Índice para 2023-02-02 em Cape Times

THE Siyathuthuka Secondary School in Newtown A, Inanda, has seven teachers teaching more than 600 pupils. Makhosi Nxele, a school governing body member, confirmed that there were more than 600 pupils at the school, but it had just seven teachers. Nxele said the governing body had raised the matter several times with the department’s circuit office. “The number of learners in this school is too big compared with the number of teachers teaching them. What bothers us is that some pupils spend the entire day learning just one subject, and that is not a good thing. We have cases where some classes have to be combined because teachers cannot teach all the classes as there is a shortage,” Nxele said. Nxele said the issue started early last year as they…

THE Police Ministry has to cough up R300 000 plus interest after a foreign national was unlawfully arrested and detained on allegations that he had produced false documentation when trying to get a new SIM card. Geophonse Mabiala, a Congolese man employed as a fire marshal on a valid asylum seeker temporary permit, was awarded the order in the Western Cape High Court. Mabiala has lived in South Africa since 2004. On June 11, 2013, he had attempted to do a SIM swap for his phone, and had gone to a SAPS kiosk to obtain an affidavit. But during this process, a SAPS officer believed Mabiala might’ve been an illegal immigrant, and the police officer wanted to verify his documentation. Mabiala discovered that he had left his permit at home.…

8-10 pieces of chicken 1 tbs cooking oil 500g red ripe tomatoes, washed, chopped or liquidised, or tin of chopped tomatoes, or use both 3 cloves of garlic, crushed 1 large onion, chopped 1 tsp salt or to taste 2-3 green chillies, chopped or more 2 tsp tomato paste 3 potatoes, peeled and sliced into quarters 2 tbs sugar or to taste Heat the oil in a big, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Sauté the onions in the oil until golden, soft and golden brown. Add the chicken pieces and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes to brown slightly. Add the chopped/liquidised tomato, garlic, salt, chillies and tomato paste and simmer a further 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook until the potatoes are soft. Add the sugar last…

AFTER a last dance together on the Artscape stage in 2019, international guest artists Vadim Muntagirov, Principal of The Royal Ballet, and Tatiana Melnik, Principal of the Hungarian National Ballet, will perform in Cape Town City Ballet’s (CTCB) spectacular production of Veronica Paeper’s “Cinderella” for three performances only. Accompanied by Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO), they will perform on Saturday February 11, Tuesday, February 14, and Friday February 17, with all performances starting at 7.30pm. The CPO will also accompany the dancers of Cape Town City Ballet at a number of other performances. “We welcome back our esteemed international guests to perform the roles of Cinderella and Prince Charming in this classic magical tale alongside the talented dancers of Cape Town City Ballet,” said Debbie Turner, chief executive of Cape…

STELLENBOSCH University (SU) is mourning the sudden death of its Council chairperson, Ainsley Moos. Moos, 45, died after anaesthetic for a minor procedure in Stellenbosch, a family spokesperson said. “The family can confirm that their beloved husband, father, brother, uncle and son – Ainsley Moos – died suddenly and unexpectedly yesterday evening (January 31) of complications following an anaesthetic for a minor procedure to his mouth at a day clinic in Stellenbosch,” the family said. Moos was a former journalist and a member of the executive team of the financial services company, African Rainbow Capital. He had served on the SU Council since 2014 and was, among others, chair of the Council’s Remuneration Committee, a member of the Executive Committee and the Human Resources Committee. He was elected deputy chairperson…

THE SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) has remained mum on its plans with Postbank, following several incidents of "system glitches" that left beneficiaries scrambling when their payments were late over the past two months. Over 4 000 grant beneficiaries were affected by late payments last month, when they attempted to withdraw money either at the ATM or retailers. In December, millions of beneficiaries using the Sassa gold card faced similar issues. Postbank said the issues in December were due to glitches in its system, and trying to prevent cyber security breaches. It said it did not anticipate challenges this month that were "within its control". "Postbank does not anticipate any challenges within our control that may impact the timeous payments of social grants during the oncoming grants payment period. The…

