Table of contents for 2024-07-12 in Cape Times

■ We also report on a fund which was ordered to pay a complainant after it paid his R800 000 benefit to a fraud syndicate. ■ Following his trip to the UK, our columnist Martin Hesse compares living expenses between South Africa and the UK. ■ Regarding pensions, Brett Ladouce looks at the confusing tale of the five pots. ■ For all your money matters, scan the QR code.…

Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi provided little information yesterday on how his department will spend its R62.2 billion budget in the 2024-25 financial year. Instead, Motsoaledi made a case for the implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI). Tabling the budget vote, he said the department’s budget was a 3.5% increase from R60.1bn in the last financial year. “The details of how this money is going to be spent are well elaborated in the annual performance plan of the department. Hence I will move to other very important matters.” He said since his appointment, he has given interviews on his plans and priorities for the next five years. “I have given and will always give a standard answer, viz. for the health sector, priorities and plans have been outlined years ago…

NELSON Mandela Day is perhaps best known for its slogan, “67 Minutes of Service”, but did you know where that came from and why it is no longer the slogan? In 2009, it was calculated that Nelson Mandela spent 67 years of his life in service of social justice – in his years of activism and mobilisation, his years in prison, as well as his years as president of South Africa. However, it seems that something went wrong with the calculation because, in 2009, Madiba had spent 65 years fighting for social justice since he joined the ANC in 1944. Even with this error, the 67 Minutes campaign went global and became the rallying call for Nelson Mandela International Day. There were many notable campaigns that were started by the…

A Death In Cornwall Daniel Silva Loot.co.za (R250) HarperCollins Art restorer and legendary spy Gabriel Allon has slipped quietly into London to attend a reception at the Courtauld Gallery celebrating the return of a stolen self-portrait by Vincent van Gogh. But when an old friend from the Devon and Cornwall police seeks his help with a baffling murder investigation, he finds himself pursuing a powerful and dangerous new adversary. The victim is Charlotte Blake, a celebrated professor of art history from Oxford, who spends her weekends in the same seaside village where Gabriel once lived under an assumed identity. Her murder appears to be the work of a diabolical serial killer who has been terrorising the Cornish countryside. But there are a number of tell-tale inconsistencies, including a missing cellphone.…

The Child Alistair Mackay Loot.co.za (R245) KWELA I had forgotten, in the years I was away, how windy Cape Town gets in spring. On Instagram and Twitter and Facebook, the country slides into summer in September, the dusty interior bakes, but in Cape Town, where the winter drags on for months, the only sign that the southern hemisphere is drifting towards the sun is the wind. The rain persists and each shower soothes my climate anxieties. It’s been a gloriously wet winter, like they are supposed to be, like they were when I first moved here for university, and the dams are at 60% – not enough to scrap the water restrictions, but enough to ease them, to flush the piss smell out of the toilets, to allow myself…

HOW can part of history written with the blood of a woman and her 8-year-old daughter be left out of the History curriculum? There is a lot the country does not know about our history and the people who played a role, especially in the Struggle. Within that context is not knowing that there are white people who “crossed the floor”, that is moving from the “oppressor’s camp” to the “oppressed camp”. But the question you should be asking yourself is why they left ‘’harmony”, “luxury”, “privileges” for being hunted, hurt, tortured and subsequently killed. Jeanette Schoon (née Curtis) is one of those wonderful human beings. The reason for highlighting her maiden name is because she was a political activist long before marrying Marius Schoon. It is also out of…

Residents of Gaza City were trapped in houses and bodies lay uncollected in the streets under an intense new Israeli assault yesterday, even as Washington pushed for a peace deal at talks in Egypt and Qatar. Hamas said a heavy Israeli assault on Gaza City this week could wreck efforts to finally end the war just as negotiations have entered the home stretch. In a statement, the Palestinian Islamist militant group said mediators had yet to provide it with updates on the state of the talks since it made concessions last week in response to a US-backed Israeli peace offer. Residents of Gaza City say this week’s assault is comparable to the fiercest battle of the war, which destroyed the enclave’s oldest and biggest settlement in the first weeks of…

