Table of contents for 2021-10-04 in Mercury

siphelele dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za SOUTH Africa’s economy is set for a major rebound in the fourth quarter as business activity will benefit from further relaxed lockdown restrictions and rising business activity. President Cyril Ramaphosa last week lowered the country’s lockdown restrictions to the lowest level following the end of the third wave of Covid-19 infections. This means that businesses, especially in the hospitality sector, can now open for longer as the curfew has been pushed out to midnight, alcohol sales are back to licence provisions, and a larger number of patrons are allowed in venues. Ramaphosa said the government’s greatest priority now was to ensure that the economy recovered as quickly as possible so that businesses get back on their feet and jobs can be created. “As part of the effort…

siphelele dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE AFRICAN Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) will succeed only if there is a huge appetite for infrastructure investment to drive industrialisation, technological developments and large-scale manufacturing. This was among sentiments expressed by various speakers on Friday at the inaugural Africa Trade South Africa (Atsa) 2021 virtual conference. The conference was aimed at exploring South Africa-Africa trade and investment opportunities in relation to the AfCFTA. South Africa has historically been seen as an African powerhouse, and is poised to become a key player in the AfCFTA. However, Africa’s infrastructure investment gap has widened over time, and the Covid-19 pandemic made things worse in 2020, in spite of high demand for projects and a sufficient supply of capital and investors. According to law firm Baker McKenzie’s latest report,…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za POWER utility Eskom is considering its legal options after energy regulator Nersa last week rejected its MYPD5 (Fifth Multi-Year Price Determination) pricing application, a move the state-owned enterprise considers will create a regulatory vacuum for the electricity supply industry. In a terse response, Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha told Business Report: “Eskom is considering its options in terms of the law and is committed to ensuring the required legal and consultation processes are followed.” “Eskom has to go back to the drawing board to submit an application for the 2022/23 financial year – based on an interim pricing methodology which would preferably be based on the principles of a new approach being considered.” Nersa said that after due consideration of the rationality and legality of applying an expired…

Karen Singh karen.singh@inl.co.za MINISTER of Forestry, Fisheries and Environmental Affairs Barbara Creecy said yesterday that a criminal case had been opened in connection with the chemical spill, from the United Phosphorus Limited (UPL) warehouse in Cornubia, due to a fire during the July unrest. Pesticide and agro-chemicals spilled into the Ohlanga River, uMhlanga Estuary and the sea as a result of the fire. Creecy was speaking at the release of the joint preliminary investigation report into the compliance profile of UPL. The report was compiled by the department, along with the KZN Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (Edtea) Department, the labour and agriculture departments, eThekwini Municipality, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and the Department of Water and Sanitation. Creecy described the spill as “the most serious environmental catastrophe in recent times”.…

Saber Ahmed Jazbhay | Newlands West A FRIEND and I read through the 150-page SIU report into Digital Vibes released by President Ramaphosa, an act that I must applaud as it shows a commitment towards transparency and rooting out the corrupt and criminally inclined. My friend looked anguished and commented: “How could Dr Mkhize succumb to this? We saw him as a beacon of hope, as ‘Mr Clean’! Is there any ethically clean and honest leader left in the ANC we can look up to?” And as his voice cracked in exasperation, he shouted: “Can we continue voting for a crooked and bent party?” Granted, there are other crooked politicians in the dog box, but Dr Mkhize’s misconduct, and I’m being mild here, was the…

THE Boks are back! In their 100th Test against traditional foes the All Blacks a week ago, they came within a whisker, losing to a penalty awarded in the dying seconds. This last Saturday, their 101st Test against the All Blacks, they pulled it off – again in the dying seconds – in a thriller of a match in which the lead switched three times in the final minutes, with a drop goal (for the Boks) and a penalty each. ’Twas indeed a thriller and a match of great significance. At one level, the damsels of the Street Shelter for the Over-Forties were able to at last proffer their knicker elastic for a fashioning of catapults for the time-honoured celebratory feu de joie in which the streetlights are shot out.…