The daily load shedding impact on our small business has caused instability and disruption to our productivity and operations. Our company, Ntsikie Real Estate, is a 100% black, female-owned real estate agency, whose core business is selling and leasing out properties in Gauteng. I started this business after being in the property industry in Cape Town for some time. I realised that I needed to grow. I returned to Gauteng, armed with a love for the property industry ,and started my own business because there are too few black owners in this sector. I also wanted young people to become players in real estate. We mentor and train interns from intern agents to full status and, finally, to principalship. This is important because they will become players in the industry,…

Myanmar’s junta extended the country’s state of emergency by another six months, the acting president said at a leadership meeting yesterday, as people marked the anniversary of a 2021 military coup with a “silent protest”. Junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing, in a meeting this week with the army-backed National Defence and Security Council (NDSC), also said elections must be held “as the people desire”. “Although according to the section 425 of the constitution, (a state of emergency) can only be granted two times, the current situation is under unusual circumstances and it is suitable to extend it one more time of six months,” Acting President Myint Swe said. The Southeast Asian country’s top generals led a putsch in February 2021 after five years of tense power-sharing under a quasi-civilian…

MOSCOW: Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny said yesterday he had been moved to a harsher “cell-type” regime of solitary confinement for the next six months where he would be denied visits. “I haven’t had any visits for eight months and yesterday I was told that I’d be transferred to a cell-type facility for the maximum possible term of six months,” Navalny, 46, said via a Twitter feed maintained by his associates. “No visits are allowed there. This means more than a year without a visit.” His supporters say his health has deteriorated after time in solitary confinement. | Reuters…

PORT VILA: An underwater volcano off the archipelago nation of Vanuatu erupted yesterday, sending a cloud of ash 100 metres into the air and prompting officials to warn residents to stay away. Locals on Epi island, part of the small South Pacific nation to the east of Australia, reported seeing the eruption early yesterday, with some posting pictures of a large column of sulfurous smoke on social media. Vanuatu’s Meteorology and Geo-hazards Department said there was no indication of a tsunami but warned islanders to stay alert for a possible large earthquake linked to the volcanic eruption that might trigger destructive waves. | Washington Post…

London: Owners of luxury flats in London yesterday won a legal battle to force the adjacent Tate Modern gallery to stop visitors peeping into their homes from a public viewing platform. The Supreme Court announced that by a majority of three to two judges it had agreed their appeal due to “intense visual intrusion”, after they lost at earlier hearings. The Tate Modern is a popular free gallery showing contemporary art in a former power station on the south bank of The River Thames. In 2016 it opened an extension called the Blavatnik Building, which includes a viewing gallery on the top 10th floor. | AFP…

JOSE Riveiro has assembled a competitive squad at Orlando Pirates, so much so that he wants his players to test themselves against the best at all times. Having endured a three-game losing streak after the resumption of the season, Pirates have turned the tide in recent weeks, winning their last games on the bounce. That feat has seen their chase for a second-place finish back on the cards as they trail runaway leaders and rivals Mamelodi Sundowns by 24 points. But the Sea Robbers are not content with their performance, as they want to steadily improve for the rest of the campaign and going into next season. That’s why Riveiro argues that they will get better if they play against teams such as the Brazilians who visit them at…

THE Section 194 committee probing the fitness of Public Protector Busiswe Mkhwebane to hold office has reaffirmed its decision to subpoena former public protector Thuli Madonsela. This, after Madonsela wrote to Mkhwebane’s legal team and copied the committee, declining to appear voluntarily before the committee. Last week, the inquiry decided to subpoena Madonsela, former deputy public protector Kevin Malunga, and public protector investigators Rodney Mataboge and Bianca Mvunyana. At the time Madonsela had not responded to the request by her successor. Mkhwebane wants Madonsela to testify on the vetting of staff by the State Security Agency, donor funding, outsourcing of investigations, the impact of the Nkandla judgment on litigation, reasons for not completing key investigations, consequence management and the impact of inadequate resource allocation. Yesterday, committee chairperson Qubudile Dyantyi said…