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday that any possibility of a direct confrontation between Russia and Nato was “worrying”, the official Anadolu news agency reported. Erdogan’s comments came as Nato leaders met in Washington and Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia was planning “response measures” to contain the “very serious threat” from the alliance. “The possibility of a direct conflict between Nato and Russia is undoubtedly worrying,” said Erdogan, who was in Washington for the Nato summit. “Any steps that could lead to this outcome should be consciously avoided.” Erdogan spoke a day after Nato allies announced they had started transferring F-16 jets to Ukraine and stepped up promises to Kyiv on eventual membership of the alliance. Peskov said the Western military alliance was now “fully involved…

Nairobi: Kenyan President William Ruto announced yesterday the dismissal of almost his entire cabinet and consultations to form a “broad-based government” following anti-government protests. He said the move affected all ministers, including the attorney-general, but excluded prime cabinet secretary and foreign minister Musalia Mudavadi and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. Ruto said he decided on the dismissals “listening keenly to what the people of Kenya have said”. Ruto also said he will “immediately engage in extensive consultations across different sectors and political formations, with the aim of setting up a broad-based government”. | AFP…

Vienna: The EU’s top court ruled yesterday that Austria had no right to hunt wolves, after activists contested killings of the protected species in the Alpine nation. Several regions of Austria started to allow wolves to be killed last year after reporting that the animals were attacking livestock. Environmental groups brought a case to court in Austria’s Tyrol province, arguing that hunting wolves violated an EU directive protecting the animals. Twenty wolves have been killed in Austria since last year, according to the country’s Bear-Wolf-Lynx Centre. But the government vowed to continue allowing the animals to be killed on a “case-by-case basis”. | AFP…

THE Springboks have released nine players – six with Test experience – ahead of the second and final Test of the series against Ireland at Kings Park in Durban tomorrow (kick-off 5pm). Head coach Rassie Erasmus wants them to at least have some form of match experience ahead of their possible selection for the Boks’ historic Test against Portugal in Bloemfontein next weekend. Yesterday, it was announced that World Cup winners Trevor Nyakane (prop), Makazole Mapimpi (winger), Lukhanyo Am and Andre Esterhuizen (both centres) would be released to the Sharks. Fullback Aphelele Fassi and No 8 Phepsi Buthelezi also returned to the Kwazulu-Natal union as they prepared to face Griquas today. Prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels of the Bulls returned to Loftus, while the Lions duo of winger Edwill van der Merwe…

This is the fifth article in a nine-part series that summarises findings from Just Retirement Insights 2024, a tracking study conducted by retirement income specialist Just SA. Just Retirements Insights gathers respondents’ feedback on the age they expect to live to. In 2024, individual life expectancy estimates were scattered, with many respondents in the 60 to 70 age group underestimating their life expectancy. This is worrying as in this decade of their lives, many people will need to decide what retirement income solution is best for them and will last their lifetime. Fundamentally, people are not good at estimating their life expectancy and therefore may plan financially with a flawed view of how long they might live. A solution is to make sure you consider an appropriate time horizon when…

A SUSPECTED ATM bomber was wounded in a shootout with police while his two accomplices were arrested in possession of stolen money (with stains) and explosives yesterday In Thokoza, there are fewer than five ATMs left after a spate of bombings in recent months. The two suspects were arrested on the M7 near Thokoza following a shoot-out with police. Gauteng provincial police spokesperson Colonel Noxolo Kweza confirmed the arrests. “Two suspects have been arrested and cash and explosives have been recovered following an ATM bombing at Thokoza during the early hours today (yesterday). Another suspect was shot and injured and he managed to escape. Investigations are continuing,” Kweza said. She said the two suspects were in custody, while the explosives and cash recovered were taken in as exhibits. Musa Madlala,…

EFF, activists hail SCA outcome confirming Western Cape High Court ruling on counter-spoliation The City is weighing its options after the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) dismissed its appeal with costs, while confirming that the metro had a narrow window in which it was legally permissible to protect its unoccupied land against unlawful invasions. The City had sought to challenge a Western Cape High Court ruling that it had incorrectly applied its common law defence of counter-spoliation as unlawful and unconstitutional. Counter-spoliation is the immediate action to physically prevent land invasions and where occupation had not stabilised and “before the person has put up any poles, lines, corrugated iron sheets, or any similar structure with or without furniture which point to effective physical control of the property occupied”. The…

