Table of contents for 2023-07-07 in Cape Times

THE SOUTH African Reserve Bank (SARB) said yesterday it would not comment on whether or not it froze the funds in five accounts linked to the ailing Steinhoff’s local operations. This comes after an online publication, the Daily Maverick, published a story claiming that the central bank froze Steinhoff’s funds which are valued at about R5.5 billion. Steinhoff owns 44.5% of Pepkor and 75% of European discount retailer Pepco and stakes in US Mattress Firm and Greenlit brands, an Australian furniture seller. In response to the Business Report queries, SARB said: “As the SARB, we are unable to comment on ongoing investigations and matters relating thereto”. According to the report, Steinhoff did not clearly declare in its latest annual financial statements that the central bank has frozen its accounts.…

The bill will accelerate the destruction of the legal tobacco value chain, says Batsa Tobacco industry stakeholders said yesterday, they support the need for regulation in the tobacco industry, but it must be based on reality and should not lead to job losses. The tobacco industry stakeholders held a press briefing in Johannesburg yesterday, as the Parliament’s portfolio committee on health invited public comments on the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill. British American Tobacco SA (Batsa) said the bill would accelerate the destruction of the legal tobacco value chain and permanently entrench a dominant illicit trade, without reducing smoking. Batsa general manager Johnny Moloto said: “The 2020 tobacco sales ban (during the Covid-19 lockdown), which South Africa’s courts declared unconstitutional, demonstrated the effects of prohibition as consumers…

‘My brother and I tried to lift his son, but he too fell down and died’ “THE gas smell was still strong. I wet a cloth, entered the shack, and discovered that my children and their children had passed away.” These were the words of Judith Manyisa, who’s 19-year-old son, her 20-year-old daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren were among the 17 victims who died after inhaling nitrate oxide gas at the Angelo Informal Settlement in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni. The deaths are believed to be linked to illegal mining. Authorities confirmed that 11 people were admitted to the hospital, the youngest being 2 months old, and that one was in a critical condition. Manyisa said she was called to the scene by neighbours since she lived nearby. “Now I need assistance so that…

SWEET peppers, cauliflower, herbs and tomato have brought back a glimmer of hope to the country’s first successful land restitution site, Elandskloof, a rural village in the Cederberg. In 1996, Elandskloof made headlines as the first successful land claim in a newly democratic South Africa. However, over the coming decades, the contradictions in a deeply flawed restitution process came to the fore: land without the capital to develop it, and a group of claimants many decades removed from a meaningful relationship with the business of rural livelihoods, carrying the scars of the struggle for survival under apartheid. In 2018, the portfolio committee on Rural Development and Land Reform raised concerns regarding a lack of progress on the Elandskloof land claim with many issues remaining unresolved. Challenges included a lack of…

Another life Kristin Hannah Loot.co.za (R260) Macmillan Another Life is a powerful hopeful story of the life-changing impact of the connections we form. Angie DeSaria has spent years of her life trying to have a child. Now, her marriage has crumbled under the strain. Adrift and alone, she returns to her childhood home, a small coastal town in the US Pacific Northwest, to help try to rescue the beloved, failing family business. Lauren Ribido is a senior in high school. She dreams of an Ivy League education, escaping her hometown and her troubled mother. When Angie hires Lauren to work at the restaurant, they form an immediate bond, which deepens when Lauren’s mother abruptly leaves town and Angie offers her a place to stay. But nothing could have prepared Angie…

JULY marks the month when at least two invitations for diplomatic receptions will arrive in one’s mailbox. While the West has been good at this kind of soft diplomacy whereby one is wined and dined, China continues to pump investment into hard diplomacy. A decade ago, President Xi Jinping launched the Belt and Road Initiative. Today, more than 152 countries and 32 international organisations have signed more than 200 co-operation agreements with China under this initiative. The concept of the project is steeped in history, with the original Silk Road expanding westward of China’s Han Dynasty, 206 BCE to 220 CE, and then later, under the Tang Dynasty, 618 to 907 CE, establishing trade routes across Eurasia, Africa and Oceania. Even though launched four years earlier, in 2017, President Xi…

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen arrived in Beijing yesterday, kicking off a visit aimed at improving communication and stabilising the tense relationship between the world’s two largest economies. Yellen’s trip until Sunday is her first to China as treasury secretary, and comes weeks after Secretary of State Antony Blinken paid a rare visit to the country. She arrived in Beijing and was greeted on the tarmac by US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, as well as Chinese finance ministry official Yang Yingming. The visit will see Yellen seek to expand lines of correspondence, avoid miscommunications and widen collaboration on the global economy, climate change, debt distress and other issues, according to a Treasury official. Her trip – which comes in the face of concerns over China’s economic recovery and US…