THE South African Medical Association (Sama) has laid charges against Pretoria general practitioner Dr Petrus Bekker with the Health Professions Council (HPCSA) after he called his colleagues murderers for administering Covid-19 vaccines. Bekker, an author and medical practitioner who operates from Wesmed Medical Centre in Pretoria North, claimed during a radio interview that people were left with health problems after vaccinations. He said he took vaccine safety very seriously and added there had been reports of individuals suffering debilitating illnesses after vaccinating for Covid-19. These, according to the medic, included heart conditions, cerebral palsy and muscular dystrophy, resulting in death for those individuals. He then said those doctors who had given patients the vaccine were responsible for the deaths, calling them murderers. Yesterday, Sama confirmed it had laid a complaint…

WITH research showing that children who are read to, and who read, perform better at school, national reading-for-enjoyment campaign, Nal’ibali, has set out to read aloud to three million children – with the help of all South Africans. Yesterday marked World Read Aloud Day (WARD), with Nal’ibali once again calling on everyone to join them in reading aloud to children. It said for some, it would be the first, important step to habitual reading while for others, it will be a continuation of their reading journey. “For WRAD 2023, Nal’ibali aims to reach their goal of reading aloud to three million children. “Young children who are read to in languages they understand, perform better in school, develop better memories, stronger vocabularies and comprehension skills. “This year’s story, ‘Every day’s a…

THE City has seemingly made an about-turn on threatening to demolish a wall that fed-up Elsies River residents are erecting to keep criminals out. Residents this week started erecting the wall to block a passageway that they claim suspects used as a thoroughfare between criminal activities. Out of desperation, the residents used their own money to buy the building materials after accusing the City of failing to respond to their application for a wall to be built about four years ago. The City this week ordered the residents to halt building and allegedly threatened to demolish the wall. According to Salberau Neighbourhood Watch chairperson, Pastor Paul Francis, there were two passageways the community wanted to be closed due to high levels of crime. “In 2019 residents approached the neighbourhood watch…

THE South African Union of Students (Saus) says the National Student Financial Aid Scheme’s ( NSFAS) decision to only release their funding decisions after February 6 will cause further delays for first time entering and returning students. The organisation expressed this concern yesterday when it briefed the media about the increase in allowances at tertiary institutions. It followed after Higher Education minister Blade Nzimande gave a breakdown on Tuesday of allowance increases that have been affected for universities. Where universities provide accommodation and catering students will receive a R5 460 learning materials allowance and an accommodation allowance capped at R61 500. “University managed self-catering students will receive a learning materials allowance to the value of R5 460, R16 500 per annum living allowance and accommodation allowance capped at…

Pope Francis said it was “tragic” that Africa still suffered from various forms of exploitation. “Get your hands off the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), get your hands off Africa! Stop choking Africa: it is not a mine to be exploited or a land to be devalued. Let Africa be the protagonist of its own destiny,” he continued, adding that the DRC and Africa deserved to be “respected and listened to”, become more valued internationally, and “have more weight and representation among nations”. He made the comments yesterday during his visit to the DRC where the celebration of the Holy Mass took place at Ndola Airport. On the first full day of his trip, his third to sub-Saharan Africa as pope, Francis presided at the open air Mass for a…

News that the US could soon send rockets nearly doubling the firing range of Ukrainian forces gave Kyiv a big lift yesterday, even as its troops were being pushed back by a relentless Russian winter offensive in the east. In the capital Kyiv, authorities raided the home of one of Ukraine’s most prominent billionaires and a former interior minister, the boldest moves so far in a war-time anti-corruption campaign launched last week by President Volodymyr Zelensky. Two US officials said a new $2 billion (about R34bn) package of military aid to be announced as soon as this week would, for the first time, include Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bombs, a new weapon designed by Boeing. The cheap gliding missiles can strike targets more than 150km away, a dramatic increase over the…

