Table of contents for 2023-07-06 in Mercury

THE SOUTH African Institution of Civil Engineering has appointed Sekadi Phayane-Shakhane as its new CEO, effective from July 1, 2023. With a seasoned professional career, including as the MD of Refilwe Engineering Solutions, and non-executive director at Gateway Airports Authority, “she brings a wealth of experience, with a remarkable career in transportation planning and engineering, coupled with her impressive academic qualifications,” a statement said yesterday. “My vision for the institution is to foster collaboration, innovation, and inclusivity within the civil engineering community. “Together, we can drive positive change, address societal challenges, and enhance the profession's impact on South Africa's development,” Phayane-Shakhane said. | Edward West…

CONDITIONS for the El Niño weather pheno- menon had developed in the tropical Pacific for the first time in seven years, probably leading to a rise in global temperatures and disruptive weather and climate patterns, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) warned on Tuesday. “The onset of El Niño will greatly increase the likelihood of breaking temperature records and trig- gering more extreme heat in many parts of the world and in the ocean,” the organi- sation’s secretary-general, Petteri Taalas, was quoted as saying in a WMO statement. He said the WMO’s declaration of El Niño was a signal to governments across the world to prepare to mitigate the phenomenon’s impact on health, ecosystems and econo- mies. “Early warnings and anticipatory action of extreme weather events associ- ated with this…

SENTIMENT in the manufacturing sector in South Africa has ticked up on the back of improved electricity supply in June, in spite of activity contracting for the fourth consecutive month. This comes as the S&P Global South Africa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) remained in contractionary territory in June as it posted below the 50 point neutral mark for the fourth month in a row. S&P yesterday said the PMI – a composite gauge designed to give a single-figure snapshot of operating conditions in the private sector economy – edged up from 47.9 points in May to 48.7 points in June. According to S&P, South African companies signalled an improvement in the performance of supply chains at the end of the first half of the year. This was…

AMERICAN Swiss, a distributor of precious stones and metals, said yesterday the diamond industry has undergone a significant transformation with the emergence of lab-grown diamonds. The diamonds are created in a laboratory environment using technological processes that mimic the formation of natural diamonds. American Swiss produces costume jewellery, watches, clocks, and silverware including platinum, white and tallow gold, solver, diamonds, amethyst, topaz, and garnet. The company operates in South Africa. Head of design and innovation at TFG Jewellery, Shelley Wilkinson-Rorich, said the process for creating lab-grown diamonds is renewable and sustainable and will contribute towards preserving the world’s natural resources. “Lab-grown diamonds are grown in a controlled setting, ensuring transparency and traceability throughout the supply chain,” she said. She said lab-grown diamonds are virtually indistinguishable from their natural counterparts and…

LAST YEAR WAS my first time at the Durban July, an event I have always deemed to be for the who’s-who in the entertainment industry, other high-profile celebs and wealthy horse breeders. A few days prior, I mentioned to my dad that I was going. He had never heard of it – and when I mentioned horse racing, he was perplexed, asking if I was racing or betting. I allayed his fears, informing him that I would just be a spectator in a demarcated area, networking with my peers. He still could not comprehend the concept of betting on horses. At my second attendance at the July a few days ago, I discovered that the celebs started designing their outfits months ahead. I’ve worn my current outfit once – and…

ELEVEN trillion US dollars (R205.5trln). That was the amount spent by governments across the world in 2018 to purchase public goods and services. Public money, raised through taxes and duties and distributed through contracts with private sector com- panies, is $11trln of a global gross domestic product (GDP) of nearly $90trln. In South Africa, public procurement spending was R926 billion in 2018, according to the National Treasury; that represents 20% of the country’s GDP. In addition to securing value for money and procuring public goods and services that best meet the needs of the people, procurement spending is an instrument by which the government can provide opportunities to expand the market place and advance equality and social justice. And, given the amounts involved, a very powerful instrument. A recent…

The three people, seen on a video being assaulted by police officers, are members of the SANDF according to a union. The South African National Defence Union (Sandu) said in a statement that the three were SANDF members. “The victims were en route from Johannesburg to Pretoria when a black SUV appeared next to their vehicle, and one of the occupants of the SUV was pointing a firearm at the victims’ vehicle,” said Sandu national secretary-general, Pikkie Greeff. Greeff said one of the victims was a member of the union, while two others were still military trainees. “The victims’ vehicle was subsequently boxed in by more SUVs and forced to the left side of the N1 highway. The occupants of the SUV exited their vehicles, surrounding the victims’ vehicle, and…

