Table of contents for 2024-04-11 in Cape Times

Ellies, the JSE-listed electrical products retail company, said yesterday that its business rescue practitioners (BRPs) would apply to court to liquidate the company and to discontinue the business rescue proceedings. The BRPs had concluded there was no reasonable prospect of Ellies being rescued. The company imports, manufactures and sells electrical equipment and does solar installations. Ellies had announced on January 31, 2023, that it had entered into voluntary business rescue proceedings, and BRPs were appointed early in February. The company said in the same month that its headline loss for the six months to end-October 2023 would widen to 12.81c-13.73c a share, compared with a loss of 4.58c in the prior comparable period. Last year, Ellies failed in an attempt to diversify into the renewable energy market after its business…

from page 1 violence as a form of discipline, but also be assisted to develop the necessary skills to discipline appropriately and with the required measure of personal control. “It is by example that children are taught to navigate a complex conflict-ridden world, without resorting to violence as a solution,” she said. SACE said its 2016 mandatory sanctions were prescriptive in how to deal with situations such as the two teachers who had assaulted the children. Following the high court order, it revised and replaced the mandatory sanctions. But the Centre for Child Law on appeal said, however, it suffered from certain impediments. Judge Tolmay said that to merely impose a sanction without addressing the root cause of the problem was counter-productive. Sanctions should protect the best interests of the…

The Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, has set aside a Food Safety Agency (FSA) decision to seize meat analogue, or plant-based meat products, from retail outlets, a statement from the Consumer Goods Council (CGCSA) said yesterday. The CGCSA said it was forced to urgently seek an interdict to stop the FSA from seizing meat analogue products from retailers’ shelves. The court success follows hard on the heels of a judgment last August, when South Africa’s largest plant-based food producer, Fry’s, won an appeal against a government directive that had claimed six of its meat alternative products did not comply with processed meat regulations. Neo Momodu, CGCSA executive head: Legal Regulatory & Stakeholder Engagement, said they hoped that with this decision, the department would consider developing regulations applicable to meat analogue. “This…

Unit already gathering information to assess with a view to seeking a fresh investigation THE Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has set its sights on the failed sale of SAA shares to strategic partner Takatso Consortium. The unit, which has a team investigating SAA in line with a proclamation issued in 2020, is already gathering information to be assessed with a view to seeking a fresh proclamation to investigate the deal. This was revealed by SIU head advocate Andy Mothibi when interviewed by Newzroom Afrika. The SAA deal made headlines recently with the public enterprises portfolio committee recommending that the SIU should further investigate the now-cancelled deal. Mothibi said they knew that the portfolio committee would like the matter to be referred to them. “This is really not the first time…

The Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon will witness not only athletic competition, but also the power of individuals coming together to support worthy causes, and a team supporting Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Southern Africa will be running to save lives. Each of the 20 MSF runners has a target of R2 000 to raise and are hoping to exceed this. Among the group lacing up their shoes for the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon is 33-year-old principal consultant Jeev Sahni. Sahni, an avid runner and everyday athlete, has set ambitious goals for himself, aiming to complete 1 000 marathons by the time he turns 60. Born and raised in India, Sahni said his commitment to giving back to his community was instilled in him from a young age, earning him a silver…

FORGIVE deputy president Paul Mashatile for once again repeating the ANC lie that load shedding will be defeated before the end of the year. After all, South Africa is fast approaching an election on May 29 that may be disastrous for the ANC, and the absence of a good story to tell voters will lead to all sorts of empty promises in order to retain power. Delivering a keynote address at the University of Johannesburg this week, during a lecture on 30 years of South Africa’s democracy, Mashatile correctly listed the achievements of the past 30 years for which the ANC is not given enough credit, including its efforts to address socio-economic inequalities through social welfare programmes in housing, health care, education and social services. That is what South Africans…

Water levels on rivers in Russia and Kazakhstan continued to rise and flood whole villages and cities yesterday, with more than 100 000 people evacuated and the Kremlin warning a “very, very tense” situation was expected to worsen. Fast-melting snow and ice have caused rivers in Russia’s southern Urals, western Siberia as well as northern Kazakhstan to reach unprecedented heights, threatening major cities. Moscow and Astana have been battling the rising rivers for more than five days, with both declaring a state of emergency and saying the floods were the worst in decades. “The situation is very, very tense,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. “The water is continuing to rise. Large (amounts of) water are coming to new regions.” He said President Vladimir Putin thus far had no plans…

