Table of contents for 2021-10-01 in Mercury

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za WOOLWORTHS South Africa (WSA) has committed to investing an extra R120 million in wages over the next three years, and has approved a 4.5 percent increase for South African store staff in according to the Woolworths (Woolies) 2021 annual report released yesterday. According to the annual report, the WSA base pay was last year 47 percent higher than the South African minimum wage rate and 13 percent above that of the retail sector. The legislated minimum wage is currently R21.69 an hour. “To further accelerate the improvement in the lives of WSA store-based employees, we will invest an additional R120 million over a three-year period to adjust WSA’s hourly base pay from R33.40 to R41.25 in 2023 – a 23.5 percent…

Sibusiso Mboto and Sihle Mavuso THE IFP’s founding president, Dr Mangosuthu Buthelezi, yesterday slammed the government’s social grant system, saying it had created a sense of dependency in the public instead of self-reliance. Buthelezi said this when he delivered his address at a business breakfast meeting organised by the Zululand District in Durban. He called on businesses to invest in the district which he said had stable political leadership. The IFP leader said he was concerned about the lack of self-reliance among the country’s people. “When I look at our people today, throughout South Africa, and I see the depth of poverty and hunger that plagues us, it really breaks my heart. How did we become a dependent people, wholly reliant on government handouts? Why do our people think that government…

VIJAY SEWTAHAL | Clare Estate THE local government election fever is gaining momentum. Political parties are presenting their manifestos with all kinds of promises – mainly focusing on service delivery. I wonder what the reaction would be from the parties that participated in the 2016 elections if their manifestos during that period were replayed to them. It would reveal that very little of the rhetoric they belted out to the gullible public was achieved. I guess one could blame it all on the widespread corruption, wasteful expenditure, state capture, etc, mainly by the ruling ANC government, which has retarded service delivery. The Covid-19 pandemic also led to thousands losing their jobs, which exacerbated the dire situation South Africa finds itself in. These factors have severely depleted the country’s…

COLIN BUTCHER | Durban IN SUPPORT of the Duncan du Bois letter in The Mercury, September 29, it seems only Du Bois and myself have done detailed research on the Covid-19 stats and vaccines. We need to acknowledge the data coming from countries who began their vaccine roll-out in December, and observe the data from these countries to predict where South Africa will be in November and December. Using the most recent data from Public Health England, its Vaccine Surveillance Report published on September 23, we can observe the following data across all ages: New cases – Unvaccinated 44%, Vaccinated 56% Hospitalisations – Unvaccinated 39%, Vaccinated 61% Deaths – Unvaccinated 23%, Vaccinated 77% This data specifically indicates that after receiving the vaccine you are not immunised against infection,…

| Dorothy Parker WELL, here we go again. Do we get a chestnut out of the fire? Last week, the Boks could have beaten the All Blacks in our 100th Test against them. Some say we should have beaten them. If we’d only hung on to the ball in that final minute instead of kicking away possession, that penalty against would never have happened and we’d have run out winners by a single point. The Boks salvaged their reputation after the calamity against the Wallabies. It’s now academic but can they, this time, actually pull it off, showing real zip and daring? If nothing else, they owe it to the damsels of the Street Shelter for the Over-Forties, whose knicker elastic has gone untested for what seems an eternity…

Nonhlanhla Nozizwe Hlatshwayo nozizwe.hlatshwayo@inl.co.za A KWAZULU-NATAL farmer, who is charged with the murder of a 17-year-old boy, appeared at the Glencoe Magistrate’s Court yesterday. KZN police spokesperson Thembeka Mbele said a case of murder was opened at the Glencoe police station. “It is alleged that on September 28, 2021, a 17-year-old was shot dead at a farm in Glencoe. He sustained a gunshot wound to the abdomen and died at the scene. A 68 year-old suspect was arrested and charged with murder,” said Mbele. It is alleged that Qiniso Dlamini had gone to collect his family’s cattle, which had strayed on to a nearby farm, when he came across the farm owner, 68, who allegedly shot him. The farmer appeared in court yesterday and the case was adjourned to…

