…

THE SOUTH African Medical Association (Sama) has asserted that people pretending to be medical practitioners either don’t have medical training, have incomplete medical training or have qualifications that have been obtained from outside South Africa and are not recognised by the country’s regulator. Sama chairperson Dr Mvuyisi Mzukwa was speaking following the arrest of 124 bogus doctors across the country. A countrywide crackdown on the illegal doctors was triggered by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). The blitz netted 124 fake doctors who had no legitimate qualifications, incomplete medical qualifications or were unregistered foreign doctors. Mzukwa said the organisation was concerned over the prevalence of bogus doctors in the country. “These are people who don’t have medical training or have incomplete medical training … So they will put…

‘Laws are aimed at correcting all that was wrong in SA’s terrible and horrible past’ THE Employment Equity Amendment Act, which aims to reflect South African demographics in all societal facets, including at the workplace, has received the backing of some of the country’s largest trade union federations who are calling on the government to fast-rack its implementation. The public had until yesterday to make submissions after Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi published a notice inviting submissions on the setting of the proposed sector Employment Equity targets. Cosatu parliamentary co-ordinator, Matthew Parks, said they welcomed the Bill and urged the department of labour to make haste in implemeting. “The Employment Equity Amendment (EEA) Act provides badly-needed interventions to strengthen government’s ability to hold employers accountable for their role…

MORE than 200 firefighters have been deployed by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment’s (DFFE) Working on Fire programme to assist in ongoing fire suppression in the Canadian province of Alberta. Alberta has already experienced more than 550 wildfires this season, resulting in significant damage to property and infrastructure, and displacing thousands of people. Evacuation orders have been put in place in many areas. This is the second contingent of 200 firefighters and 13 managers – Mzanzi Hotshots 2, to be deployed to the area. They are expected to leave for Edmonton, Canada, tomorrow. The deployment of the teams comes in response to an urgent request from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) in terms of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Canada and South Africa. The…

LOAD shedding continues to add to the ire of alarm system clients who are subjected to interactive voice response (IVR) calls through the night. After reading in the Cape Times about an ADT client being “harassed” by calls during the night and early morning hours as panic buttons trip when load shedding schedules rotate, another client came forward. A tenant who rents a property where an alarm system is installed, and who did not want to be named out of fear of victimisation, said more has to be done about old battery packs that cannot carry the load any more due to continuous load shedding. “Where does ADT expect me, a struggling client to afford a backup battery and unit? My landlady pays them for a service, but the service…

POLICE Minister General Bheki Cele has wrapped up a five-day official visit to the People’s Republic of China before the upcoming 15th BRICS Summit due to be hosted in Joburg in August. Cele led a delegation of senior officials, headed by deputy national police commissioner Lieutenant-General Tebello Mosikili. According to Police Ministry spokesperson, Lirandzu Themba, the official visit to China saw the South African and Chinese police delegations discuss the strengthening of China-South Africa practical law-enforcement co-operation and collaboration. “The three-city tour to Shenzhen, Beijing and Shanghai was characterised by engagements with various key safety and security role-players in China. “China’s Public Security Minister Wang Xiaohong hosted Cele and the South African police delegation on June 8. “High on the agenda of the engagement was the establishment of a formal…

YOUNG people, many of whom paid the ultimate price, helped to dismantle apartheid and bring democracy to South Africa. The late Archbishop Desmond Tutu recognised the contribution of the youth when he said: “You are fantastic; do you know that? Our freedom, in a considerable measure, was due to what young people such as yourselves did 40 years ago not very far from where we lived in Soweto where Hector Pieterson was shot and killed. But you are fantastic. Reach for your stars, because now you can be anything and everything you want to be.” This remark of Tutu reminds us how on June 16, 1976, thousands of young people protested against the apartheid government’s enforcing of Afrikaans as the language of teaching and learning – a language that these…

THE proposal that will allow workers to access a portion of their pensions should be carefully crafted to help them get out of the debt trap that they find themselves in. The SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) and Cosatu have welcomed moves to introduce the “two-pot” retirement system, which would allow workers to access at least a third of their pensions while they are still economically active. Both unions agree that the proposal would provide much-needed relief to many who are already battling to make ends meet. The National Treasury and SA Revenue Service (Sars) recently published for public comment the revised 2023 Draft Revenue Laws Amendment Bill, and 2023 Draft Revenue Administration and Pension Laws Amendment Bill. The country’s biggest trade unions argue that the draft bills provide…

A storm off India’s west coast has strengthened to become a powerful cyclone and could hit India’s western state of Gujarat and southern parts of Pakistan this week, the weather department said. The cyclone, named Biparjoy, is expected to make landfall on Thursday between Mandvi in Gujarat and Karachi in Pakistan with maximum sustained wind speed of 125-135km/h, gusting to 150km/h, the India Meteorological Department said yesterday. Nearly a dozen districts in coastal Gujarat would be affected by heavy rainfall and gusting winds, although some of these are sparsely populated, which would limit the damage, said a weather office official. Fishermen in Gujarat have been advised against going to sea and those at sea have been called back, with 21 000 boats parked so far, the government said. Offshore oil…

AMSTERDAM: The Netherlands and Canada are taking Syria to the World Court over torture claims, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said yesterday. In their application, Canada and the Netherlands claim that “Syria has committed countless violations of international law, beginning at least in 2011”. They are seeking to hold the government of President Bashar al-Assad accountable for gross human rights violations and torture under the UN Convention against Torture, which Damascus ratified in 2004. If the court finds it has jurisdiction, the ICJ would be the first international court to be able to make a legal finding on the alleged state use of torture in Syria. | Reuters…

Quito: An elderly Ecuadoran woman who woke up inside a coffin at her own wake is being treated at the same state hospital that declared her dead two days earlier, her son said. Her son, Gilbert Balberán, said “she was hitting the box” with her left hand after the five-hour wake. “My mom is on oxygen. Her heart is stable,” Balberán said. Balberán had to arrange for the donation of a coffin for the family after the Martin Icaza public hospital, in the coastal town of Babahoyo, declared Montoya dead on Friday. Montoya was admitted to hospital with a suspected stroke and went into cardiorespiratory arrest without responding to resuscitation manoeuvres, so the doctor on duty confirmed her death. | AFP…

IVAN Toney said being unable to represent England at last year's World Cup was a heavier punishment than the lengthy ban he is serving for breaching Football Association (FA) betting rules. The 27-year-old Brentford striker, who finished the season as the third-highest scorer in the Premier League, was handed an eight-month ban and fined £50 000 after admitting to 232 breaches of the rules, which included betting on matches he played in. Toney was charged by the FA last November and missed out on a place in the England squad for the World Cup in Qatar. " ... even though I miss eight months of football, that was the biggest punishment, to miss out on a World Cup - everyone's dream - it is bigger than missing eight months of…