European MPs held a vote yesterday on a revamp of the bloc’s migration system that the pro-EU political centre casts as proof of its viability against the far right ahead of the bloc’s parliamentary elections in June. It promises to cut times for security and asylum procedures, and increase returns to reduce unwanted immigration from the Middle East and Africa, a high priority on the EU’s agenda. After eight years of feuds between the bloc’s 27 member states, the compromise proposals lay out a balance between the obligations of arrival countries such as Italy and help from rich destinations such as Germany. But it has been criticised by anti-immigration, eurosceptic and far-right parties for not going far enough to stop migration, while leftists have lambasted it as a blow to…

VATICAN CITY: A representative of Brazil’s Yanomami people said he met Pope Francis yesterday to ask him to support Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s efforts to save his indigenous people. The Yanomami, estimated to number around 28 000, live in Brazil’s largest indigenous reservation, in the northern states of Roraima and Amazonas. Invasion of their lands by illegal miners has caused malnutrition and deaths. “Lula … won’t be able to do it alone. There are a lot of people around him, politicians who don’t want him to solve it,” Davi Kopenawa said. He met Francis at the Vatican. Lula has led a push to evict illegal miners from Yanomami territory. | Reuters…

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden welcomed Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the White House yesterday to showcase a strong and growing partnership focused on joint defence co-operation to deter China. The summit kicked off with an arrival ceremony, followed by a closed-door meeting, a joint news conference in the Rose Garden, a state dinner and a performance by musician Paul Simon. Biden lauded the Japanese leader’s opposition to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and for improving relations with South Korea. Kishida said the cherry trees near the White House were a symbol of the friendship between Japan and the US. | Reuters…

CORONATION Fund Managers has forecast that SA Inc will continue to struggle against constrained economic growth ahead of this year’s elections as the performance of locally focused South African stocks has been poor. South Africa is headed for a key election that could result in a shake-up of the governing ANC’s majority in Parliament, with many analysts and poll surveys predicting a coalition government post the elections. Coronation portfolio manager Charles de Kock yesterday emphasised that there would be no easy fixes for South Africa’s current infrastructure challenges. “While we don’t have the ability to forecast the outcome of the election more accurately than what the polls predict, our view is that the problems faced by the South African economy cannot be fixed quickly,” he said. “Even if the correct…

THE JUST OVER a month-old National Financial Ombud Scheme (NFO) yesterday announced the appointment of its first Head Ombud, Reana Steyn. The NFO started operations on March 1 as an independent body that resolves complaints brought by consumers against South African financial institutions – for free. The one-stop, all-in-one dispute resolution service is made up of the four former services: Ombudsman for Banking Services; the Credit Ombud; the Ombudsman for Long-Term Insurance and the Ombudsman for Short-Term Insurance. NFO board chairperson Haroon Laher said Steyn’s extensive expertise and vast experience with the OBS, Credit Ombud and at one of the country’s leading insurers, her leadership positions, qualification as an attorney, coupled with her people management experience and training of staff of the previous schemes, provided her with a unique perspective…

BRINGING the flavours of South America to the shores of South Africa is something that the entrepreneur and owner of Orinoco Flavours of Latino America Mexican Kitchen is passionate about. Venezuelan chef Migdalia Bellorin began her journey in the food industry in Cape Town in 2007, later moving her restaurant, Orinoco Flavours, to Gauteng. Paying homage to her roots in South America, Bellorin told Business Report that she named her restaurant after the Orinoco river, which is one of the longest in South America. It flows through Venezuela and Colombia. Her eatery is located at the popular Prison Break Market in Johannesburg, but this versatile businessperson also appears at various pop-up events and festivals in the country. Bellorin said, “In addition to running the restaurant, I also host cooking classes…

