Table of contents for 2021-10-07 in Mercury

Nomonde Zondi Nomonde.Zondi@inl.co.za A La Mercy man has spoken of the ordeal his family went through yesterday after he received a call that his pregnant wife and mother-in-law were trapped in their house due to a mudslide caused by heavy rain. Matthew Cooper said he was extremely worried when his wife, Natalie, called him to tell him they were trapped. Natalie and her mother, Saroj Naidoo, were rescued by emergency services yesterday morning. They were not injured. Cooper said the mudslide came after a nearby house partially collapsed last month after a stormwater pipe burst in heavy rains. “When that house collapsed, I was in my yard with a spade trying to free my vehicles because that mud was washing away through my yard. From then it rained a few…

Mayibongwe Maqhina mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za AUDITOR-GENERAL (A-G) Tsakani Maluleke has made damning findings against the Department of Defence for incurring irregular expenditure to the tune of R2.1 billion, in the 2020/21 financial year. The department obtained a qualified audit opinion because Maluleke was unable to obtain sufficient audit evidence on sensitive projects’ expenditure and related investments. “I was unable to determine whether any adjustments were necessary to sensitive projects expenditure included within the expenditure of R14.26bn and investments for special defence activities included in the investment amount of R182.16 million,” she said. Maluleke disclosed this in her 10-page audit report tabled in Parliament, along with the department’s annual report. In her report, the A-G also found that the department did not fully record irregular expenditure. “This was due to inadequate systems to…

’TWAS another cold and rainy spring evening this week that drove the St Clement’s arts soiree indoors again, but nothing could dampen the spirits as the folk were regaled with readings from Dylan Thomas and Spike Milligan, interspersed with folk music by Rick and Gill Andrew. The readings were by soiree doyen (and retired drama prof) Pieter Scholtz, actress Jane Ross and Nick Kightley, the absorbing quirkiness of Welsh poet Thomas followed by the lunacy of Milligan in his novel Puckoon, set of course in ould Ireland. You could dip into Puckoon anywhere and get a laugh. The chapter chosen was where leading character The Milligan is berating the author for giving him a pair of skinny white legs. Lovely stuff! Puckoon, set in the time of the partitioning of…

FAROUK ARAIE | Benoni THE next chief justice will be decided soon. Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has the superb qualities to be our legal supremo. He is known to capture the people’s imagination like no other chief justice before him. He has spawned a fan following that could be the envy of a rock star or a screen diva. Justice Zondo has litigated in cases which set the architecture of safeguarding the Constitution from desecration. As an eminent jurist and a distinguished judge, his legal career can be characterised as one that is a commitment to ideals and a dedication to purpose and service. His numerous judgments are uniform and scholarly, meticulously researched and carefully reasoned. His decisions demonstrated that he protected the constitutional rights of any…

| Reuters A cloth sheet used to shield part of the Helags glacier in northern Sweden over the summer saved at least 3.5 metres in height from melting, according to organisers of the private initiative, the first of its kind in Scandinavia. Global warming is causing glaciers to shrink across the world. The glacier on Sweden’s highest mountain, Kebnekaise, has lost 2m in height over the past year. The experiment was performed on the Helags glacier, on Sweden’s highest mountain south of the Arctic Circle. “We covered a small part of the glacier with a wool and corn starch sheet just to see if we could get the snow and ice to melt a little less than normal,” co-instigator Erik Huss said. “This sheet actually protected 3.5m to…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za STAFF members in the Msunduzi Municipality waste management unit could be back at work by today. But that is dependent on how negotiations with management over the workers’ grievances proceed. The Mercury reported yesterday that the workers, who have stayed away from work since Monday, had been scheduled to return to work yesterday. But by the afternoon they had not returned to duty and were at the municipality’s stores, collecting new uniforms. The stay-away left rubbish piling up in the city’s streets, and this left Pietermaritzburg residents fuming. The workers had complained about old and torn uniforms, saying they had not received new uniforms since 2019. They also complained about job gradings, saying they were graded the lowest compared with other general workers in different departments in…

Karen Singh karen.singh@inl.co.za The eThekwini Municipality’s Bester Clinic in Ntuzuma was closed yesterday after health-care staff were robbed at gunpoint on Tuesday. Provincial police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala said that on Tuesday, at 3pm, three armed men entered the clinic and robbed the staff of cellphones. “The suspects fled on foot. No injuries were reported. The matter is still under investigation,” she said. EThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda condemned the attack on the healthcare staff. He said the culprits must be brought to book, and urged communities to protect health-care facilities as they provided an essential service. “It is disheartening that staff are working hard to meet the health-care needs of residents but are then attacked in the same communities.” The mayor said this was a planned attack on staff at…