FAROUK ARAIE | Benoni WE ARE on Level 1 of the lockdown period before we are expected to encounter the fourth wave in four weeks’ time. In every corner of our country, dedicated men and women perform the task of preparing our dead for burial. The gratitude from the public is immeasurable, but that has not stopped many from trying to express it. In a titanic undertaking, the burial teams fearlessly forfeited their resting time, to answer the call of divine duty, to discharge their sacred duty, to respectfully lay another soul to rest. Not all heroes wear capes. In the midst of the most frightening plague in this century, the real heroes wear protective gear and work with spades, fully aware that they themselves could become…

Sakhiseni Nxumalo sakhiseni.nxumalo@inl.co.za Heavy rain has been forecast for parts of the South Coast today. This is according to South African Weather Service forecaster Wiseman Dlamini, who said there was a 60% chance of showers and thundershowers forecast for Port Shepstone, Margate, Port Edward and Scottburgh today. He said that for the rest of the province, a 30% chance of showers and thunderstorms was forecast. “From Tuesday (tomorrow) towards the end of the week on Friday, the weather looks to be partly cloudy and it could be cold in many parts of the province.” Over the past week, the weather service had issued a warning that some areas in the province could experience heavy rains, which could lead to localised flooding. Dlamini said that there was no weather warning for…

Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za MORE than 2.7 million applications have been received by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) for Phase 2 of its Basic Education Employment Initiative. The DBE announced that as of 7.30am on Saturday, it had received more than 2.7 million applications from unemployed young people in Phase 2 of the initiative. It said “extremely high” volumes of traffic had led to its site slowing down and at times crashing. The applications for Phase 2 opened on September 27, and were expected to close at midnight yesterday. However, the deadline has now been extended to October 10. The Presidential Youth Employment Initiative (PYEI)-Basic Education Employment Initiative was started this year to provide unemployed young people with employment and training opportunities in the education sector. The department seeks to…

Developments in Europe and SA over the past few weeks articulate these features IF FREE and fair elections are the bane of authoritarian and totalitarian rule, one would have thought that in democracies they would be spared the blushes given the rising trend of voter apathy and lack of trust in politicians. Churchill’s alleged quip that “democracy is the worst form of government – except for all the others that have been tried” perhaps was more to do with his gripe after the British people voted him out as prime minister within months of “winning” World War II. But the phenomenon has a habit of reinventing itself often as “the good, the bad and the ugly” of the electoral process depending on the poll and the country. Metaphorically it often…

Panama City: Panama feared the publication yesterday of a new exposé about financial secrecy in global tax havens could again taint its reputation, which was seriously damaged by the “Panama Papers” scandal, according to a government letter released by local media. “The damage could be insurmountable,” the Panamanian government said in the letter, sent through a law firm to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The letter warns that “any publication” reinforcing “a false perception” of the country as a possible tax haven “will have devastating consequences for Panama and its people.”…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za THE INDEPENDENT Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) is scheduled to auction high demand spectrum by no later than March, according to a timetable released on Friday. Icasa said the new road map for the expedited licensing of the International Mobile Telecommunications spectrum, also known as high-demand spectrum and the Wireless Open Access Network (Woan) will result in the publication of the Invitation To Apply (ITA) in December this year. Qualifying bidders are scheduled to be announced in February next year. Icasa chairperson Keabetswe Modi- moeng appealed to stakeholders to accept the published timetable for both licensing processes to avoid unduly delaying the release of this much-needed economic stimulus input. “We would like to urge all interested stakeholders to participate fully in this consultative engagement and to engage…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za Nampak has been granted a reprieve from its lenders from further asset disposals or a capital raise until June 30, 2022, due to improved trading conditions at the packaging group. In terms of funding agreements negotiated in September last year, the groups debt funders had required interest-bearing debt to be reduced by R1 billion by September 30, 2021, through the sale of assets and/or a capital raise. The share price surged 8.9 percent to R3.67 on the JSE on Friday morning after the group’s trading update was released. The group said its lenders had provided the deferral of the milestone date, after considering Nampak’s results for the 11 months to August 30. “The restriction to reduce debt only through asset disposals and/or a capital raise…