Civil society organisations have expressed concern about the Department of Basic Education’s (DBE) amended school infrastructure regulations, criticising them as regressive steps that indicate a departure from ensuring educational equality, particularly for learners in rural and low-income communities. SECTION27, the Equal Education Law Centre (EELC), the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) and Equal Education (EE) said the amended regulations relating to Minimum Uniform Norms and Standards for Public School Infrastructure, published in the Government Gazette on 27 June 2024, diluted critical obligations previously placed on the DBE and provincial education departments to make urgent and adequate provision for infrastructure at public schools. The matter is expected to be addressed in Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube’s budget vote next week. “These School Infrastructure Regulations, first published in 2013 after a hard-won victory…

IF ILLEGAL foreigners cannot be admitted as legal practitioners, as per a constitutional judgment earlier, then they are also excluded from claiming compensation from the Road Accident Fund (RAF), the latter argued in an attempt to overturn a judgment which ruled that anyone in the country can claim following an accident. In March, three judges of the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, put an end to a directive issued by the transport minister and the fund, which declared that foreign nationals who were illegally in the country, were barred from claiming compensation if they were in a vehicle accident here. The RAF, however, would not relent and turned back to court for leave to appeal the judgment before the Supreme Court of Appeal. But Judge Norman Davis this week concluded that…

10 Golden Stars to Leadership Excellence Tom Dreyer Loot.co.za (R249) Quick Fox “Leadership is not about title. It represents a manner of feeling, thinking, and behaving. “Excellent leaders DON'T just talk the talk; they also do the walk. “They genuinely have a stake in the outcome when followers follow their leader voluntarily rather than out of obligation." The opening line of 10 Golden Stars to Leadership Excellence by Dr Tom Dreyer caught my attention right away. Knowing the meaning behind these golden stars and how they could change my leadership path piqued my interest as someone who hopes to be a more effective leader. The book's striking cover and its claim to be a manual for exceptional leadership drew me in when I initially picked it up. I was excited…

Allow Me to Introduce Myself Onyi Nwabineli One World Anuri Chinasa has had enough. She was the unwilling star of her stepmother’s social media empire before “mumfluencers” were even a thing. For years, Ophelia documented every birthday, every skinned knee, every milestone and meltdown for millions of strangers to fawn over and pick apart. Now twenty-five years old, Anuri is desperate to escape her public past and start living on her own terms. But so far, it’s not going well. She can barely walk down the street without being recognised, her PhD application is still unfinished and her drinking problem is getting worse. She wants her stepmother out of her life, but Ophelia has made it very clear she won’t let go without a fight. But when Ophelia starts pushing…

Many critical SOEs have suffered untold damages from ineffective leadership AS SOUTH Africans brace for the significant changes that the Government of National Unity (GNU) is expected to bring, we must advocate for national leadership appointed according to merit rather than political affiliation. Government’s primary goal for the next five years should be to revitalise the economy, develop regulations that support the private sector, and drive job creation. For this, it needs to create a public sector that makes decisions for the good of our society rather than self-gratification or individual profit. Cadre deployment in government has been disastrous for South Africa. Appointing public servants to positions of power primarily based on political affiliation has been detrimental to the country’s attempts to create a functional government that serves to protect…

Rwandans will vote in elections on Monday, with President Paul Kagame widely expected to extend his iron-fisted rule and sweep to victory in a race featuring the same candidates he defeated seven years ago. Rwanda’s de facto ruler since the end of the 1994 genocide, Kagame faces rival bids by Frank Habineza, leader of the Democratic Green Party – the only authorised opposition – and Philippe Mpayimana, who is running as an independent. The 66-year-old Kagame is credited with Rwanda’s economic recovery after the genocide, with annual GDP growth averaging 7.2% between 2012-2022. But his regime is widely criticised for stifling political opposition at home, while a UN report has accused Rwandan troops of fighting alongside the M23 rebel militia in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo. Kagame has won…

Former presidents and prime ministers have sent an open letter to current leaders of the world’s 20 largest economies urging support for a global tax on billionaires, which they called a rare political opportunity. The move comes as Brazil’s G20 presidency seeks to build support for a declaration at the group’s finance ministers and central bank governors meeting later this month in Rio de Janeiro. Signed by 19 Club de Madrid members, a forum of former leaders with over 100 participants, the letter praised US President Joe Biden’s billionaire income tax proposal. Brazil’s proposal, crafted by French economist Gabriel Zucman from the independent EU Tax Observatory, calls for an annual 2% levy on fortunes exceeding $1 billion (R18bn), which could raise up to $250bn annually from about 3 000 individuals.…