I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the recent incident of police brutality perpetrated by members of the SAPS VIP protection unit attached to Deputy President Paul Mashatile. The actions taken against innocent civilians are reprehensible and should be strongly condemned. I wish to commend politicians, civil rights groups and Mashatile for their prompt response in calling for action to be taken against the policemen involved. There are calls for them to be arrested and charged for attempted murder. It is heartening to see that the national police commissioner has already begun the process of suspending the officers responsible. Such decisive action is essential in preserving the public's trust and ensuring justice prevails. What struck me most about this incident is the pivotal role played by an unnamed…

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has been ordered to pay a R5 million fine following its failure to comply with an enforcement notice after contravening the Protection of Personal Information Act (Popia). This after the department suffered a security compromise on its IT systems in September 2021, leading to its systems being unavailable to employees and affecting services to the public. The regulator conducted an assessment after the data breach and found the department had failed to put in place adequate technical measures to monitor and detect unauthorised exfiltration of data, resulting in the loss of approximately 1 204 files. The assessment also found the department failed to renew its Security Incident and Event Monitoring (SIEM) licence which would have enabled it to monitor unusual activity and keep…

The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has ruled that student accommodation does not constitute a “home” and as such the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from Unlawful Occupation of Land Act (PIE) does not apply to it. The SCA ruling set aside a 2021 Western Cape High Court judgment in favour of 90 Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) students in a case which had been brought by the owner of a student residence, known as New Market Junction. The students had been allocated accommodation by CPUT in the residence until the end of November 2020, but when CPUT gave them notice to vacate within 72 hours of their last exam of the 2020 academic year, they refused to budge. The owner of the property approached the high court, wanting the…

The SANDF deployed under Operation Corona on the borders of the country has seized contraband worth millions of rand and recovered stolen vehicles. The SANDF said that in June, successful anti-illegal immigration and anti-crime operations were carried out. Arrests were made at several border posts including at the Mpumalanga border post with Mozambique, Free State and Lesotho, Limpopo and Zimbabwe and the KwaZulu-Natal border posts with Mozambique and eSwatini. In Mpumalanga, soldiers confiscated drugs valued at R1.6 million and contraband goods valued at R70 300, while 205 alleged undocumented persons were apprehended and 19 alleged criminals were arrested. In the Free State, six undocumented people and one criminal were arrested. Narcotics valued at R337 500, a water truck valued at R2m, and contraband valued at R19 000…

THE Department of Public Service and Administration has urged departments to implement contingency measures to ensure essential services are not impacted during Cosatu’s nationwide strike. Trade union federation Cosatu and affiliates will take to the streets today to protest against a number of socio-economic issues hurting workers, and to call for the creation of decent sustainable jobs and prevention of corruption and crime. Cosatu also wants the high interest rates to be reduced and speedy implementation of the Zondo Commission’s recommendations. Cosatu’s Malvern de Bruyn said this was a protected strike, and a Section 77 strike certificate had been issued by the National Economic Development and Labour Council, guaranteeing all workers protection if they joined the strike. “Regard this strike as just a first warning of more mass action to…

Last month, the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill was passed by the South African National Assembly. From there, the Bill will be sent to the National Council of Provinces and if also passed there, it will be signed into law by the President. This process may, however, still take years to complete. The provision of universal access to healthcare has long been envisioned by not only the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa which states in section 27 that everyone has the right to have access to healthcare, but also by the National Health Act of 2003 which in its Preamble declare an aim of the Act as providing for a framework for a structured uniform health system within the Republic. The NHI Bill is the manifestation of this…

FRENCH President Emmanuel Macron’s government faced a backlash yesterday after the centrist leader called for powers to “cut off” social media in case of widespread violence like riots over the past week. “We have to think about the social networks, about the bans we’ll have to put in place. When things get out of control, we might need to be able to regulate or cut them off,” Macron said. Macron and his ministers have singled out platforms like Snapchat, TikTok and encrypted messenger Telegram for their role in spreading images of the nights of violence following the June 27 police shooting of a 17-year-old teenager, Nahel M. “This is worrying, when we reach the point of saying the only solution is cutting off social networks, you ask yourself what point…