Sakhiseni Nxumalo sakhiseni.nxumalo@inl.co.za A shortage of teachers will continue to affect KwaZulu-Natal schools in the 2022 academic year as the provincial Education Department says it lacks the funds to fill vacant posts. The department made the announcement on Friday when it was addressing the media about its financial challenges. However, it said that it had resolved to hold off on retrenchments. Last month, The Mercury reported that the department was facing budgetary constraints and that it had been instructed by the provincial treasury to reduce its headcount, which affected 6 114 workers, of which 2 300 are teachers. In addition, the department had previously revealed that there were more than 2 000 vacant posts in the province that needed to be filled. At the beginning of…

Samkelo Mtshali samkelo.thulasizwe@inl.co.za SACP general secretary Dr Blade Nzimande yesterday told members of the Tripartite Alliance that the communist party was pleased that the ruling ANC had committed itself to deal with its internal weaknesses and mistakes, build unity and pursue organisational renewal. Nzimande was delivering the keynote address at the launch of the SACP’s Red October Campaign in Inchanga. In recent years, Inchanga has been a battleground in which violent and often deadly tensions between members of the SACP and ANC have played out, with political killings emanating from the tensions, which were particularly rife in the lead-up to the 2016 local government elections. At the heart of the tensions were accusations of ANC gatekeeping, manipulation of ANC membership in accordance with factions and preventing SACP members from getting…

Errol Hicks | Hillcrest ON NOVEMBER 1, I will be making my selection of the political party upon which my fortunes for the next five years will depend. When I do this I will reflect on the “achievements” over the past 26 years of the current ruling political party in eThekwini and greater South Africa. The first thing that comes to mind, as a pensioner, is how will my financial resources cope with the extremely high medical costs prevailing in South Africa? If you look in the current Durban telephone directory, you will see that the “Medical Practitioners” section comprises two-and-a-half pages with 120 medical doctors per page – thus the total number to service eThekwini area is only 300 doctors, whereas I know that in 1997 the…

Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, MP | Founder and President Emeritus of the IFP FRIDAY’S front-page headline, “Buthelezi slams grant system” (The Mercury, October 1) was a boldfaced distortion of remarks I made at a business breakfast the previous day. The article itself proved the headline pure fiction. Under my leadership as chief minister, three decades ago, the KwaZulu government was the first to provide any kind of social grant. With so many struggling today, the grant system is unavoidable. I have never opposed it. But I know it is not sustainable. And when our failing economy inevitably collapses, our people will be left destitute. This alleged “attack on the government” upset political analyst Xolani Dube so much that he called me “disingenuous”. I was “playing politics”, he said, and…

PREPARING for Mondays, greeting them as days for new beginnings, and exciting possibilities is usually more helpful than regarding them as a drag. Here are a few things I try to do that are helpful: I try to wake up to something, some goal; therefore, I will plan my Mondays, and scan the coming week on Sunday evenings. Advanced thought leads to the completion of necessary preparation for future activities. Going to bed with a plan makes waking up a lot easier. I like to make notes to myself about how I will and will not behave. Making decisions about my own behaviour before I need them makes it easier to behave in ways that I do not later regret. This is particularly important with making promises I cannot keep…

Nomonde Zondi Nomonde.Zondi@inl.co.za THE security guard who was shot last Wednesday during a robbery at a jewellery store in the Gateway shopping centre has succumbed to his injuries. A group of robbers stormed the jewellery store and held up staff at gunpoint. Police said in a statement last week that while ​the suspects were fleeing, they came across the security guard and opened fire. At the time of the incident, Netcare 911 spokesperson Shawn Herbst said the guard had been shot in the abdomen and sustained critical injuries. Security guard Sihle Zulu, who worked for Excellerate Services, died on Friday night. Excellerate Services confirmed his death. “Tactical officer Sihle Zulu unfortunately succumbed to his wounds last night just before 8pm. He was shot on Wednesday during an armed robbery at…

Kabul: Taliban supporters and senior figures held their first mass rally near Kabul yesterday, but their show of strength was overshadowed by a bomb blast near a mosque in the Afghan capital. No foreign government has yet recognised the Islamist former rebels’ rule, though their hold on power within the country is becoming stronger, seven weeks after they took the capital. In a sign that the Taliban victory has not brought an end to violence after Afghanistan’s 20-year conflict, an explosion killed at least two civilians and wounded several more outside Kabul’s Eid Gah mosque. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid had said on Saturday that a prayer ceremony would be held at the mosque for his mother following her recent death. He made no reference to this yesterday as he tweeted…