A tragic burst of gun violence in multiple US cities over the Independence Day weekend has claimed more than a dozen lives. Four people were killed and seven others were injured in a shooting at a Fourth of July celebration party in Shreveport, Louisiana, authorities said. At least one gunman opened fire at a gathering of about 100 people in the community event, that has reportedly taken place for more than a decade, police said. Hours after US President Joe Biden lamented the new “wave of tragic and senseless shootings” on Tuesday, nine people, including two minors, were injured when a shooter from a vehicle opened fire at people attending a Fourth of July celebration in Washington DC, police said. In downtown Fort Worth, Texas, at least three people were…

Minsk: Belarusian President Alexandr Lukashenko yesterday said that Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of the Russian Wagner mercenary group that staged a short-lived rebellion last month, was in Russia. Under the deal to end the stand-off brokered by Lukashenko, charges against the Wagner chief were dropped and he was offered a move to Belarus. Over a week ago Lukashenko said that Prigozhin had arrived in Belarus. Prigozhin’s private jet has made several flights between St Petersburg and Moscow. Lukashenko said the rest of the Wagner fighters were still at their bases in eastern Ukraine or Russia’s Krasnodar region and an offer for Wagner to station some of its fighters in Belarus stood. | IANS…

MANILA: Tonga faces permanent losses from sea level rises and is at risk from a seismic event, said a new report launched by the Asian Development Bank yesterday. The 2023 Multi-Hazard Disaster Risk Assessment report warns that without measures, permanent losses from sea level rise would be high in the future in this island country in the South Pacific. Tropical cyclones and the eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano in 2022 affected up to 80% of Tonga’s population and badly hit its fragile economy. The report says buildings have the highest risk of losses, while flooding may also cause significant road losses. | Xinhua…

The Cricket SA Awards - also known as “SA Cricket’s Oscars” - returns this evening at the Vodaworld in Midrand for the first in-person ceremony post Covid-19 lockdowns. Its significance cannot be understated after the low-key virtual ceremonies over the past couple of years that was indicative of the administrative turmoil Cricket SA had experienced over that period. But with CSA seemingly getting its house in order over the past 12 months there is reason to celebrate again, especially after the Proteas Women’s team historic feat in becoming the first South Africa senior team to reach an ICC T20 World Cup final and the relative resurgence of the Proteas’ Men’s team during the home international season. An almost ironic embodiment of this turnaround in fortunes, particularly for the Proteas Men’s…

MINISTER of Employment and Labour Thulas Nxesi has encouraged job seekers not to undermine certain reliable job opportunities available to them on the back of South Africa’s unemployment crisis. Nxesi yesterday launched the Jobs Fair initiative and the Public Employment Services (PES) buses at Nasrec in Johannesburg. “Taking an entry-level job might lead to processes of discovery of talents and skills that you have. You will never know what you are good at unless you try,” Nxesi said. “Use our labour centres to talk to employment practitioners and counsellors, for advice, seek out mentors and trusted people that can help you during your job search journey.” The purpose of the Jobs Fair is to create an opportunity for work seekers to meet with prospective employers and other organisations or departments…

HERIOT real estate investment trust (Reit), which has been in the process of acquiring control of Safari Investments through the past year, said yesterday it had acquired a further 385 237 Safari shares at R5.65 each, bringing its shareholding to 57%. Heriot said in a JSE notice yesterday it and its associates, Reya Gola Investments and Heriot Investments, had held 56.8% of the total Safari shares in issue prior to the latest purchase. The purchase was executed by way of an on-market block trade on the JSE. It is not a hostile takeover. The parties had sought Competition Approval for a merger early last year already. Compared with many South African Reits, Safari appears to be trading well after declaring an unchanged dividend of 32 cents for the…

ATTACQ, the JSE listed real estate investment trust said yesterday agreements had been concluded for the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) to acquire a 30% stake in subsidiary Waterfall Investment Company (Awic), which owns Attacq’s flagship development Waterfall City, for R2.7 billion. The parties had announced in February that they were considering a deal to acquire a stake in Awic and provide it with a shareholder loan advance. Should the transaction be approved by shareholders, the PIC would acquire 30% of the shares and shareholder loans in Awic in exchange for R2.39bn in cash, with an additional R300 million injected by the PIC as a shareholder loan. Attacq would retain control of Awic with a majority stake of 70%, and it would continue to provide asset, property, development and…