Ulaanbaatar: Hundreds of people in Mongolia’s capital have fled their homes as heavy flooding inundated basement apartments, with authorities placing the city on high alert yesterday. Swathes of Asia have been hit by extreme weather that scientists say has been exacerbated by climate change, with over a dozen killed by heavy rain in China since Monday. Heavy rains have inundated rivers, flooding basement apartments and trapping cars. Residents living near the river Selbe said they had been working to boost the height of a local dam and stem rising waters caused by heavy rain. The rain is set to continue for another two days, officials said. | AFP…

KRAMATORSK: The Kremlin said yesterday that Ukraine was preparing an attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Russia-occupied territory, raising fears of a disaster as each side accuses the other of sabotage at the facility, which Moscow’s forces control. Ukrainian officials have warned that Russia has planted explosives around the plant’s nuclear reactors and has mined its cooling pond. Ukrainian officials have said the odds of an accidental release of radiation at the Zaporizhzhia plant have increased since the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, an act that Kyiv has blamed on Russian forces. Russia yesterday blamed the destruction of the dam on Kyiv. | Washington Post…

THE ZIMBABWE Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) recently announced the end of load shedding after revealing that the nation’s power plants are now generating sufficient electricity to fulfil the needs of both domes- tic and industrial consumers, with minimal reliance on imports. Zesa expressed that the enhanced power generation capacity has resulted in a substantial reduction in load shedding throughout the country. This news was welcomed by the business sector which can now effectively plan operational schedules and ensure uninterrupted in- dustrial processes. The improved electricity supply is expected to contribute to smoother industry outcomes and foster a more conducive environment for economic growth. Zesa attributed the end of load shedding to the successful implementation and completion of expansion projects for Units 7 and 8 at the Hwange Thermal Power…

MULTICHOICE, which is banking on economic and monetary policy reforms in Nigeria to offset exchange rate losses, considers Zimbabwe an important market that is better than its West African counterpart in terms of repatriation of earnings. The JSE-listed pay-television and streaming firm’s rest of Africa segment swung back to profitability in the full year to the end of March. Its share price on the JSE has, however, been trending down, after JP Morgan Chase revised its rating from neutral to underweight. The Multichoice share price shed 2.5% in yesterday’s JSE session while it is down by 11% and 29% in the past seven days and in the year to date respectively. On Tuesday, Multichoice plunged by about 12% on the JSE after the announcement of its downgrade by JP Morgan…

THE NATIONAL Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) announced that it secured an above-inflation wage increase of 8% across the board for all workers at Gautrain. In a statement, the union said currently the Consumer Price Inflation is at 6.3%. The Gautrain is South Africa’s first high-speed railway system linking major hubs in and around Johannesburg and Pretoria. The train, which travels at speeds of up to 160km/h, transports about 40 000 passengers per day. The Gautrain bus transports about 12 000 passengers daily. “The union has been engaged in wage talks with Gautrain management since April this year, and we deadlocked in June. “Our members balloted for a strike on Friday, but fortunately, management requested a meeting over the weekend and made an offer to settle…

ANCHOR Capital has launched a fund that invests in agricultural businesses, the Anchor Ndalo Fund, which hopes to raise up to R1.5 billion from institutional investors and ensure the sustainability of the fund by owning as much as possible of the superfoods value chain. The fund would invest in diverse businesses in the horticulture sector, a statement from the company said yesterday. Anchor Group chairperson Mike Teke said: “I am expanding my footprint in investing in food security through agriculture and the Anchor Ndalo Agri Fund is one of the many ways I wish to invest in food security for humanity into the future.” By integrating businesses that comprise the horticulture value chain, the fund aimed to lower investment risk for investors and increase the profitability of the blended…

NONJABULO Sikhakhane launched a financial literacy start-up the same year she completed her MBA – right after the height of the pandemic. As a black woman with an innovative business idea, it hasn’t been easy to establish herself as an entrepreneur, but she’s learned some valuable lessons along the way and is spreading the gospel of better money management and start-up savvy. As a young black woman trying to make it with her own start-up, Nonjabulo Sikhakhane, 33, admits that people often question her when she talks business. “I usually encounter two kinds of stereotyping,” she says. “Firstly, on account of being a woman and then, also because I am black. I feel as if I have to prove myself constantly.” But having an MBA next to her name has…