New York: Indian-American Republican leader Nikki Haley plans to announce the launch of her 2024 presidential campaign by February 15, according to a report. Haley, 51, who served as South Carolina governor for six years, will formally declare her candidacy for the White House at an event in Charleston, South Carolina, on February 15, with an invitation soon going out to her supporters, the Post and Courier reported. Haley, who will join former US president Donald Trump in the race, had earlier said she would not challenge if he ran again. She has said that the US cannot have a second term under Joe Biden as president and that she can be the “new leader” who can take the country in a new direction. Haley, who served as ambassador to…

Geneva: Eight humanoid robots will be the star attractions when the UN hosts its first summit since the start of the pandemic on the benefits of artificial intelligence, it said yesterday. The AI for Good Global Summit will return to Geneva on July 6 and 7 after a three-year Covid-imposed break, the UN said. It will showcase how artificial intelligence and other new technologies can help reach the UN’s sustainable development goals. Eight humanoid social robots and more than 20 specialised robots will be brought together under the same roof to showcase capabilities ranging from fighting fires and delivering aid to providing health care and farming sustainably, it said. | AFP…

PROTEAS women’s coach Hilton Moreeng is adamant that he has “the strongest 15 available for selection” and that he firmly believes that “it’s the best” combination to win the Women’s T20 World Cup. The home team, who are set to play the opening game of the tournament against Sri Lanka at Newlands next Friday, have been submerged in chaos after Dane van Niekerk was omitted from the 15-player T20 World Cup squad. The former captain was overlooked due to not meeting the national team’s fitness requirements, which includes running a two-kilometre time trial in under 9mins 30secs. The fall-out has been immense with Van Niekerk “absolutely broken”, while her wife and teammate Marizanne Kapp has requested “compassionate leave” and will therefore miss the Tri-Series T20 final against India in East…

NO TICKET, no ride. This was the verdict of the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, in a damages claim by a train commuter against Prasa after he was injured after being pushed off a moving train. Mamelodi resident Gabriel Bhiya instituted a damages claim against the rail agency as he argued it had a duty to ensure his safety while he was a paying commuter travelling on its trains. Bhiya testified that he was a regular commuter on a morning train from his home in Mamelodi East to Midstream, Centurion, where he worked. He said that in October 2016 he was in possession of a ticket when he boarded the train at the station at Mamelodi. At one stage he stood up and moved towards the door to disembark at Pinedene…

THE R1 billion potential three-year sponsorship deal between SA Tourism and English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur has been characterised as a good initiative that is being implemented at the wrong time. Yesterday, South Africans woke up to the news that Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu was on a mission to sign the deal before an imminent Cabinet reshuffle that would see her getting the chop as political head of the national government portfolio. However, her spokesperson Steve Motale flatly denied the claims and insisted that the minister was in no way involved in the deal. “Sadly, the Daily Maverick report is riddled with inaccuracies and untruths aimed at tarnishing Minister Sisulu’s image. There is no doubt the report seeks to drive a political agenda rather than inform the public truthfully.…

INTERNATIONAL relations experts believe President Cyril Ramaphosa’s first official trip to Namibia since the farmgate scandal broke may have been used to iron out simmering tensions that the scandal caused, which led to the neighbouring country’s President Hage Geingob also facing mounting pressure. A meeting which the two were set to attend was cancelled last year after it came to light that Ramaphosa had allegedly enlisted Geingob’s services in tracking the gang of Namibians who broke into his Phala Phala farm in Limpopo in 2020 and stole millions of dollars apparently concealed in furniture. This week Ramaphosa attended the Extraordinary SADC Troika Summit in Windhoek. In his opening statement, Geingob thanked Ramaphosa for assisting with a smooth transition as chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.…