EVERY year, hundreds of thousands of South Africans emigrate. Some go in pursuit of new career opportunities, while others hope for a safer environment for their children. Still others leave to be closer to children and grandchildren who’ve already left the country or to study at a prestigious university overseas. While it’s difficult to put an exact number on how many people emigrate every year, it’s worth noting that a 2022 survey found that 25% of registered voters were considering emigration. Data released last year, meanwhile, shows that more than 914 000 people left the country between 2015 and 2020. Barring a few younger people who leave with nothing but the clothes in their suitcases, each one of those people will have gone through a lot of time-consuming financial…

ARTIFICIAL Intelligence (AI) is revolutionising the cybersecurity landscape, changing the way businesses can detect, prevent, and respond to cyber threats and offering a more robust and proactive approach to cybersecurity. AI has the potential to substantially reduce the cost and complexity of cybersecurity strategies. However, AI technologies also come with a range of ethical, legal and privacy implications that must be considered. Organisations must find the right IT partner to help them plan for and invest in proactive measures, such as staff training and education, to ensure that their cybersecurity defences can best leverage the benefits AI has to offer while minimising the risks involved. Harnessing the Power of AI AI has powerful potential when it comes to enhancing cybersecurity, with machine learning algorithms able to quickly and accurately detect…

from page 1 “alone”, “at night” or “alone at night”, they investigated who would be willing to use ride-share services in Cape Town. The questions were framed to cover the period “before Covid-19”, “during Covid-19” and “after Covid-19”. The findings are based on a response from 2 857 UCT students. The researchers found a high perception of crime, with roughly half or more of the groups indicating that they consider crime to be high. The main differences identified were between those who have access to a private vehicle and those who do not. Students who considered crime to be low ranged from a mere 1.9% (females with access to private vehicles after Covid-19) to 11.9% (males with access to private vehicles during Covid-19). Male students with access to a…

TRADE union federation, Cosatu has slammed Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Reagen Allen, saying he gave workers the “middle finger” after their memorandum was not received at the Western Cape Legislature. However, Allen claimed he had agreed to receive the document at a specific time and Cosatu left prior to that. “It is unfortunate that the small group who chose to form part of the Cosatu march today, departed from the Provincial Legislature before the scheduled time at midday (12pm) when they were due to hand the memorandum over to me. “Upon arrival at 11.55pm, the group had already moved from the Legislature. “I encourage Cosatu to send their memorandum to our office, as at this stage we have not received a copy of their requests. “As a provincial…

A FILM crew has been left shaken after they were allegedly held at gunpoint in Langa and robbed of equipment worth nearly R1 million. According to a source, the crew was ambushed at about 3pm on Wednesday. “A group of about six (crew) were in the area to shoot for a broadcast show. “They had just completed shooting and were going to place the equipment in the vehicle parked in front of the flats. Two men walked up to them and pointed the firearm forcing them to load all of the equipment inside the work vehicle,” they said, adding that items stolen included cameras, batteries, a Sony lens, monitor, accessories and more. The armed robbers are alleged to have forced the crew inside the vehicle and driven to two houses…

Goal in any process of renaming should be institutional change and transformation AT THE end of each academic semester, it is always a worthwhile, necessary and indeed interesting exercise to actively reflect on what transpired in the life and times of a university. This is helpful not only to consolidate and to catch up on many levels, but also to plan for the semester ahead. Reflection, to a degree, fills you with a sense of emotion and gratitude because you remember the highs and the lows, moments of joy and anxiety, and very often also moments of pride and disappointment. But of all the moments that are called into remembrance through reflection, it is those that lead to profound internal and external change that stand out. My role at Stellenbosch…

A dozen Arab tribal leaders from Sudan’s western region of Darfur have pledged allegiance to paramilitaries at war with the army, a move analysts warn could tip the scales in the conflict. The war between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has wreaked havoc on Darfur, where experts fear a widening ethnic divide could spell more violence. In a video released this week, leaders from seven of South Darfur state’s main tribes urged their members to desert the army and fight instead for the rivalling RSF. “This announcement will have a massive impact” on the war in Sudan, which has killed nearly 3 000 people, said veteran journalist Abdelmoneim Madibo. “It will divide South Darfur between Arabs and non-Arabs.”…