PHNOM PENH: Five lost Cambodian artefacts, handed over by the family of the late antique collector Douglas Latchford, have been returned to Cambodia from Britain, a Cambodian spokesperson said yesterday. “In the initial stage, five Cambodian masterpieces were returned from the UK to their homeland Cambodia on Wednesday evening,” Culture and Fine Arts Ministry’s secretary of state and spokesperson Hab Touch said. The five returned artefacts included a stone sculpture of Shiva and Skanda, a half male and half female deity, a male deity, a Prajnaparamita statue, and a bronze boat prow, he said.…

HEAVY floods caused by tropical storm Dianmu have severely impacted almost half of Thailand’s provinces with at least seven people killed and at least one missing, the country’s disaster control authorities said yesterday. Heavy rains swept across 31 provinces of the Southeast Asian country, so far affecting more than 220 000 households, according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM). The DDPM also noted that the situation in 13 of the affected provinces has improved, but it remained critical in the other 18 provinces. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) warned yesterday that the water level of the Chao Phraya River is forecast to rise over the next few days, asking people in seven districts along the river to be prepared for potential floods. Local media quoted Bangkok…

Stuart Hess stuart.hess@inl.co.za THE Northerns Titans had just qualified for the play-offs in the T20 Knock Out competition in Bloemfontein, but the look on stand-in captain Aaron Phangiso’s face and the tone of his voice told of a leader not happy with how the team had played. The Titans produced their best performance of the week in defeating the KwaZulu-Natal Inland Tuskers yesterday, but it wasn’t flawless. The batting again looked meek, even though they played better in the PowerPlay than in their previous two matches, and the bowling wasn’t as consistent as Phangiso or coach Mandla Mashimbyi would have liked. “I don’t think we’ve played our best cricket, but when needed guys have put their hands up and we just got over the line,” said Phangiso. They squeezed out…

Mercury Reporters President Cyril Ramaphosa says if South Africa can reach its vaccination target by the end of this year, the country will be able to avoid further restrictions and put the plans for economic recovery into high gear. He said this last night when he announced that following consultation and scientific advice, the Cabinet had decided to move the country to risk-adjusted level 1. The address by Ramaphosa came after opposition parties had called for the president to lift some of the restrictions and allow parties to campaign ahead of the local government elections citing low infection rates. In the past few weeks, Deputy President David Mabuza, Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa and other ministers have been urging people to vaccinate so that government could allow fans back…

Fossils found on a rocky beach show there was double trouble on England’s Isle of Wight about 127 million years ago, with a pair of large previously unknown dinosaur predators living perhaps side by side, both adapted to hunting along the water’s edge. Scientists this week announced the discovery of fossils of the two Cretaceous Period meat-eaters – both measuring about 9 metres and boasting elongated crocodile-like skulls – on the southwest of the island, one of Europe’s richest locales for dinosaur remains. They are examples of a type of dinosaur called a spinosaur, known for long and narrow skulls with lots of conical teeth – perfect for grasping slippery fish – as well as strong arms and big claws. One is named Ceratosuchops inferodios, meaning “horned crocodile-faced hell heron”.…

GLEN CHRISTIE | Durban North THE revelation by Minister of Social Development Lindiwe Zulu that there are 177 108 government officials illegally receiving social grants as of the end of July is shocking and highlights the culture of stealing. Worse than that is that this thieving has been done while the minister has been in charge. Surely, this year there are systems in place, checks and balances to verify and check that recipients are legally cleared to receive such grants? It seems that the system they are using belongs to the Dark Ages and that there is no management control in this department. With the government having no cash, these 117 108 officials who have been receiving this money illegally should now be arrested, money be repaid and…

Karen Singh karen.singh@inl.co.za KwaZulu-Natal Athletics (KZNA) has approved the race date for the revamped 2022 Comrades Marathon. In a statement this week it was announced that the provincial athletics body had confirmed that the 95th running of the ultramarathon would take place on Sunday, August 28, 2022. Cheryl Winn, the chair of the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA), said that there had been a lot of talk in athletics circles about a proposed race date for the 2022 Comrades Marathon. “At CMA we believe this discourse could not have come at a better time for a complete revamp of our race calendar for the future, to re-imagine and design it in such a way that it benefits the build-up of endurance for the majority of distance runners in South Africa…