Tim Spring died at home on Friday night, 20 January 2023, at the round old age of 90. He found immense joy in his work. His career spanned decades - from driving the props truck for a theatre company, to editing, scriptwriting, directing (his favourite), and then finally teaching – whatever role he played he was obsessed and fuelled by the power of telling stories. I grew up in the halls of CityVarsity (when it was still on Kloof Street) where he taught directing. On his pigeon hole was a black and white photograph of him at his desk with the quote, “I’ll teach you to make movies, not pass your exams”. He’d start lectures with a guided meditation, pacing in front of the lecture theatre, his hands clasped behind…

A SUSPECTED gang-related shooting rocked Elsies River yesterday when a 17-year-old was shot and killed execution-style. Police spokesperson, FC van Wyk, confirmed the incident in Naomi Street, Avonwood. Van Wyk said the suspects fled the scene and were yet to be arrested. Hamish Arries of the Elsies River Community Police Forum (CPF) said they had little detail of the incident. “There was a shooting (yesterday) morning. “However, I cannot go into details because the matter is still being investigated by the police. “Shooting in our area is normally gang-related, “Avonwood is a volatile area. Shootings happen during the day and even at night. “Unfortunately our children are born in coloured gang areas,” said Arries. The CPF public relations officer, Imraahn Mukaddam, said: “Unfortunately I do not have the backstory, we…

Institutional capacity and integrity are essential to good governance What happens when those responsible for managing universities cannot trust each other to act with integrity? In a nutshell, as I discuss in my new book, Corrupted: A study of chronic dysfunction in South African universities, dysfunction is the consequence. This is the situation playing out in some South African universities – sometimes with fatal results. In early January, a protection officer who was guarding Fort Hare University vice-chancellor Professor Sakhela Buhlungu was shot dead in an apparent assassination attempt. The shooting has been linked to ongoing investigations into corruption at the university. This appears to be just one example of how eroded trust has led to conflict among university managers that has spilled into the public domain. The principal conclusion…

Half a million workers went on strike in Britain yesterday, calling for higher wages in the largest such walkout in over a decade, closing schools and severely disrupting transport. As Europe battles a cost-of-living crisis, Britain’s umbrella labour organisation the Trades Union Congress called it the “biggest day of strike action since 2011”. The latest strikes come a day after more than 1.27 million took to the streets in France, increasing pressure on the French government over pension reform plans. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called for pay rises to be “reasonable” and affordable”, warning that big pay rises would jeopardise attempts to tame inflation. But unions have accused millionaire Sunak of being out of touch with the challenges faced by ordinary working people struggling to make ends meet…

Police in Pakistan had detained 23 people in connection with a blast at a mosque inside a police headquarters that killed 101 people, a senior official who asked not to be named said yesterday. Authorities were also probing the possibility that people inside the compound helped to co-ordinate the attack, the official said. A suicide bomber slipped undetected into a highly sensitive compound in north-west Peshawar and detonated explosives among a row of worshippers in the compound’s mosque on Monday, causing a wall to collapse and crush officers. “The attacker and facilitators might have links outside Pakistan,” official said. He said some of the 23 detained were from the city and nearby former tribal areas that border Afghanistan. Low-level militancy has been steadily rising in the areas near Peshawar that…

JERUSALEM: Chadian President Mahamat Deby said he would inaugurate an embassy in Israel today that would build on bilateral relations established five years ago. Deby announced the plan yesterday as he began a visit to Israel. An Israeli official said the Muslim-majority African country’s embassy would be in the Tel Aviv area. Long cool to Israel in protest at its occupation of Palestinian territory in a 1967 war, N’Djamena reversed course in 2018 when Deby’s father, the late Chadian President Idriss Deby, visited Jerusalem in 2018 and was hosted by Netanyahu. Chad’s strategic location amid Islamist insurgencies makes it of special interest to Israel. | Reuters…

LAGOS: Nigeria’s human rights commission has appointed a special panel whose role will include investigating a report that the military ran a secret abortion programme in its fight against Islamist insurgents in the north-east. The Nigerian military said it would not carry out an investigation because the report was not true. The National Human Rights Commission, which is appointed by the government, said that it would launch the special panel next week in Abuja. It was not clear how long the investigation would last and what the panel would do with its findings. | Reuters…