Washington: More than half of Democrats in a new poll yesterday said US President Joe Biden should end his re-election bid after his debate performance against Donald Trump, although they remain in a dead heat despite the president’s poor showing. Both candidates received 46% support among registered voters in a key survey, almost identical to the results of a key poll in April. About 56%of Democrats and two-thirds of Americans overall want Biden to quit the White House race. Half of all respondents said his Republican challenger should drop out. Were Vice-President Kamala Harris to replace him, she would fare better, according to the poll, scoring 49% against Trump’s 47%. | AFP…

PARIS: Firefighters brought a blaze on the spire of Rouen’s historic cathedral in northern France under control yesterday after it had sent a thick plume of smoke into the sky. People in the streets below watched in horror as 40 fire engines rushed to the site and emergency workers set up a cordon around the cathedral, a jewel of French medieval Gothic architecture made famous by the paintings of impressionist Claude Monet in the 19th century. The spire had been in renovation for years and was surrounded by scaffolding and a white cover when the fire began about 120m above ground level. Workers involved in the renovation raised the alarm, the fire brigade said. | Reuters…

ZIMBABWE’S UFC welterweight star Themba Gorimbo is one of the most driven athletes. He cuts no corners and does what is needed to fulfil his dream to be the king of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. It is with that mindset that the star from Bikita district in Masvingo Province, who is now on a three-fight win streak, has opted to make some changes around his training and fight camps to better his chances of fighting for the UFC welterweight strap one day. In an exclusive interview with Independent Newspapers and MzansiMMA, the Miami-based athlete confirmed that while he and his family will still stay in Miami, his fight camps will be held in Las Vegas. “I will be doing part of my training at Xtreme Couture for the sake of…

EMPLOYMENT and Labour Minister Nomakhosazana Meth said yesterday the sustainable solution to the unemployment crisis could not come from her department and the government alone, but a societal challenge that required a collective approach. Meth said Statistics SA continued to share disturbing data with the first quarter report of 2024 pushing the national unemployment rate to 32.9%. “We plan to lead the department in upping the ante pertaining to coordination work of all job creation initiatives, interventions and innovation that are found in various departments, spheres of government and public agencies. “It is also in our plans to raise the stakes when it comes to collaboration, partnerships, networks within the state, traditional leadership and the private sector,” she said. Meth made the statement when she tabled the department’s R3.8 billion…

“A SOCIETY that does not value its older people denies its roots and endangers its future,” South Africa’s first democratically elected president, Nelson Mandela, once said. Honouring these words, Philisa Abafazi Bethu SA (heal our women) will celebrate Mandela Day on July 18 by cooking for 2 000 senior citizens, handing out knitting material and teaching those who may not know how to knit. Millions around the country and the globe mark the day annually by reflecting on Mandela's values, which included service to humanity. Organisations, government and the public at large devote 67 minutes of their time to give back to communities. The day comes a month after World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, with the UN noting that elder abuse was increasing and was a global phenomenon that comes…

Despite adjustments made for an undercount, the 2022 South African census results released in October 2023 present numerous anomalies, making them more estimations than exact counts, according to UCT researchers. These anomalies challenge not only the accuracy of the census data but also their utility for critical functions such as resource allocation, investment planning and public policy decision-making, potentially leading to the misallocation of resources and ineffective policies, the researchers said. Professor Tom Moultrie and Emeritus Professor Rob Dorrington, demographers from UCT’s Centre for Actuarial Research (CARe), said they had identified significant issues with the census, concluding that the results, with the highest undercount ever measured and reported by the United Nations Population Division, may not be fit for purpose. Moultrie and Dorrington have described several operational and logistical challenges…

Rufi Thorpe’s book, a new discovery for me, turned out to be an enjoyable read. I usually prefer doing my research in advance on authors that I have not been introduced to before, but I went into this without any expectations. Her writing is quirky and honest, mixing humour with serious issues that many women face. Margo’s Got Money Troubles will have you sitting upright as you navigate Thorpe’s novel. The story is about Margo, a community college student who has an affair with her English professor. When she gets pregnant, she decides to keep the baby despite his advice to have the pregnancy terminated. After signing a non-disclosure agreement with his family, Margo is left with little support and drops out of college. To make ends meet, she starts…