Sibusiso Mboto sibusiso.mboto@inl.co.za ZULULAND district mayor Thulasizwe Buthelezi says strong and responsible political leadership ensured that the district experienced minimal levels of looting during the July riots. He said this while addressing a business breakfast meeting at the Elangeni Hotel in Durban yesterday. The gathering was aimed at showcasing the district as an investment destination, and, according to the mayor, Zululand is among the best governed districts in the province. “Our aim with this meeting is to assure investors that Zululand is open for business. The rich cultural heritage of the Zulu kingdom will be the bedrock upon which we will strive to increase the share of the tourism sector as a component of the whole economy,” he told guests. The mayor noted that the district had the fourth…

THERE is still some value in the belief that home teams will always have an advantage over their visiting rivals, and are therefore expected to win. But, some may argue, the world has evolved and sportsmen and women are always on the move for competitions around the world, so much so that it makes little difference whether one is playing home or away. As a matter of fact, in this day and age successful athletes will not gain international recognition if they only succeed on home turf. Champions conquer opposition on any ground and at any time of day. It may, then, be a little disconcerting that our rugby franchises are somewhat not as good as we know them to be when they compete with rivals on foreign soil. In…

ISTANBUL: Multiple teams conducted search and rescue operations this week after a man was reported to be missing in a forest in Turkey. Beyhan Mutlu, a 50-year-old from Inegol had been drinking with friends in the forest, according to the Daily Mail. At some point, the drunk man wandered out in the forest and disappeared, according to reports. Volunteers and local residents joined police in a search. At some point, a man joined the group, and when the team called Mutlu’s name again, the man became confused and asked: “Who are we looking for? I am here”. The missing person was looking for himself.…

The brother of slain Rohingya community leader Mohib Ullah yesterday blamed militants for murdering him in a Bangladesh refugee camp because of his popularity and rights work. Mohib Ullah had emerged in recent years as one of the most prominent representatives of about 850 000 Rohingya stuck in camps in Bangladesh since fleeing violence in Myanmar in 2017. Assailants gunned him down on Wednesday, prompting Bangladeshi authorities to deploy hundreds of extra armed police in the camps yesterday. Up to 25 000 people attended funeral prayers at the main Kutpalong camp yesterday, police said. Nazir Hossain, a Rohingya leader, said there were 200 000. Habib Ullah said his brother had received death threats from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army in recent months and at least eight men from the group…

Kailene Pillay kailene.pillay@inl.co.za A SHAKE-UP is on the cards for the Department of Health as it seeks to re-arrange its organogram after the suspension of more senior officials related to the Digital Vibes saga. Health Minister Joe Phaahla confirmed that all officials implicated in the long-awaited final report of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) into the Digital Vibes scandal would be handed suspension letters by the close of business yesterday. While the SIU report made mention of eight officials who were implicated, the minister named 10 officials in total in the briefing yesterday. This included the department’s Deputy Director-General responsible for Health Regulations and Compliance, Dr Anban Pillay, who was the acting director-general at the time the Digital Vibes contract was awarded. “By the close of business today, all affected…

KAMINI PRAKASH | Riet River Not everybody sees what is happening in Afghanistan as a human catastrophe. In India, some on the left, and its pseudo-liberal elitist cohorts have cheered the return of the hirsute gun-toting bullies and tyrants. Two days after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, Shafiqur Rahman Barq, the Samajwadi Party MP, said: “When India was under British rule, our country fought for freedom. Now Taliban wants to free their country and run it.” Early in September, Irfan Ansari, Jharkhand Congress MLA, praised the Taliban for chasing away Americans. He said it was the Americans who committed atrocities against women and children. Yet when the Taliban first took control of the provinces of Badakhshan and Takhar, they issued an order to local religious leaders to…