DHAKA: Five Rohingya men have been arrested over the killing of a prominent community leader in a refugee camp in Bangladesh, police said yesterday, adding that they were probing links to a militant group. Mohib Ullah – a high-profile figurehead for the more than 800 000-strong Muslim minority who fled the Myanmar military in a mass exodus – was killed by gunmen late Wednesday in one of the sprawling camps in south-east Bangladesh. His family blamed militants from the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, a group behind several attacks in Myanmar, with activists claiming they were enraged by his growing popularity in the camps.…

Zaahier Adams zaahier.adams@inl.co.za In an uncharacteristic manner AmaZulu coach Benni McCarthy refused to discuss the controversial late penalty awarded against his team and instead focused on the splendid performance of his charges in their 1-1 draw with Kaizer Chiefs at Kings Park on Saturday. Referee Jelly Chavani, after consulting with his assistant Emmanuel De Sani, judged AmaZulu defender Mbongeni Gumede to have handled inside the box, which gave Chiefs No 10 Keagan Dolly the opportunity to level the game at 1-1 with the last kick of the match. Although McCarthy was visibly upset by the decision, the former Bafana Bafana striker refused to criticise Chavani in fear of censure from the PSL’s Disciplinary Committee. “If we talk about the officiating, then you get called to the DC, so it’s best…

COMMENT BY Wynona Louw wynona.louw@inl.co.za The Springboks’ 31-29 Rugby Championship victory over the All Blacks was a remarkable one. Not only did the win ensure that the Boks ended their Rugby Championship campaign on a high and regain some confidence ahead of the End of Year Tour, but it also snapped their three-match losing run – their first since 2016. It also ended the All Blacks' nine-game unbeaten streak and saw them return to the world No 1 ranking after the Kiwis held it for all of two weeks. There were a lot of positives from that Bok performance on the Gold Coast, and those ticks didn’t just come with the boxes you’d normally expect from the world champions. So, here are three things, from a Springbok perspective, that stood…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za FOUR OF THE gold industry’s major unions have declared a dispute with precious metals giant Sibanye-Stillwater and are frustrated the company has pleaded poverty during the 2021 wage talks given its record financial results. The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu), the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), Soli- darity and Uasa said on Friday they had rejected Sibanye’s latest wage offer charging it was substantially lower than what was agreed to with peers Goldfields and Harmony Gold Company. The unions believed the group could have tabled a better offer given that it generated a profit of R25 billion in the first half of 2021. They said the group’s offer did not resonate well with members and might lead to labour action. “As workers of this…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za Vehicle sales in September reflected growing consumer confidence and provided some reassurance for a stronger final quarter, said WesBank’s head of marketing and communication Lebogang Gaoaketse. Nevertheless, while the new vehicle market continued to recover gradually last month, the knock-on effects of the looting in July, and a cyberattack on Transnet, had a marked impact on export sales, which fell 57 percent year-on-year in September, the Automotive Business Council said on Friday. Domestic new vehicle sales increased 15.8 percent in September, to 43 130 units, compared with 37 237 vehicles sold in September 2020. Export sales fell to 16 188 units, compared with the 28 390 vehicles exported in September 2020. The new vehicle market’s recovery in September was in line…

A rare collection of sketches and paintings by American boxer Muhammad Ali – who loved to draw between fights – is going up for auction in New York next week. The 24-piece collection, many in cartoon style and some of them signed, reflect Ali’s interest in religion and social justice, but there are also some that picture him in the ring. “Ref, he did float like a butterfly and sting like a bee!” reads the speech bubble from a boxer knocked out by an opponent with his arms raised in victory. The painting, called Sting Like a Bee, was made by Ali in 1978 during filming of the historical mini series Freedom Road in which he starred, Bonhams auctioneers said. It is expected to fetch $40 000 (R594 525)-$60 000…

