Índice para 2022-01-20 em Cape Times

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za The INDEPENDENT Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA) said that it had independently conducted investigations and taken disciplinary action on the misdemeanours of two SAA IRBA members before the release of the first part of the Zondo Commission report on state capture. In a statement yesterday, the IRBA said all SAA matters were fully investigated during the 2017 to 2019 years, and findings of its probes had been through all the appropriate committee structures within the organisation. “On audit-related matters, the individual joint auditors were found guilty on five charges. Both respondents accepted monetary sanctions determined by the IRBA. “On non-audit related complaints, one of the respondents opted not to accept the monetary sanction and this matter has been referred for a disciplinary hearing. This matter is on…

Chrissy Teigen has expressed her frustration at her acne taking “forever” to heal. The 36-year-old model shared her dissatisfaction about the “three angry little b*******” on her face that won’t budge on her Instagram Story on Monday. The mother-of-two – who has Luna, five, and Miles three, with All of Me hitmaker husband John Legend – captioned a close-up selfie: “I had 3 angry little b******* and they’re taking forever to heallll. (sic)” Teigen’s acne complaint comes after she recently documented her eyebrow transplant with her 36.6 million followers. The author heaped praise on the procedure, which involves putting hair from the “back of your head” on to the brows to create a fuller look, after years of overplucking the facial feature as a teen. She wrote: “I never wear…

Zelda Venter zelda.venter@inl.co.za IT’S second time lucky for a mother who earlier abducted her 4-year-old daughter from Europe - where she and the child’s father lived - and brought her to South Africa. The Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, last year ordered that she immediately return her daughter to Luxembourg, Europe. The mother, however, won her case on appeal before the high court. The father has now turned to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) as he wants his child to be returned. However, he also lost this round. While the court said it was not disputed that the removal of E – as the child is identified – from Luxembourg was unlawful, it was in her best interests to stay with the mother in South Africa. Experts expressed the…

Nicola Daniels nicola.daniels@inl.co.za THE hearing into the River Club redevelopment in Observatory, which includes plans for Amazon’s African headquarters on a 15-hectare parcel of ancestral indigenous land, got under way in the Western Cape High Court yesterday, where extensive arguments for the applicants were heard. The Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Indigenous Traditional Council and the Observatory Civic Association have approached the court to interdict Liesbeek Leisure Properties Trust (LLPT) from undertaking any construction which includes the proposed Amazon development. The parties are also asking the court to review and set aside decisions by the provincial department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, as well as the City’s decision to rezone the property. One of the key issues for Judge Patricia Goliath was the fact that Heritage Western Cape (HWC) was…

Siphokazi Vuso siphokazi.vuso@inl.co.za THE Beaufort West Municipality says it is ramping-up interventions to respond to incidents of robberies and attacks on truck drivers passing through the town. This as several long-distance truck drivers said they were targeted and robbed on numerous occasions when stopping or passing through. South African Long Distance Drivers editor Afzal Hamed said he receives complaints from truck drivers on a regular basis. “Beaufort West is very hard on truck drivers. Even the lay-bys outside the town are dangerous to stop at; truckers stop to stretch their legs and have been assaulted there and robbed. “Just this week a convoy of trucks was robbed. “Police were called and they never came. One of the truckers had to hook off his trailer and had to go to the…

Mava Scott READING the editorial opinion of the Pretoria News and other sister publications in the Independent Group stable, “Concerns Over State Security Agency” (Wednesday, January 19, 2022), I could help not but remember the words of the Polish aphorist and poet, Stanislaw Jerzy Lec, when he said: “Believers believe in resurrection, atheists only in comebacks.” Several others have also cast aspersions on the president’s decision to assume political responsibility for the control and direction of civilian intelligence services. Some have far-fetched suspicions that the president may be on a mission to “turn (the agency) into a private army to serve the interests of a few while the country is left vulnerable”. One is then left to wonder, is this a case of the proverbial believers who have faith in…

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday that Russia could launch a new attack on Ukraine at “very short notice” as he met the country’s president on the first leg of a new diplomatic push to avert war. Russia said tension around Ukraine was increasing and it was still waiting for a written US response to its sweeping demands for security guarantees from the West. The pessimistic statements highlighted the gulf between Washington and Moscow as Blinken gears up for a meeting with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov tomorrow that a Russian foreign policy analyst called “probably the last stop before the train wreck”. Blinken told diplomats at the US embassy in Kyiv that a Russian build-up of tens of thousands of troops near the Ukrainian border was…