Darlings of Durban Shafinaaz Hassim Loot.co.za (R229) Pan macmillan Darlings of Durban follows the stories of four friends and how their lives intersect and influence each other. Natasha owns a successful beauty company and she's in a serious long-term relationship with the charming Sizwe. Yet the young woman worries that his family will never truly accept her because of her mixed heritage. The question arises: Does she even believe in marriage? She frequently seeks the advice of her friend Sofia, who is happily married with children. It is Sofia who is the glue that holds the darlings together. Then the cousins, Farhana and Razia, both have their own complicated marriages. Farhana tries her best to support her husband in his utterly harebrained schemes -- even when this is to…

The North Wind Alexandria Warwick Simon & Schuster Wren of Edgewood is no stranger to suffering. With her parents gone, it’s Wren’s responsibility to ensure she and her sister survive the harsh and endless winter, but if the legends are to be believed, their home may not be safe for much longer. For three hundred years, the land surrounding Edgewood has been encased in ice as the Shade, a magical barrier that protects the townsfolk from the Deadlands beyond, weakens. Only one thing can stop the Shade’s fall: the blood of a mortal woman bound in wedlock to the North Wind, a dangerous immortal whose heart is said to be as frigid as the land he rules. And the time has come to choose his bride. When the North Wind…

SADAAM Maake, the so-called president of the South African National Association of Supporters Union (Sanasu) and his friends, colleagues, comrades or whatever they use to refer to themselves are a bunch of disappointments. Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie’s first strike from his new office was to announce that he would close the tap on funding overseas trips for “super fans”. Some of us did not even know a body such as Sanasu existed or that its members’ trips were funded by millions of taxpayers’ money. The reason we did not know about the supporters’ union is simply because it has not taken a stand on anything up until now. How could its members be up for that when there is an array of better causes that need…

A top French trade union leader yesterday urged President Emmanuel Macron to let a left-wing alliance govern after it came first in a legislative election, hinting that any alternative could be met with protests during the Paris Olympics. In his first public comments since the New Popular Front (NFP) beat his own centrist camp into second place in Sunday’s election, Macron said on Wednesday that “no one had won” and asked “republican forces” to form a “solid majority” to govern. That has been understood to mean he wants a coalition of centrists and moderate parties from the NFP, such as the Socialists and Greens, excluding the hard-left insurgent party France Unbowed, which he deems beyond the respectable spectrum. Sophie Binet, leader of the CGT union, said Macron was in denial…

London: King Charles III congratulated the England football team on reaching the final of Euro 2024 and jokingly urged them to win the tournament without any nerve-shredding last-minute drama. He sent the team his “warmest congratulations” after their 2-1 win against The Netherlands and his “very best wishes” for Sunday’s final against Spain. Fans endured the suspense of a last-gasp equaliser in the second round against Slovakia, a penalty triumph against Switzerland in the quarter-final, and Ollie Watkins’ 90th-minute winner to send them through to the final. Charles’s son, Prince William, who is president of the Football Association, is likely to travel to Berlin for the final. | AFP…

DAKAR: Burkina Faso’s military junta said it has adopted the draft of an amended family code that criminalises homosexuality. The nation has been among just 22 out of 54 countries on the continent that allow same-sex relations, which are punishable by death or lengthy prison terms in some states. Burkina Faso has been under military rule since two successive coups in 2022 and is part of a confederation with juntas in neighbouring Mali and Niger. All three interim governments have so far failed to hold elections and turned away from traditional Western allies. | Reuters…

THE Springbok pack have set their sights on continuing their scrum domination over Ireland in tomorrow’s second and deciding Test in Durban. They will draw inspiration from the massive pushover scrum that led to a penalty try, which was the score that took the game away from the Irish at Loftus Versfeld, although the visitors never gave up and fought till the end. While the scrums went the way of the Boks, the Irish were in control at the breakdown and spoilt the quick ball of the home side with the way they disrupted the play of scrumhalves Faf de Klerk and Grant Williams time and again. According to veteran lock Franco Mostert, they will have to keep the Ireland players in check, especially at the rucks and tackle…