Anticipated changes to the employment equity landscape have been prominent in 2023. The settlement agreement concluded in the CCMA between Solidarity and the Minister of Employment and Labour on 28 June 2023 must be considered in context to determine whether it changes anything for designated employers in South Africa. It is useful to view the legislative developments over the past five years to appreciate where the contents of the settlement agreement come from and then cast a view forward to determine its practical implications. When the Employment Equity Amendment Act (Amendment Act) was first published as a draft bill in 2018, draft regulations (2018 draft regulations) were published for public comment alongside it. Nothing more came of the 2018 draft regulations since, leaving the status of those regulations in question.…

THE South African Local Government Association (Salga) has revealed that 39 councillors have died in KwaZulu-Natal in the past 10 months – 17 of them were assassinated. The most recent assassination was that of IFP councillor Innocent Mkhwanazi of the uMkhanyakude District Municipality, who was gunned down on Monday. Thami Ntuli, chairperson of KZN Salga, said the organisation was appalled by the recent wave of killings. “Just last week, on Tuesday, the ACDP PR councillor in the City of uMhlathuze Municipality, councillor JF Myaka, was shot while delivering a sermon to his congregants at his church in eNseleni, Richards Bay. Shockingly, less than a week later on Monday, K Mkhwanazi, was also assassinated, while his bodyguards were injured.” Francois Rodgers, leader of the DA in KZN, said the party would…

Trust is an individual pursuit. The journey begins with being the kind of person others are willing to trust. How to recognise if someone is worthy of trust: He can be trusted with information; however, he does not pry into, or invade your life. His questions reflect concern, not curiosity. He is as willing to speak about his own life as he is to hear about your life. He does not need access to the details of your life and is quite comfortable if you say that you are not ready to talk about something. She is helpful when you have requested her insights but resists giving you advice. She has a diverse circle of friends. She takes responsibility for her life and lives without blaming others for who and…

The incident on the N1 in Gauteng involving gratuitous and flagrant violence by the so-called blue light brigade against apparent civilians has raised the ire and condemnation by the nation. While the video that has gone viral reveals a one-sided attack, one has to allow due process to take its course, but the prima facie evidence as exhibited in the video clearly suggests these road-hogs masquerading as some kind of law unto themselves, have committed acts of criminality – and cannot be left unchecked or punished. It is not uncommon to witness these road bullies, who gain some adrenalin rush, thrusting their self-inflated egos to a level that they believe gives them unconditional immunity from obeying the laws of the road and in the process endangering the lives of innocent…

The R10 billion in bailout funds previously given to the South African Post Office (Sapo) was used for its operations and debts instead of going towards a turnaround strategy. Yet, Sapo is poised for yet another bailout after it was provisionally liquidated earlier this year when it failed to pay some creditors. Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Mondli Gungubele said: “The past funding allocations, which were intended to invest in the turnaround strategy, ended up being depleted by operations and debts. No one was brought to book for the non-investment of monies to implement a turnaround.” Gungubele said the funds were utilised for operating activities, repayment of loans and creditors. “The situation was exacerbated by the entity’s outdated operating model with high cost structures,” he added. Gungubele was responding to…

South African Special Risk Insurance Association (Sasria), the state-owned company responsible for insuring institutions and businesses against riots and acts of terrorism, has launched a documentary about the aftermath of the July 2021 riots. It is reported that the violent civil unrest of July 2021, mainly in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, wiped billions of rand from the country’s economy and led to 354 deaths. The documentary, launched this week, comes two years after the events of July 2021, after the Constitutional Court order that former president Jacob Zuma be arrested. Sasria CEO Mpumi Tyikwe said the documentary, The Unrest, sought to explain the role Sasria played during and after the unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. “It’s a thought-provoking piece of work that captures the events of those seven days. They were…

Convicted rapists Frans du Toit and Theuns Kruger have been released on parole after serving 28 years for the brutal rape and stabbing of Alison Botha in 1994. This comes after the departments of Justice and Correctional Services confirmed their release 28 years after they were sentenced to life imprisonment. The pair raped and stabbed Botha in Port Elizabeth in December 1994. The department said their parole placement was considered in line with the Correctional Services Act. Botha is reported to have sustained 30 stab wounds to her stomach after her throat was slit. Even though she had been left for dead in the bushes, Botha miraculously survived and managed to scribble the names of her attackers in the sand before crawling to the edge of the road. In…