The topic of fighting against Covid-19 has dominated the Davos Agenda 2022 of the World Economic Forum (WEF), with participants across the world calling for vaccine equity and international co-operation to tame the spread of the virus. The contagious Omicron variant and the reintroduction of national lockdowns, travel bans and quarantines globally have “reinforced the uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic,” the Geneva-based forum said on its website. The five-day online event, which kicked off on Monday, provides an opportunity for world leaders, CEOs and experts to reflect on the state of the world and shape solutions to critical challenges in the year ahead, the WEF said. In his special address at the WEF virtual session on Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for solidarity and co-operation of the international community…

HARARE: Rehabilitation of the Kariba Dam wall, to boost power generation by the Zambian and Zimbabwean power utilities, is expected to be completed by the end of the month, the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) said. During the 4th quarter of last year, ZRA asked the Zambia’s power utility Zesco Limited and the Zimbabwe Power Company to reduce power generation levels to six hours on selected dates, to facilitate coffer dam construction works, Xinhua news agencies reported. ZRA said the remaining rehabilitation works would not result in the two utilities reducing generation levels at their respective Kariba power stations.…

Washington: Scientists at Nasa’s Curiosity rover have found a type of carbon that on Earth is associated with biological processes from several powdered rock samples collected from the surface of Mars. While the finding is intriguing, it doesn’t necessarily point to ancient life on Mars. “We’re finding tantalisingly interesting things on Mars, but we would need more evidence to identify life,” said Paul Mahaffy, the principal investigator of the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) chemistry lab aboard Curiosity until retiring. “We’re looking at what could have caused the carbon signature we’re seeing, if not life.”…

Wynona Louw wynona.louw@inl.co.za SPRINGBOK Sevens coach Neil Powell says he is looking forward to seeing Mfundo Ndhlovu do his thing on the circuit after injury disappointments kept him sidelined. While the 24-year-old started his Blitzbok career in 2018, his unfortunate run of injuries has limited the time he has been able to spend in action at major events. Last year, the outside back was ruled out of Tokyo Olympic contention after sustaining an ankle injury in the last training match before travelling to Japan. And this year, with a packed calendar that includes the World Cup Sevens, Ndhlovu will be hoping to stay off the injury path. This weekend, Ndhlovu can look forward to a fresh start after his injury-enforced absence from the pitch, quite aptly in Spain – when…

DIEKETSENG MALEKA dieketseng.maleka@inl.co.za THE WORLD’S second-largest luxury group Richemont said sales increased by nearly a third in the quarter to December, due to the rising demand for its jewellery and watches in the Americas and Europe. In a statement yesterday, the company, which is chaired by billionaire Johann Rupert, said the quarter was its fastest holiday-season sales growth in at least a decade. It said consumers spent lavishly on Cartier jewels and Chloé fashion. Richemont is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange as a primary listing, and is included in the Swiss Market Index of leading stocks. Richemont South African Depository Receipts are listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, Richemont’s secondary listing. The company’s iconic brands include Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Mont Blanc, and Piaget. According to the…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za THE hard-working 2021 matric class of Reddam House Schools, including in the Western Cape, has maintained the bar for a 100% pass rate despite another year of Covid-19 disruptions. About 411 candidates sat for their Independent Examinations Board (IEB) National Senior Certificate (NSC), and 24 pupils bagged seven or more distinctions. In Constantia, Erin Fischer, the top Reddam House achiever in the province, bagged eight distinctions. The 18-year-old said while she worked hard, she was stunned to know she made it to the IEB Outstanding Achievers list. “I am ecstatic and a little bit shocked because I did not know about being the school’s top performing pupil until teachers informed me here while fetching my statement. “I had decided with a group of my friends that we…

Siphokazi Vuso siphokazi.vuso@inl.co.za THE launch of the state-of-the-art NantSA vaccine manufacturing campus at Brackengate has been hailed as a far-reaching initiative to propel Africa into a new era of health science. President Cyril Ramaphosa and NantWorks founder and chief executive Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong cut the ribbon to officially launch the facility yesterday. Along with the Accelerate Africa’s Access to Advanced Healthcare (AAAH Coalition), the facility aims to accelerate domestic production of pharmaceuticals, biologics and vaccines that will reach patients across Africa. It is also part of a multi-billion investment by Soon-Shiong and his family in the country. With the support of the Chan Soon-Shiong Family Foundation, institutes for infectious disease and cancer centres of excellence will also be established at UCT and Wits, and the Chan Soon-Shiong Centre for Epidemic…

Rapula Moatshe rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za ESKOM’s argument that if it does not get its proposed increase the lights will go out amounts to the blackmailing of civil society. This was a view of parliamentary and energy adviser to the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), Liz McDaid. She was responding to Eskom’s proposal to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) to have electricity prices increased by 20.5% for 2022/23. Hearings into the increase are being held until tomorrow, ending in Gauteng. McDaid compiled Outa’s submission to Nersa before Friday’s deadline for public comment. She said as part of the submission that: “The rules that allow Eskom to continually apply for and receive additional tariff increases based on reasons that in general fail to stand up to scrutiny appear to civil society…