The UN has verified a record-breaking number of grave violations against children affected by war last year, reaching 27 180 cases, according to a Security Council briefing. An annual UN report for children and armed conflict called for urgent and decisive action to protect boys and girls from death, recruitment, rape, and other atrocities. The report encompasses 26 situations across five regions globally. The UN confirmed that 18 890 children experienced grave violations during armed conflicts in 2022. Tragically, 8 630 children were killed or maimed, 7 622 were recruited for combat, and 3 985 were abducted. The report identified 1 165 children, mostly girls, who endured rape, gang rape, forced marriage, sexual slavery, or sexual assault. It also said 1 163 schools and nearly 650 hospitals were targeted in…

Paris: Donations have been halted for an online collection for a French policeman who sparked nationwide riots last week by shooting a teenager dead, with the fund reaching more than ¤1.6 million (R33.2 million). Far-right media commentator Jean Messiha, behind the initiative, said that he had closed it “because it has reached a comfortable level”. The mother of Nahel M, the 17-year-old shot last week, has launched legal action against Egyptian-born Messiha. Several left-wing MPs have also launched legal action to try to close the fund. The amount raised for the officer is four times larger than the ¤400 000 pledged in a separate collection for the mother of Nahel. | AFP…

Stockholm: Climate activist Greta Thunberg has been charged with disobeying police during a June climate protest in southern Sweden, the public prosecutor said this week, most likely risking a fine. The prosecutor said it had charged the 20-year-old activist after she “refused to obey police orders to leave the site” of a protest in the southern city of Malmo on June 19. Thunberg joined the protest organised by environmental activist group, Reclaim the Future, as they attempted to block the entrance and exit to the Malmo harbour to protest against the use of fossil fuel. The charge can, at most, lead to a six-month jail sentence. | AFP…

THE CONFEDERATION of Trade Unions (Cosatu) said its stay-away yesterday to highlight labour and socio-economic issues was successful and it was looking forward to the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTPBS) later on this year to gauge government's response to the demands presented. Spokesperson Matthew Parks said the turnout in all nine provinces and major urban areas had been overwhelming and where workers did not go to the marching events, they staged pickets outside their places of employment. At least two unions, the Democratic Nurses Association of South Africa and the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union marched shoulder to shoulder in delivering the petitions to various institutions including the South African Reserve Bank, the South African Local Governments Association, government institutions and at various employer organisations. The South…

FINANCE Minister Enoch Godongwana has urged African countries to focus on tax transparency to counter tax evasion and illicit financial flows which continue to bleed the continent billions of dollars every year. This comes as South Africa has recently been greylisted by the Financial Action Task Force due to certain deficiencies in its anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism and proliferation financing framework. Godongwana yesterday said the African Union Commission estimated the amount of illicit financial flows from Africa ranged between €48 billion (R977.7bn) and €77bn, in its domestic resource mobilisation report of 2019. The Minister yesterday delivered an address at the 13th Meeting of the Africa Initiative, hosted by the South African Revenue Services (Sars) in Cape Town. He emphasised the importance of tax transparency…

PUBLIC Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said his department was working with the Presidential State-owned Enterprises Council (PSEC) to identify entities that should be rationalised or disposed of. Gordhan said the department was also developing legislation that will govern the SOEs with the PSEC. “President Cyril Ramaphosa mandated the department, together with the members of the Presidential State-Owned Enterprises Council appointed in June 2020, to support the government in repositioning state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as effective instruments of economic transformation and development. “This work entails strengthening the framework governing SOEs through, among other initiatives, the introduction of an overarching Act governing SOEs, and the determination of an appropriate shareholder ownership model,” he said. He was responding to parliamentary questions from EFF MP Omphile Maotwe who asked whether his department had lived up…

THE Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation unit has retrieved documents and computers after raiding the Kannaland Municipality offices this week as part of its probe into alleged financial misconduct by the council. Members of the investigating unit reportedly stormed the municipality in the early hours of Wednesday and confiscated containers full of documents believed to form part of their investigation. While the municipality has blamed disgruntled former employees for being “driving forces” behind the raid, the Hawks confirmed an investigation was under way. Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Siyabulela Vukubi said: “This office can confirm that the Hawks conducted search and seizure at Kannaland Municipality. The investigation is under way.” The search and seizure followed the arrest of four top officials who allegedly defrauded the municipality of more than R338 million…

POLICE yesterday arrested a 22-year-old woman who allegedly poured boiling water on a child, after angry Langa residents marched to the police station to demand justice. It is alleged that on June 24, 4-year-old Unako Khala was playing with friends near the gate of the woman’s house when she came out and threw boiling water on the boy, chasing him away. Unako’s aunt, Yonela Mnyombolo, said the family was distraught, especially as the woman was not arrested immediately after the incident. “We are not okay, because this has caused the child lifelong scars and trauma. He is recovering, we take him to the clinic for his check-ups,” she said. “The children had been playing in front of the home when an angry woman came marching out with a kettle full…