A QUICK glance at the low number of convictions emanating from the Independent Police Investigative Directorate’s (Ipid) investigations into the conduct of officers gives a clear picture of where the outrageous and thuggish behaviour by VIP protection unit may likely end up. Even though police management have acted quickly and issued letters of intention to suspend four of the officers, fears still remain that the case will not result in criminal convictions and dismissals. The armed officers whom we now know were part of Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s security detail were filmed assaulting a motorist and two passengers on the N1 highway in Fourways, north of Johannesburg, over the weekend. Mashatile, who was not part of the convoy, condemned the attack and pledged his support for the investigation. The…

Tuesday was the hottest day on Earth since at least 1979, with the global average temperature reaching 17.18°C, according to data from the US National Centers for Environmental Prediction. As a result, some scientists believe July 4 may have been one of the hottest days on Earth in about 125 000 years, due to a dangerous combination of climate change causing global temperatures to soar, the return of the El Niño pattern and the start of summer in the northern hemisphere. In the US, 57 million people were exposed to dangerous heat on Tuesday, according to The Washington Post’s extreme heat tracker. China was gripped by a sizzling heat wave, the Antarctic is hotter than usual during its winter, and temperatures in the north of Africa reached 50°C Tuesday’s…

Racial tensions in the Tunisian coastal city of Sfax flared into violence targeting migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, dozens of whom were forcibly evicted from the city, witnesses said yesterday. Amid the disturbances this week, police detained some and deported them as far away as the Libyan border more than 300km, according to a local rights group. The latest unrest started after the funeral of a Tunisian man who was stabbed to death Monday in an altercation with migrants, which led to the arrests of three suspects from Cameroon. Sfax, the North African country’s second-largest city, is a departure point for many migrants hoping to reach EU member Italy by sea, landing usually at the island of Lampedusa about 130km away. Hundreds of residents massed in the streets demanding the eviction…

Addis Ababa: Unknown assailants killed three senior police officers in the restive Ethiopian region of Amhara this week, officials said. Amhara has been the scene of unrest since a move by the federal government to dismantle regional forces and integrate them into the national army or regional police. Authorities said a curfew would be imposed from yesterday in Shewa Robit, which lies east of Dejen and 200km north-east of Addis Ababa. The killings follow the assassination in April of a member of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s party. Amhara nationalists accuse Abiy’s government of seeking to dismantle the region’s “special forces” in a bid to weaken it. | AFP…

England captain Ben Stokes insisted yesterday it was time “everyone moved on” from Jonny Bairstow’s controversial dismissal in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s. Australia won the match by 43 runs to go 2-0 up in the five-match series despite Stokes’ stunning 155. But his on-field heroics were overshadowed by the extraordinary fall-out from Bairstow’s unusual exit. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese have even traded verbal bouncers over the issue, which started when Bairstow was given out stumped by opposing wicketkeeper Alex Carey during what the England batsman thought was a break in play. Bairstow’s dismissal sparked a chorus of boos at a normally sedate Lord’s and led to three MCC members being suspended for allegedly abusing visiting players in the pavilion. Stokes indicated he…

Proteas white-ball coach Rob Walter will not be instructing his captains Temba Bavuma and Aiden Markram to withdraw an appeal if the wicketkeeper throws down the stumps in an attempt to dismiss a batsman at the striker’s end. A global furore broke out on the fifth and final day of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s this Sunday when Australian keeper Alex Carey gathered the ball and in one fluid motion under-armed a direct throw at the stumps after noticing England’s Jonny Bairstow had left his crease. Bairstow had evaded a bouncer from Cameron Green and simply touched the crease with his boot before moving towards his batting partner Ben Stokes in the middle of the pitch. Much to Bairstow and England’s surprise, the umpires referred the decision to South…