THE DA can hardly claim to be fighting ANC cadre deployment when its Western Cape Premier, Alan Winde, wants to reward disgraced former Transport and Public Works MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela with a top government post. At the expense of the public purse, Madikizela could soon become Winde’s special adviser despite the premier suspending him from his cabinet last year, just before the elections. Madikizela resigned while on suspension after it emerged that he had lied about having a degree. Some in the DA, including Madikizela himself, cried foul about this being revealed after he had made it known that he would be contesting the Cape Town mayoral position, which incumbent Geordin Hill-Lewis subsequently won. Now that the elections are over and the DA has retained the City of Cape Town,…

WASHINGTON: Major international airlines rushed to rejig or cancel flights to the United States ahead of a 5G wireless rollout yesterday that has triggered safety concerns, despite two wireless carriers saying they will delay parts of the deployment. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had warned that potential 5G interference could affect height readings that play a key role in bad-weather landings on some jets and airlines say the Boeing 777 is among models initially in the spotlight. Despite an announcement by AT&T and Verizon that they would pause the 5G rollout near airports, several airlines still cancelled flights or switched aircraft models. Late Tuesday, the FAA began updating its guidance on which airports and aircraft models would be affected, in a move expected to dramatically lessen the impact of the…

LOS ANGELES: Sidney Poitier died from a combination of heart failure, Alzheimer’s dementia and prostate cancer. The iconic actor passed away at his home in Beverly Hills on January 6, at the age of 94, and his cause of death has now been revealed. The official death certificate – which has been obtained by TMZ – also confirmed his occupation. Sidney was the first black winner of the Best Actor Oscar for his work on Lilies of the Field, and his death was announced by Fred Mitchell, the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Bahamas.…

More than 100 millionaires made an unusual plea on Wednesday: “Tax us now.” Their appeal came as a study backed by wealthy individuals and non-profits found that a wealth tax on the world’s richest people could raise $2.52 trillion per year – enough to pay for Covid vaccines for everyone and pull 2.3 billion people out of poverty. In an open letter to the World Economic Forum’s online Davos meeting, 102 millionaires, including Disney heiress Abigail Disney, said the current tax system is unfair and “deliberately designed to make the rich richer”. “The world – every country in it – must demand the rich pay their fair share,” the letter says. “Tax us, the rich, and tax us now.” Their plea follows a report by global charity Oxfam this week…

JAKARTA: A prominent member of an Indonesian militant group blamed for the deadly 2002 Bali bombings was jailed for 15 years yesterday for withholding information about jihadist networks and harbouring an extremist, his lawyer said. Aris Sumarsono, better known as Zulkarnaen, was a former military commander in Jemaah Islamiah, a Southeast Asian jihadist network with ties to al Qaeda. The 58-year-old had been on the run for almost two decades after being named as a suspect in the Bali attacks. The judge, who could not be named for security reasons , announced the 15-year jail term after the prosecution had asked for a life sentence.…

Wynona Louw WHILE the Stormers and Western Province haven’t officially split their squads for the United Rugby Championship and Currie Cup, there’s enough reason to believe that coach John Dobson won’t be holding back on his team selections for their meeting with the Bulls on Saturday (8pm kickoff). Speaking during a media briefing earlier this week, forwards coach Rito Hlungwani said that they are keen to right the wrongs of their last United Rugby Championship run-out in early December against the Lions. A big talking point whenever the Stormers and the Bulls meet will always be the set-piece battle. And given how well the Bulls have gone in that area, keeping the lid on the Pretoria unit’s set-piece expertise will naturally be one of the Stormers’ objectives. Dobson’s team will,…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE INTERNATIONAL Energy Agency (IEA) has hinted that it would be working with the South African government to develop a domestic energy policy to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2050. IEA executive director Fatih Birol yesterday said an overwhelming number of countries in the international community had been making inquiries about the organisation’s global net zero carbon emissions roadmap. “Many governments across the world, from India to Chile, from Indonesia to South Africa, many European countries are asking us to make this roadmap domestic for them,” Birol said. “We are working with those countries to prepare their domestic roadmap.” Birol was speaking at the session about navigating the energy transition at Day 3 of the virtual World Economic Forum (WEF) Davos Agenda 2022. The…