INSTEAD of being left puzzled by the UK government’s decision to put South Africa on the red list, our country should use this as an opportunity to ramp up campaigns promoting local tourism. The move by the British government is the clearest indication that our reliance on foreign countries is not sustainable. If Germany allows for travelling between the two countries, why does the UK insist that it does not recognise vaccinated South African travellers, using the same vaccines as them, and forcing South Africans to follow strict measures including quarantining for 10 days at their own cost? Putting South Africa on the red list also means fewer travellers from the UK. Readers will recall that in almost all instances, the earliest introductions of Covid-19 (Sars-CoV-2) into individual African countries…

Ashfak Mohamed ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za AT LAST, Caster Semenya will have her say, in her own words. South Africa’s double Olympic champion in the 800m has announced that she is busy writing her autobiography, which will be published by renowned American publisher WW Norton & Company, which is based in New York. Semenya’s rise from relative obscurity in Limpopo to an 18-year-old world champion in 2009, and later claiming gold medals at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Games, is sure to be a fascinating and inspirational tale in a book titled Silence All the Noise, which was announced to American media this week, with no release date as yet. The 30-year-old has had to endure years of unfair discrimination from various quarters in athletics due to the naturally occurring testosterone…

Sibusiso Mboto sibusiso.mboto@inl.co.za Suspended Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) vice-chancellor (VC) Dr Enoch Duma Malaza says he will challenge the decision taken by the institution’s council to force him to retire this year, two years before the end of his contract. Malaza was appointed in May 2018, and his five-year contract was supposed to end in 2023. He has been on suspension since April 2020 over allegations of corruption in the awarding of contracts at the institution, a move that he says was a council witch-hunt. Malaza confirmed this week that he had received correspondence from the council informing him about the decision to have him retire at the end of the year. “I was really surprised by the move from the council, but I am not accepting it,” a…

EBRAHIM ESSA | Durban One thing that has not evolved is the constant, traditional war between the virtual, intangible concepts of absolute truth and damning lies. The current debate in all media over anti-Covid-19 vaccines is just one such example. Even as a child, I recall some episodes that were not only boggling to my infant mind, but also extremely confusing. One of my cousins was suffering from severe asthma, but my aunt came from a family that did not believe in modern medicine or even hospitalisation. My Dad threatened to obtain a court order to get the child admitted, probably assisting to get a life saved. Once, I happened to be reading a book, published by some church organisation, entitled: Evolution. Fact or Theory? This was in…

KEN CRITCHLOW | Kloof THERE was a time when I enjoyed reading Duncan du Bois. But his obsession with the Covid-19 vaccinations have now become boring. His last four letters published by The Mercury have given a million reasons why people should not get vaccinated. It’s obvious that he does not want an injection against Covid-19, and that is his right, there’s no need to try to belittle people like Penny de Vries for her opinions. You certainly have had your fair share of space, Mr Du Bois, stating your case against vaccination, I think it’s now time you got on with your life and let others decide for themselves.…

What sort of world do I want to live in? Can “little me” do anything to improve things? Do you despair, and then say: “I don’t care anyway”? Or are you not sure your vote counts? “We can’t trust politicians”, is your sorry excuse? Or, like most of us, do you still hope your vote might matter? Yes? This is how I ask myself the big “cross” question. As a responsible citizen, I ask: “How can I decide where to put my cross on November 1?” I think: what do I want? Fairness, justice, equality, regardless of race? Such big asks! Hang on! This next election is a local one. The focus here is on getting better all-round service delivery from our local municipality, via ward councillors. Much research in…

Zelda Venter zelda.venter@inl.co.za THE International Commission of Jurists has welcomed the decision by the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria which has paved the way for people with visual impairment and other disabilities to access literary works in readable format. The commission participated as a third party in the case of Blind SA against the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition. The NGO, which works to improve the quality of life of visually impaired people, was represented by Section27. It challenged the constitutionality of South Africa’s Copyright Act on the grounds that it violated the constitutional rights of visually impaired persons, including rights to dignity and equality. “Equal access to reading materials is a fundamental human right. The Copyright Act not only violates the various constitutional…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za COMPLAINTS by residents about excessive and incorrect billing could soon be a thing of the past if the eThekwini Municipality’s new smart meter system launched yesterday delivers as expected. The municipality has launched a new smart meter system that aims to address complaints by residents, including incorrect billing for services. The smart meters will, for the moment, be focused on water and electricity, but will later be expanded to cover other municipal services. Yesterday, eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda said the system was a first in the province and the country. The technology has been described as a smart meter due to its ability to communicate information without a person needing to read it. The meter gathers readings of used services, whether they are for water or electricity.…