Hillcrest Bowling Club had reason to celebrate last week one of their members, Wayne Roberts, returned triumphant from the African States Tournament in Namibia. Roberts teamed up with Charles Matthewson from Northern Cape and Niksa Benguric from Pretoria to clinch the gold medal in the trips category with a resounding 17-10 victory in the final against Nambia. Roberts, who recently led his club’s fours side to victory in the BSA Nationals, claimed the African States Singles title, solidifying his exceptional skill and talent. The tournament followed a round robin format, requiring Roberts to face off against every singles entrant and accumulate as many points as possible. In the decisive last round, he found himself in a must-win situation to secure the gold medal. Going head-to-head against JP Fouché from…

EMIRA Property Fund has installed 16 beehives at eight of its commercial properties in Gauteng and Kwa-Zulu-Natal, and more are planned, where suitable. COO Ulana van Biljon said in a statement yesterday that the project was chosen to address the decline of global bee populations, “which contribute so much to society, as well as the biodiversity of our properties”. Bees are vital for pollinating plants, including food crops. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, a third of global food production depends on bees as pollinator. Bees are also increasingly threatened by human activity, and under grave threat from habitat loss, pesticides, air pollution and climate change. | Edward West…

THE RENEWED institutional interest in cryptocurrency sent Bitcoin (BTC) surging to a new 12-month high, with its price jumping above $31 300 in June. Although BTC lost some of its gains in the last week of the month, it still finished the first half of 2023 with an impressive 85% growth, putting it on track for its best annual performance since 2020. The world’s largest and most expensive cryptocurrency also hit an impressive trading volume in the six months of the year. According to data presented by BitcoinCasinos.com, Bitcoin’s trading volume hit more than $4.2 trillion (R78.47trln) in the first half of the year. After a significant slowdown in December 2022, the last month of one of the hardest years for the entire crypto industry, the global crypto…

WHATSAPP is used by more than a quarter of the world’s population and it has an astounding 98% open rate. A recent Mailchimp study found that the open rate of email is 21.33%. Customers’ journeys with brands are vital, and no matter where you look or which insight report you read, customer experience (CX) generally, and the ability to communicate on a platform of the customer’s choice specifically, is almost always front and centre. WhatsApp is used by more than a quarter of the world’s population and it has an astounding 98% open rate. A recent Mailchimp study found that the open rate of email is 21.33%. The power of WhatsApp is therefore abundantly clear – if you send 1 000 emails, 213 will be opened, whereas of…

OPPOSITION party councillors in eThekwini Municipality have slammed the metro for its management of the beaches after independent test results show that several Durban beaches, which are open, had very high levels of E coli last week. The councillors said the failure of the City to keep members of the public informed could lead to it facing legal action should a person fall sick as a result of swimming in contaminated water. Independent company Talbot conducted water testing of the city’s beaches and found the E coli levels to be high with “critical water quality”. The samples were collected on June 29 and the test results were posted by the company on its website on Monday. Any reading above 500 is considered critical. The readings by Talbot show that at…

EZEMVELO KZN Wildlife says the increased fencing of Hluhluwe-iMfolozi (HiP) Park will boost the protection of the Big Five in the nature reserve, while ensuring that animal and human conflict is avoided. This week, Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs MEC Siboniso Duma revealed during a portfolio committee meeting that the national Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) would fund the park’s boundary fence. While some parts of the reserve do have a fence, other parts do not, or it is damaged. Ezemvelo spokesperson Musa Mntambo said the funding would go a long way in assisting Ezemvelo to fence a larger portion of the park’s boundary. “It is critical that HiP fence is always intact as this park is the home of the Big Five,” said Mntambo yesterday. He…

The response by the national police commissioner, Fannie Masemola, to the jackboot violence meted out by so-called police officers to a motorist and his two passengers typifies what passes for justice under the ANC (The Mercury, July 5). Despite the obvious violent, criminal attack on three citizens, Masemola says the “incident” will be investigated while the thugs who perpetrated it will be suspended – presumably on full pay. And like everything else with ANC misrule, the issue will be buried by bureaucratic layers of regulations. Then at best, the thugs will be allowed to appeal against their “sentence”. The only obvious conclusion to be drawn from this arrogant abuse of power is that those so-called officers are unfit for duty as policemen and should be summarily dismissed and indicted…

The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) said yesterday that the online service for the renewal of vehicle licence discs is growing in popularity. The RTMC said the system conducted more than 50 000 transactions monthly. “The RTMC online platform is available nationally and is the only official online service where vehicle owners are able to transact directly on the Natis (electronic national administration traffic information system). This means when a vehicle owner receives confirmation that the transaction is successful, the Natis is updated immediately without use of expensive third parties.” It said the licence disc is delivered anywhere in the country within three to five working days and there is no administration fee for the use of its online services. “The only fee is the R99 courier fee which other…