Zelda Venter zelda.venter@inl.co.za FORMER crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli and his two co-accused will have to foot the legal bill for their upcoming criminal trial. Mdluli, former supply chain manager Heine Barnard and erstwhile chief financial officer of the State Security Agency Solomon Lazarus earlier applied to the SAPS, as their former employer, to pay for their fraud, theft and corruption trial. The charges against them stem from the time that they were employed by the state – between 2008 and 2012 – and were at the helm of the police crime intelligence services. They said that the employer should thus foot their legal bill. Their trial was placed on hold for more than a year to grant them the opportunity to apply for state funding. The three were back…

Siphokazi Vuso siphokazi.vuso@inl.co.za THE axe has fallen on rapist Kannaland mayor Jeffrey Donson and his deputy, fraudster Werner Meshoa, after opposition parties removed them through a motion of no confidence during a council meeting yesterday. The motion against Donson follows a letter from Rodge Albertus of the Kannaland Independent Party (KIP), which stated that Donson had received negative publicity nationally and internationally that had “directly impacted, and still impacts, on his suitability as a public representative and figure of the Kannaland Municipality and the community”. Donson, however, will still hold a position as ward councillor representing the Independent Civic Organisation of South Africa (Icosa) in Kannaland Municipality. Reacting to his removal, Donson told the Cape Times it was the “DA and ANC councillors that had removed three of the party’s…

Government’s response to recent lawlessness was weak and lethargic THE term lawlessness is often used as an idiomatic catchphrase to describe general chaos and disorder. Many do not appreciate the term as an analytical tool, useful in understanding the structures and sub-structures of society. Lawlessness denotes a state of disorder within society that is fundamentally driven by a disregard of the law. Images of Parliament burning, due to a suspected arson attack, were highly disturbing and should be ringing major alarm bells over South Africa’s interest in the affairs of the state. In the grander scheme of things, the incident must be understood in the context of declining law and order in South Africa. Commentary in the coming months will probably be dominated by discussions about the cost of rebuilding…

The leader of a banned Nigerian separatist movement pleaded not guilty to eight new charges that include terrorism and incitement yesterday as his defence sought the dismissal of the case, arguing that it lacked merit. Nnamdi Kanu, leader of Indigenous People of Biafra, previously entered a not-guilty plea to seven charges including terrorism and knowingly broadcasting falsehoods on October 21. This week, state prosecutors added eight more charges to Kanu, 54, who is a British citizen. Most of the charges are linked to broadcasts he made between 2018 and last year. His lawyers say the new charges are meant to prolong his detention. “We are further asking that the defendant should be discharged and acquitted as there is nothing in this charge. It has no basis at all,” Kanu’s lead…

Kabul: The Taliban’s prime minister called yesterday on Muslim nations to be the first to officially recognise the Afghan government that seized power in August. “I call on Muslim countries to take the lead and recognise us officially. Then I hope we will be able to develop quickly,” Mohammad Hassan Akhund told a conference in Kabul to address the country’s massive economic crisis. No country has yet recognised the Taliban government, with Western nations watching to see how the hardline Islamists – notorious for human rights abuses during their first stint in power between 1996 and 2001 – will rule this time. But nations face the delicate task of channelling aid to the stricken economy without propping up the regime, with many members of what the Taliban call their interim…

Madrid: SIX people were killed and several injured in a fire at a retirement home early yesterday in Valencia, eastern Spain, the country’s emergency services said. The fire broke out at about 11.21pm local time, forcing the evacuation of 70 residents, Xinhua news agency reported. Firefighters found six bodies, while 11 people were taken to hospital because of smoke inhalation. By the time the firefighters arrived at the residence, the fire was fully developed, affecting one wing of the building, Spanish news agency EFE reported, adding that the fire was contained at about 1.20am yesterday.…

Buenos Aires: Up to 2 000 trucks are backed up at Argentina’s main border crossing with Chile due to tougher Covid-19 testing requirements, Argentine haulers said on Tuesday. Some 900 trucks a day usually pass through the Christ Redeemer crossing from the Argentine province of Mendoza into Chile. But those have been backed up for two days due to tougher health controls imposed on Argentine haulers by Chile. “At any moment the supply chain is going to break. It’s not a funnel, it’s a plug. Effectively, the border is closed,” Daniel Gallart, from the Mendoza truck owners’ association, told AFP.…

Mihlali Baleka mihlali.baleka@inl.co.za The battle lines between the top three – Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns – should have long been drawn for the signature of Tebogo Mokoena by now. But Sundowns appear to be all but unchallenged – as always. In the past few weeks reports have been rife, insisting that the Brazilians have tabled an offer to their rivals SuperSport United for Mokoena, while Chiefs, on the other hand, are said to be keen on signing Sipho Mbule from the Tshwane giants. But every Chiefs supporter – or outsider – will tell you that it’s, in fact, Mokoena that Chiefs need – and not Mbule. Sure, the two have played together since their junior days but they are unique in their own way. Mbule is very…