THE powers and privileges committee has decided to close the investigation after the DA lodged a complaint against former National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula. The official opposition lodged the complaint with Deputy Speaker Lechesa Tsenoli after reports surfaced late last year that Mapisa-Nqakula approved a 70% salary increase for Secretary of Parliament Xolile George. George, who was appointed in June 2022, had his salary increased from the advertised and approved maximum of R2.6 million to R4.4m. It was increased by the presiding officers, including Mapisa-Nqakula and National Council of Provinces chairperson Amos Masondo, following a review of George’s remuneration package based on the recommendations of an expert assessment conducted by a consultancy firm. However, the DA has maintained that there were a number of breaches of ethics, accountability, transparency requirements…

FORMER president Jacob Zuma will be allowed to keep his presidential benefits should he decide to return to Parliament after next month’s elections. This is due to a precedent set by former president Kgalema Motlanthe and former deputy president Baleka Mbete, who both renounced lesser salaries to keep presidential benefits. The Electoral Court’s decision this week which paved the way for Zuma to run for office in the May 29 general elections has raised questions about what happens to his presidential pension should he return to the National Assembly. According to the Presidential Handbook, when the term of a president comes to an end through a resignation or completion of the electoral term, the president is entitled to a pension benefit as determined by the National Assembly in terms of…

IN raising its concerns about corporal punishment being rife in schools, the Supreme Court of Appeal held that the South African Council for Educators (SACE) committed a material error of law by not considering placing rehabilitative and corrective sanctions on two teachers who assaulted pupils. It also concluded that SACE should have heard the voices of the parents and the children before it punished the teachers. The teachers, who meted out corporal punishment against two primary school pupils in the classroom, received lenient sanctions from SACE. The sanctions were based on its internal “mandatory sanctions policy”. SACE fined the teachers R15 000 each, of which R5 000 was suspended. The sanction also included striking the names of the teachers off the educators’ roll, which was also suspended for 10 years.…

A MAN accused of being behind the fire which gutted and damaged a number of houses in the Glencairn area at the weekend has been set free due to insufficient evidence. The 28-year-old man was arrested on a charge of arson after he was allegedly found in the vicinity of the fire which completely destroyed three houses and damaged four on Sunday. Evacuations were conducted in the main road as the fire had caused rock falls along the road. According to police spokesperson Malcolm Pojie, the man was expected to appear in the Simon’s Town Magistrate’s Court. “However, the suspect was released (yesterday) as the case was not enrolled on the court roll due to insufficient evidence at this stage. Investigation into the fire continues,” said Pojie. Multiple fires exacerbated…

Although the extreme weather is over, the public has been asked to be aware of potentially dangerous conditions across parts of the province. During the Joint Operations Meeting hosted by the Provincial Disaster Management Centre (PDMC) yesterday, it was highlighted that many secondary roads and low-level river crossings were still flooded. Rock falls and mudslides will also remain a danger for the next week or more, and the public has been asked to remain vigilant. Premier Alan Winde inspected the Bot River area on the N2 yesterday, which was washed away during heavy rainfall last year. He also visited the Buffelsjag River bridge near Swellendam which was overflowing as a result of the heavy rainfall. “I was relieved to see that the N2 at Bot River withstood the recent heavy…

On June 3, 2019, the Full Bench of the South Gauteng High Court handed down judgment in the matter of Roderigues vs the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) and eight others. At paragraph 65 it held that “it is also for these reasons that conduct of the relevant officials and others outside of the NPA at the time must be brought to the attention of the National Director of Public Prosecutions for her consideration and in particular to consider whether any action in terms of Section 41(1) of the NPA Act is warranted”. The court referred to the conduct of former NDPP Advocate Vusi Pikoli, supported by Advocates Ackerman, Pretorius, Macadam and others who in their filed affidavits inferred that political interference prevented them from pursuing TRC matters. After…

Israeli strikes hit Gaza yesterday as Muslims marked the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadaan and after US President Joe Biden labelled Israel’s approach to the war a “mistake”. Palestinians gathered for morning prayers on the first day of the Eid ul-Fitr holiday amid the ruins of Gaza, devastated by more than six months of war since Hamas’s October 7 attacks. Tens of thousands also flocked to Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque compound where one worshipper, nurse Rawan Abd, said: “It’s the saddest Eid ever … you could see the sadness on people’s faces. “Usually we come to Al-Aqsa to celebrate, this year we came to support each other,” the 32-year-old said at Islam’s third holiest site, which is also revered by Jews as the Temple Mount. Israeli…