It’s time to rethink what ‘representation’ means for us all IS IT really so radical to say let’s vote for independent candidates because political parties aren’t fit for purpose? From Manguzi in KwaZulu-Natal to Alexander Bay in the Northern Cape, municipal councillors are there to represent all the people, not only political party members who, in most cases, take the first step to nominate them for election. Now that we have seen the faces of political party and independent candidates, it’s time to rethink what “representation” means for us all and give independent candidates a chance on November 1. More people are beginning to see it. Not clearly, but something is coming into view. When independent candidates make up a historically significant number of the approximately 100 000 candidates contesting…

Former West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding has said that England’s decision to cancel its short tours to Pakistan amounted to “Western arrogance”. England’s men’s and women’s white-ball teams were due to tour this month, but the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) pulled out of both because of concerns over “mental and physical well-being”. “The ECB statement doesn’t wash with me. No substance,” said Holding, who played 60 Tests and 102 one-day internationals in his glittering career. “Nobody wants to come forward and face up to anything, because they know what they did was wrong. So, they put out a statement and hid behind a statement. “It just reminds me of the rubbish they did with #BlackLivesMatter. What that signal sends to me is the same Western arrogance.”…

Sibusiso Mboto sibusiso.mboto@inl.co.za THE EFF in KwaZulu-Natal has instructed the DA to remove its “racist and divisive” election posters erected in Phoenix, saying the move was aimed at stoking racial tensions in the country. Vusi Khoza, EFF’s KZN chairperson, threatened to remove the controversial posters, calling them insensitive to the families that lost their loved ones during the killings in Phoenix at the height of the violent unrest and looting. The EFF was reacting to the DA election posters that have sparked a stir across the country and on social media platforms. The posters, placed next to each other, read: “The ANC called you racists” and “The DA calls you heroes”. “We are disgusted by the posters because they show a total disregard of the people that were massacred…

SIMON TIMOTHY DEHAL | Verulam The November 1 local government elections will take place nationally, and all eligible voters are respectively urged to vote. Each vote is important and matters greatly. This will be the first time such elections will be held during the Covid-19 pandemic. Voters must use wisdom, discernment and exercise due caution in making good choices as the consequences are of high importance. As a democracy, we have come a long way over two decades, but more remains to be done for the benefit of our beloved country and its diverse people. It is of paramount importance that the new municipal councillors and councils be able to execute their constitutional obligations successfully and timeously, primarily effective service delivery, good governance and clean administration, with requisite…

CHRONIC anxiety, the persistent form that cripples day-to-day functioning and is not “pinnable” on a specific situation, requires professional help. Seek it out. That said, there are a few simple (I did not say “easy”) strategies to combat distressing levels of anxiety, as described in yesterday’s column. Do a little personal searching. I think of it as an “internal Google” search. Take time aside and with pencil and paper in hand, ask and answer the questions: Where is this worrying coming from? When did it begin? If it were a river, where is its source?” Fill pages with the thoughts that follow. There is no quick fix to lurking anxieties. Writing them down and answering the questions will expose their identity and potentially loosen their hold. Write down the cut-offs…

ALEX RICE | La Lucia I am not for or against the vaccinations as such, I believe there should be freedom of choice and people should be allowed their free will to decide. I do have a question regarding a statement Dr Clark made (The Mercury, Tuesday), one which I have heard many times in the past few months: “The anti-vaccinators should stay at home because they are selfishly put ting everyone else, including health-care workers, at risk.” Surely if you are vaccinated you are safe and only the unvaccinated are at risk? However, due to the fact that the fully vaccinated can still catch and transmit Covid-19, suddenly the unvaccinated are the problem? I find the statements that the unvaccinated are the cause of the problem to…

Xolile Bhengu xolile.bhengu@inl.co.za THE Un Children’s Fund says about 65% of young people stated that they had a mental health issue but did not seek help, according to the findings from its Unicef South Africa U-Report poll. Unicef globally estimates that 13% of adolescents aged between 10 and 19 live with a diagnosed mental disorder. The Unicef SA U-Report poll received 5 500 responses, with 75% of those from young people aged up to 24 years. U-Report is a SMS platform to encourage youth participation and to help young people to have a voice on issues that matter to them and to access information, tools and services to influence positive social change. It said more than a quarter of respondents didn’t think their mental health problem was serious enough to…

Loyiso Sidimba loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za THE Electoral Court is tomorrow expected to hear ActionSA’s bid to force the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) to include the party’s name on the ballot paper for the municipalities where it is contesting. ActionSA has candidates in six municipalities across the country – Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, eThekwini, Newcastle and KwaDukuza – but only its logo and not its name appears on the ballot paper prepared for the November 1 local government elections. The party is taking the IEC to the Electoral Court in Mangaung on an urgent basis to overturn the commission’s decision to exclude its name from the ballot paper. In papers filed in the Electoral Court, ActionSA wants the IEC’s decision to exclude the party from the 2021 municipal elections ballot paper to…