With the national and provincial elections around the corner, the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has once again partnered with social media giants Google, Meta, TikTok and the non-profit organisation Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) to curb disinformation. Electoral Commission chairperson Mosotho Moepya said this framework was important because disinformation posed a threat to the exercise of various rights and access to constitutional protections, including freedom of expression, access to credible information, and the freedom to make informed political choices. “The dissemination of disinformation has huge potential to undermine the fairness and credibility of elections. Credible information is the lifeblood of all democracies. Trustworthy information is crucial in the process that enables citizens to choose their leaders,” said Moepya. According to the IEC, The Real411 digital disinformation reporting platform, which…

A TIP of R150 given to a waitress by a couple who had a meal at the restaurant where she was working, cost the waitress her job – a sanction that the Labour Court sitting in Johannesburg fully agreed with. The woman was employed at Johannesburg-based Chef’s Warehouse at Maison Estate restaurant, which had a policy that all waiters had to declare their tips so they could be shared. In this case it was claimed that the waitress, a Ms Taguzu, pocketed the R150, and that on occasions prior to this she also took other tips for herself. While she vehemently denied that she ever received the R150 tip, she told the court that she did not agree with the restaurant’s policy of shared tips. After her employer had fired…

The Wentworth Community Policing Forum (CPF) has called for more resources to deal with crime in the area. This comes after there were two shooting incidents within a week. Matric pupil Leyton Fynn, 17, was shot dead last Tuesday while walking to school to attend holiday classes. On Sunday, a man shot three people before turning the gun on himself. The police yesterday announced a breakthrough in Leyton’s murder with the arrest of 18-year-old Dondre Addison for the murder. Addison was arrested by Wentworth police on Saturday and appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on July 3 where he was remanded for a bail application set to take place tomorrow. In the other shooting, police spokesperson Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo said Wentworth police were investigating cases of murder, attempted murder and…

The Israel Defence Force (IDF) struck Gaza early yesterday after five rockets were fired towards Israeli territory from the strip, the military said, amid high tensions following a major Israeli military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin. The IDF said that its defence system had successfully intercepted the rocket launches from Gaza. In response, the IDF fighter jets hit what it claimed were underground weapons and raw materials manufacturing facilities for rockets belonging to Hamas, the militant Islamist group that rules the Gaza strip. The new strikes came hours after Israeli officials said they were withdrawing their forces from Jenin after a two-day incursion left at least 12 Palestinians dead and some 100 injured. One Israeli soldier was killed by gunfire during the military operation in Jenin, the…

TEHRAN: Iran is still meting out harsh punishments to people suspected of involvement in mass protests, including “chilling” executions, a UN fact-finding mission said yesterday. Iran was rocked by protests sparked by the death last year of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd who had been arrested for allegedly violating the dress rule for women based on Islamic sharia law. The UN said that 10 months on, the Amini family’s right to transparency around a probe into her death remained unfulfilled. Iran has said that 22 000 people have been pardoned in connection with the protests, which “suggests that many more were detained or charged”, it said. | AFP…

Reykjavik: Some 1 600 tremors have been recorded in the area around Iceland’s capital Reykjavik, signalling that a volcanic eruption could be imminent, the country’s weather office said yesterday. The Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) noted that the earthquakes began on Tuesday beneath Mount Fagradalsfjall, which rests atop a volcanic system and where two eruptions took place in the past two years on the Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland’s south-western tip. Four of the tremors had a magnitude over four, which is considered a light quake. Iceland is Europe’s biggest and most active volcanic region. | AFP…

From experience Safa officials know that when their national teams play in CAF or Fifa tournaments, their 'silly season' kicks in, and players demand more money. True to form, with the national women’s team set to fly out to New Zealand for the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup later this month, there was an outcry for more money. While this was not unusual, it was a unique situation because never has a team, regardless of gender, been assured of a R570 000 windfall just for playing in the tournament. But South Africa’s national women’s football team Banyana Banyana, with the South African Football Players Union (Safpu) in tow, demanded more money or else they would not play in a warm-up fixture. It must be said they were unhappy about facets…