Yugen Moodley | Chatsworth I SEE great relief and hope for our people of South Africa, especially our Durban residents, in the upcoming local government elections. A political party by the name of ADeC is going to change the landscape of local politics whereby power to the people will be a reality now. ADeC took a drastic decision to serve our people by making its candidates sign an employment contract with its community and in the event their councillor does a “Houdini”, then the community can fire him or her. This is indeed unprecedented and I hope other political parties will do the same if they are really interested in serving people. Well done ADeC. Keep it up! Small parties can make a difference in local government and…

Dr Imran Keeka, MPL | DA KZN spokesperson on education THE DA welcomes steps taken by the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) against KwaZulu-Natal Education MEC Kwazi Mshengu – with the MEC being placed on terms to address the degrading and inhuman conditions that the province’s pupils, school staff and teachers have to endure. The move comes after the commission requested reports from provincial education departments countrywide on the source of water and type of sanitation at schools. MEC Mshengu has been placed on terms along with the MECs for Education for North West, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, the Free State and the Eastern Cape. According to the report, KZN has 983 schools which remain reliant on pit latrines. This breaks down to 389 826 pupils and 12 978 teachers…

ZELDA VENTER zelda.venter@inl.co.za WHILE unmarried fathers are now able to register their children under their surname without the mother’s consent, this does not mean they can automatically alter the details on an existing birth certificate. This is a process provided for in separate sections of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, the Centre for Child Law explained. Last month, the Constitutional Court handed down a judgment which declared Section 10 of the act invalid and not in line with the Constitution. The section previously did not make provision for a child to receive their father’s surname or details on their birth certificate without the mother’s involvement in cases where the mother is deceased, has absconded, is undocumented or cannot be located. Since then, the Centre for Child Law and Lawyers…

AS PARTIES increase the intensity of their local government election campaigns, party leaders as responsible South Africans must temper their campaign messages with the need to not be inflammatory. Intimidation of political supporters in some parts of the country is a concerning indicator of the lack of political tolerance that exists. Leaders have rightly condemned the political intolerance, but this message must filter down to all members, in all areas. Parts of the country today still bear the deep scars of political intolerance. The robustness of South African politics is undeniable, yet there always appears to be a fine line between this robust debate and the threat of violence. In recent weeks, three women were killed in a drive-by shooting outside an ANC meeting in Inanda, Durban. In the first…

North Korea has warned the UN Security Council (UNSC) of “consequences” if it continues to rely on the “brigandish approach” of the US, state media says. The Security Council held a meeting behind closed doors on October 1, following requests from the US and other countries over the recent North Korean missile launches. North Korean Foreign Ministry’s Jo Chol Su believes that the meeting was “open ignorance of and wanton encroachment” on the cou- ntry’s sovereignty and a “provocation”. Pyongyang also believes the UNSC applies double standards regarding military activities among UN member states. On October 1, North Korea test-fired a newly-developed anti-aircraft missile. Defence officials from the US, Japan, and South Korea discussed the matter. North Korea’s ambassador to the UN, Kim Song, earlier said his country was permitted…

MELBOURNE: Australia reported more than 1 900 new infections of the Delta coronavirus yesterday, health data showed, with authorities struggling to quell the outbreak in the two most populous states and cases spreading to new states. Victoria and New South Wales, which have been under lockdown for weeks, reported 1 887 cases and 13 deaths. The states are expected to open up once 80% vaccination is reached, but authorities have warned case numbers are expected to soar. “It will be hardest and most challenging time for our nurses, and ambulance workers and doctors,” Victoria premier Daniel Andrews warned yesterday.…

Stuart Hess stuart.hess@inl.co.za Proteas limited overs captain Temba Bavuma will get in touch with his Springbok counterpart Siya Kolisi soon, but doesn’t want to have an information overload ahead of his first World Cup as a player and as a captain. The Proteas party, including 11 players along with the management, departed for Dubai yesterday, where they will spend six days in quarantine before being allowed out train. They will be joined at different stages by the seven players, who are currently playing in the IPL. “I’ll touch base with him over the next couple of days when things have settled, especially on his side,” Bavuma said yesterday of Kolisi. However, the Proteas skipper doesn’t want to be overwhelmed with info either. Being his first World Cup, he wants to…