ANTHONY STARKEY | Morningside Duncan du Bois is at it again. In his letter titled “Anti-vaccine protesters applauded” (The Mercury, September 29) Du Bois once more shows his penchant for his use of data that is misleading, unreferenced or from a dubious source. For example, he makes a misleading and unreferenced assertion that 27 000 doctors in the US, 600 doctors in Germany and 600 doctors in Spain have accused their governments of “falsehood in proclaiming Covid-19 as a pandemic”. This sounds very impressive until you drill down and discover that this represents the views of 2.7% of US doctors, 0.125% of German doctors and 0.45% of Spanish doctors. Not a very convincing percentage. Du Bois says that “the anti-vax protesters will be happy to note that the…

WHEN the unexpected occurs, things you’d prefer to avoid, self-inflicted or other-inflicted, take a minute or an hour, or a month if necessary, to: Remind yourself that life has spent a lifetime preparing you for this. You’ve run versions of this track before. You are stronger and more resilient than you may feel even most of the time. No one is strong all the time. Courage ebbs and flows. You’ve had a lot of practice facing adversity and all of them were rehearsals for the next one. You’re more skilled and self-aware than you’ve ever been. A little distance, a lot of patience, a load of listening and a truckload of grace for yourself and others will get you through this. Take time alone to replenish supplies of goodness and…

Xolile Bhengu xolile.bhengu@inl.co.za Doctors working in public health-care facilities say they are constantly living in fear of being attacked due to the lack of adequate security. The South African Medical Association (Sama) yesterday held a media briefing to discuss the safety of doctors and made recommendations on how security could be improved at health facilities. Sama’s Dr Mark Human said for several years Sama had highlighted the poor state of security in public-health institutions. “While the issue of protecting doctors is of the greatest importance, incidents of violence continue unabated. “Sama views the lack of provision of proper safety and security for doctors and other health-care workers and patients as a major stumbling block to the provision of quality health care to all citizens. “As the country heads towards local…

COVID-19 has affected every imaginable area of our lives over the past 19 months, wreaking devastation on practically every community in the world. To think that there are pharmaceutical companies that are sitting on drug cocktails which have been developed to reduce the risk of death in Covid-19 patients and are recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), is a major breakthrough. But the tragedy is that the life-saving drugs are accessible by only the wealthy, with the price tag as high as $2 100 (about R32 000) in the US, making them unattainable to the vast majority living in developing countries. This is the type of inequity that African leaders railed against in their opening addresses to the UN General Assembly last week. Covid-19 drugs must be…

KABUL: Afghanistan will be devastated by nationwide hunger and collapse of health care services within the next few weeks if humanitarian and financial support is not dispatched to the country immediately, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said yesterday. The critical threats caused by a serious drought and the Covid-19 pandemic are aggravated by conflicts which led to internal displacement of families and extreme poverty, the IFRC stated. Health financing had been cut across the country, placing more demand on Red Crescent teams. |…

LONDON: Wayne Couzens, the London police officer who strangled Sarah Everard with his police belt after falsely arresting her for breaking lockdown rules, was sentenced yesterday to life in prison with no prospect of parole. Judge Adrian Fulford told Old Bailey court in central London that Couzens would be “imprisoned for life and that the tariff is a whole life order”, the most serious punishment he could issue. It would mean that, in all likelihood, Couzens would die in prison. Fulford, who made Couzens stand in court when he read out his sentence, said: “I have seen no evidence of genuine contrition on your part.” Murder in Britain carries a mandatory life sentence, although it doesn’t automatically mean life behind bars. The violent murder of Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive,…

THE sea has been a bit of a washing machine. The fishing has been fantastic but the conditions have been rough. The North Coast saw good fishing for those that ventured out in the less than perfect conditions. Some decent garrick was taken on live baits while slowly trolling around river mouths. The Tongaat Long Beach area has been particularly productive for this type of fishing. This is also prime area for the snoek so make sure you spin with a small spoon while slowly ticking along the backline. Further north, there have been few reports from the Vidal/Sodwana area but it seems fishing has been pretty good up that side with many anglers booking second trips up north. The Durban coast saw some proper sized tuna taken…