LAGOS: Nigeria’s health regulator is recalling a batch of Johnson & Johnson children’s cough syrup after finding an unacceptably high level of a potentially fatal toxic substance, it said yesterday. Laboratory tests on Benylin Paediatric showed a high level of diethylene glycol, which has been linked to the deaths of dozens of children in Gambia, Uzbekistan and Cameroon since 2022 in one of the world’s worst waves of poisoning from oral medication. The syrup is used to treat coughs and congestion in children, Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control said. Consumption could cause abdominal pain, vomiting, headaches and acute kidney injury. | Reuters…

NEW DELHI: India’s top court admonished the head of a state drugs regulator for failing to take action against a popular yoga guru’s firm which claimed its traditional ayurvedic medicines can cure chronic diseases such as diabetes and asthma. The Supreme Court said yesterday that the state drugs department had “tried to pass the buck” despite being informed in 2018 of advertisements issued by Divya Pharmacy, a unit of yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s hugely popular firm Patanjali Ayurved. Ramdev is one of India’s top yoga gurus and offers ayurvedic cures for many illnesses through his TV shows. | Reuters…

IT REMAINS a concern that the Proteas Women have completely lost form in T20 cricket since becoming the first senior SA team to reach a World Cup final when they qualified for the 2023 T20 title decider. One of the main struggles has been the team’s inability to consistently score at healthy T20 rates. Too many times the South African batting unit has relied heavily on a handful of players such as captain Laura Wolvaardt, Marizanne Kapp, Nadine de Klerk and Tazmin Brits. On Tuesday, during the rain-affected first ODI against Sri Lanka at Buffalo Park in East London, South Africa posted a score of 270-6 in their allotted 50 overs. A closer look at Tuesday’s total reveals a lot. The side scored at around five runs per over in…

Funders in the ‘old’ African Bank, which was placed under curatorship in 2014, now known as Residual Debt Service (RDS), are set to receive an extra-ordinary payment of R600 million on April 24. This will bring the total paid out to holders of the subordinate stub instrument RDS to R8.45 billion. African Bank Group CEO Kennedy Bungane said: “We are delighted that we have been able to reach this point where the indemnity has expired, allowing a further payment to be made to subordinate stub holders of RDS.” African Bank was placed under curatorship in August 2014. Two years later, a new entity was created. As part of the successful restructuring and resolution, the majority of the debt was transferred to the new African Bank, leaving behind material liabilities in…

from page 1 the SIU’s current investigation at SAA find anything on the SAA-Takatso matter, “if it falls under the (existing) proclamation, we take it and continue with the investigations”. The Department of Public Enterprises did not respond to a request for comment. Minister Pravin Gordhan had threatened to take the portfolio committee to court over its decision to call for the SIU to probe the failed deal. Political parties across the complete spectrum welcomed the proactive stance by the SIU, while Parliament has yet to make a formal referral. GOOD Party secretary-general Brett Herron said the serious allegations by the former director-general and the ultimate collapse of the transaction required proper investigation and a transparent report to the people of South Africa. “Therefore, if the SIU finds grounds to…

The Commission for Gender Equality’s commissioner Mbuyiselo Botha has a prima facie case to answer following a range of allegations levelled against him. This is according to the three-member independent panel of experts when chairperson, advocate William Rasenga Mokhare, handed their report to Acting National Assembly Speaker Lechesa Tsenoli yesterday. Mokhare was appointed last month along with advocate Noxolo Mbangeni and Malcolm Gessler to determine whether there was prima facie evidence to show that Botha committed misconduct, was incapacitated or incompetent. Parliament appointed the panel early last month after former National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula asked parties to make nominations on persons to serve on the panel to conduct a preliminary inquiry to assess a motion that was tabled against Botha. This was prompted by ANC MP Fikile Masiko’s motion…