Bullet in the Heart – Four brothers ride to war 1899-1902 Beverley Roos-Muller Loot.co.za (R210) Jonathan Ball In 1899, four Boer brothers left their homes in the Orange Free State and rode off to defend their land and fight the Brits. One of the four brothers was the grandfather of the writer's husband, Ampie Muller. Through scraps of paper and diaries, some so small they fitted in the palm of a hand, Beverley Roos-Muller has penned a fascinating book about a war that shaped so much of our country. Mostly, what she has written is a story that offers the deeply human side to the bloody confrontation between the two warring sides that spoke of tragedy, deep loss, brutality and inhumanity. Many will have read some of the dozens of…

Lucky Girl Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu Loot.co.za (R275) Random House Longing for independence, a young sheltered Kenyan woman flees the expectations of her mother for a life in New York City that challenges all her beliefs about race, love, and family. Raised by her stern, conservative mother and a chorus of aunts, she has lived a protected life in Nairobi. Soila is headstrong and outspoken, and she chafes against her mother’s strict rules. After a harrowing assault by a trusted family friend, she flees to New York for college, vowing never to return home. New York in the 1990s is not what Soila imagined it would be. Instead of finding a golden land of opportunity, Soila is shocked by the entitlement of her wealthy American classmates and the poverty she sees in…

IN THE past, South African football was always able to turn to its fairy godfather, Patrice Motsepe, in times of need. A few days ago, South African football was plumbing the depths of despair after the national women’s team and the national federation Safa were locked in a stand-off over finances. The stand-off seemed to be heading for a stalemate until Safa president Danny Jordaan and Sports Minister Zizi Kodwa turned to Motsepe to rescue a dire situation on the eve of the team’s World Cup departure for New Zealand. He in turn sent in Motsepe Foundation co-founder Precious Moloi-Motsepe, his wife, armed with a R6 million cheque to a meeting the next day. The Motsepe money will serve as a top-up bonus for the players and technical staff. It…

More than 10 million people had signed up to Threads, Meta’s rival to Twitter, within the first few hours of its launch, the company’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg said yesterday. The app went live on Apple and Android app stores in 100 countries on Wednesday, and will run with no ads for now, but its release in Europe has been delayed over data privacy concerns. Threads is the biggest challenger yet to Elon Musk-owned Twitter, which has seen a series of potential competitors emerge but not yet replace one of the world’s biggest social media platforms, despite its struggles. “10 million sign-ups in seven hours,” Zuckerberg wrote on his official Threads account yesterday. Accounts were already active for celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Shakira and Hugh Jackman, as well as media…

Harare: Zimbabwe’s leading opposition said yesterday that police arrested eight of its supporters after banning a campaign rally, in a move the party denounced as part of an escalating crackdown ahead of national elections. The country, where the ruling Zanu-PF party has been in power since 1980, is bracing for a tense vote on August 23. On Wednesday, police fired tear gas and clashed with supporters of the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) in the south-eastern town of Chiredzi, preventing it from holding a rally. President Emmerson Mnangagwa, 80, is seeking re-election. His main challenger is CCC’s leader, Nelson Chamisa, 45. | AFP…

London: A British parliamentary committee yesterday upheld groping allegations against a former senior government official and recommended an eight-week suspension. Conservative MP Chris Pincher resigned in July 2022 as deputy chief whip following accusations that he groped two men while drunk at an exclusive London club. The committee said Pincher’s conduct “represented an abuse of power”. It recommended a suspension of eight weeks which could pave the way for a by-election in Pincher’s constituency of Tamworth, central England. | AFP…

STAN Wawrinka set up a Wimbledon third-round clash with seven-time champion Novak Djokovic yesterday, hoping to “not get killed” by a rival he first faced 17 years ago. The 38-year-old Wawrinka, who has won three Grand Slam titles, made the last 32 by seeing off Argentina’s 29th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-2. It will be his first time in the third round at the All England Club since 2015, when he went on to make the quarter-finals. Former world No 3 Wawrinka, now ranked at 88 after a lengthy battle with injuries, has only beaten Djokovic six times in 26 meetings. However, they have never met on grass. “I will enjoy it if I don’t get killed,” said Wawrinka. “Novak is an amazing champion. I am happy…