THE arrest of six suspects in the murder and hijacking case of Kaizer Chiefs soccer star Luke Fleurs has been welcomed as many continue to mourn his death. Fleurs, 24, who hails from Mitchells Plain, was shot and killed in a car hijacking incident in Honeydew, Johannesburg, on April 3. Following the incident, Gauteng police commissioner Lieutenant-General Tommy Mthombeni appointed a team from the provincial office to investigate and search for the suspects. Under the leadership of Major-General Mbuso Khumalo, Gauteng’s deputy provincial commissioner for crime detection, the team comprised various units including a tracking team, provincial investigation unit, national crime intelligence, drone unit, Honeydew detectives, Honeydew crime intelligence, CAP special operations, and Fidelity specialised services. The team has been working around the clock to ensure that suspects in the…

Political chaos caused by poor leadership has elevated him in the eyes of supporters THERE were no huge surprises about the Electoral Court’s decision this week to overturn the Electoral Commission’s decision to bar uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) leader and former president of the country Jacob Zuma from standing for elections. Many at Luthuli House and other political party headquarters will mourn the result because they fear that if elected, Zuma might emerge with a significant influence on the way the anticipated coalition governments govern us at a national level and in some provinces. Yet it will be celebrated by people in the streets and intellectuals in academic institutions, as another landmark in protecting fundamental rights, including placing voters as ultimate arbiters of the integrity quality that individuals occupying public…

A new Scottish law that criminalises the “stirring up” of hatred against some groups has triggered a debate far beyond its borders, pitting human rights activists who say it’s needed amid a rising tide of harassment and violence against conservative celebrities and politicians who say the law threatens free speech. Scotland’s law, enacted last week, makes it an imprisonable offense to incite hatred on the basis of race, religion, transgender identity, sexual orientation, age or disability. “If … it’s intended to stir up hatred because of their membership of that group, then that is a criminal offense,” Nick McKerrell, a senior law lecturer at Glasgow Caledonian University, said this week. In Scotland, prosecutors recorded 1 884 hate crime charges relating to sexual identity in 2022-23 – representing an eighth consecutive…

Donald Trump’s former finance chief Allen Weisselberg was jailed for five months yesterday for perjury after he admitted lying to prosecutors as they investigated the former president for fraudulently inflating his wealth. Weisselberg, 76, was the chief financial officer of Trump’s real estate and entertainment group from 2005 to 2021. The jailing of Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty to two counts of perjury related to his 2020 questioning during the fraud probe, comes less than a week before Trump is due to go on trial for covering up hush money payments to hide a sex scandal. In return for admitting that he lied when discussing Trump’s valuation of the mogul’s New York penthouse apartment, Weisselberg agreed with prosecutors to be sentenced to a lesser term of five months imprisonment. The offences…

Athens: At least three girls were found dead yesterday off the rocky north-western coast of the Greek island of Chios after their migrant vessel capsized, coastguard officials said, with a search and rescue operation under way. Their mother had confirmed the disappearance of the girls, aged 5, 7 and 10, the Greek coastguard said. Three navy vessels have rescued 19 migrants, including eight minors and the mother of the girls who had drowned, on the boat that set off from Türkiye overnight. Reports said that 27 people, mainly Afghans, were on board. More than 11 300 arrivals have been recorded on Greek islands since the beginning of this year. | AFP…

WASHINGTON: The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) yesterday announced its first drinking water standard to protect people against toxic “forever chemicals” found in many household and everyday items, and offered $1 billion (R18.7bn) to states for public water system testing, the agency’s first major move to curb the cancer-causing chemicals. The final rule will affect 6%-10% of the 66 000 public drinking water systems in the US and is projected to reduce exposure to the group of 15 000 chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) for 100 million people. It would avoid tens of thousands of deaths linked to PFAS, the EPA said. | Reuters…

BESIDES it being a quarter-final, what makes the Stellenbosch FC and SuperSport United Nedbank Cup last-eight clash even more interesting is the duel between the youngsters from both sides. The two teams currently leading the Premier Soccer League when it comes to promoting youngsters will meet at the Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch on Saturday (3pm kick-off). Even though SuperSport, commandeered by the experienced Gavin Hunt, are the team with more history, form is on the side of Stellenbosch, who currently occupy a lofty second place in the Premiership standings. Stellenbosch forward Devin Titus, one of the youngsters to watch in this clash of the peers, feels that their advantage will come not only from current form, but also from who has the most experienced youngsters. “Gavin Hunt, I’ve always…