Índice para 2023-07-19 em Mercury

THE financial misconduct disciplinary board in eThekwini Municipality has come under fire for failing to deal swiftly with employees involved in wrongdoing that is costing the municipality millions of rand in fruitless and wasteful expenditure. EFF councillor Thabane Miya said some cases dragged on for years until the matters prescribed. The law states that prescription applies to labour disputes. Matters prescribe after a period of three years. But ANC councillor Nkosenhle Madlala said while there were challenges experienced under the old board, a new board was in place. The effectiveness of the board came under scrutiny as councillors discussed writing off about R763 million in fruitless and wasteful expenditure that had been incurred by the City council. The Municipal Public Accounts Committee (Mpac) detailed the expenditure during a council meeting…

The housing market slump looks likely to continue as yet another interest rate hike is expected this week. The South African Reserve Bank’s (Sarb) Monetary Policy Committee is set to meet tomorrow and economists have predicted a 25 basis points increase in the interest rate due to the inflation rate still being higher than the target range. In May, the Sarb hiked the interest rate by 50 basis points. Adrian Goslett, regional director and CEO of RE/MAX of southern Africa, said the series of interest rate increases had begun to visibly affect the local housing market. “According to Lightstone Property data, as at July 4, a total of 30 343 bond registrations were recorded at the Deeds Office for the period April to July 2023. The RE/MAX National Housing report…

The recent ruling by the Concourt about Jacob Zuma returning to jail to serve out the balance of his sentence, has seen the ANC RET indicating that there will be trouble if this is to happen. This is going to be the litmus test of the true effectiveness of our legal system in this country, involving the courts, the NPA, the SAPS and all those involved in upholding the law. The big question is whether the authorities will indeed force Zuma to actually serve the balance of his time or will they submit to threats of violence i.e. the July 2021 riots or the latest truck burnings? This is called blackmail. Do the authorities have the guts to enforce the ruling from the highest court in the land? The failure…

HEY, is this the opportunity to revive Durban’s flagging tourism industry? If they can do it in Florida, why not here? Hundreds of divers and snorkellers listened to an underwater concert in support of coral reef protection in the Florida Keys the other day, according to Associated Press. The Lower Keys Underwater Music Festival took place at Looe Key Reef, a part of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Participants swam among Looe Key’s colourful marine life and coral formations while listening to water-themed music broadcast by a local radio station. The music was piped undersea through waterproof speakers suspended beneath boats above the reef. The oceanic playlist included the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine, Jimmy Buffett’s Fins and the theme from The Little Mermaid. Tunes were interspersed with diver awareness…

Dr Nandipha Magudumana’s application for leave to appeal a court ruling that found her arrest in Tanzania was lawful, has been dismissed. The High Court in Bloemfontein handed down the judgment on her application for leave to appeal yesterday. Magudumana’s initial application was dismissed in June as Judge Phillip Loubser said Magudumana willingly accepted her transportation back to South Africa. “She consented to her removal because she wanted to be with her children,” Judge Loubser said at the time. Magudumana was arrested in Arusha, Tanzania, with her boyfriend, convicted killer and rapist Thabo Bester, in April this year. Bester escaped from the Mangaung Correctional Facility in May last year after faking his death. Yesterday in denying leave to appeal, Judge Loubser said he was not persuaded that another…

Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says issues related to possible sabotage at Eskom, including matters of fraud, corruption and security at the power utility, are receiving urgent attention, with police currently investigating at least 1 500 cases. Speaking during a media briefing in Pretoria on Monday, Ramokgopa said since April 1 last year to date, over 2 000 cases have been reported to the police for investigation as they try to get a grip on the power crisis. Ramokgopa said of the 2 147 cases reported, 1 586 were under investigation by the police and this had resulted in over 126 people being arrested. “This is gradual but meaningful progress. In addition to the technical solution we are seeking to resolve the issues at Eskom, we are focused on addressing some…

Marginalised communities worldwide have some crucial questions they need answered As the world grapples with shifting power dynamics, the ascent of countries like China and Russia at the forefront of the so-called “new world order” raises crucial questions for marginalised communities worldwide. In Africa, parts of Asia and the Americas, people who have endured centuries of pain and suffering yearn not only for change but also for transformative justice. Political gimmicks aside, these individuals find themselves trapped at the lower end of the global hierarchy in terms of politics, social and economic order. Built on the backs of former subalterns and uncivilised societies, the current order perpetuates a cycle of oppression and inequality. Marginalised communities continue to suffer the consequences of historical and present injustices, including colonialism’s exploitation and cultural…

The EU is seeking to transport more Ukrainian grains via road and rail to help make up for Russia’s withdrawal from a UN-backed Black Sea exports deal, the bloc’s leaders and officials said. Yesterday, Russia struck Ukrainian grain ports, a day after Moscow withdrew from a deal that allowed Ukrainian grain blocked by the Russia- Ukraine conflict to be exported safely. “It means that hundreds of thousand of people around the world will be deprived of basic food,” said the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, on the sidelines of the bloc’s summit with Latin America and the Caribbean. “They are using hunger as a weapon. This is one of the worst things that (Russian President Vladimir) Putin could have done.” A senior EU official said separately the bloc was supporting…

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s contested plan to make it easier to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is set to become law after the government defeated attempts by parliament’s upper house to make changes to the legislation. The plan to deport asylum seekers has been criticised by opposition politicians, lawyers and civil rights groups as inhumane, cruel and ineffective. UN human rights chief Volker Turk said yesterday the bill’s passage raised “serious legal concerns” and sets “a worrying precedent” that other countries may follow. However, deportation flights to Rwanda will still hinge on a ruling by the Supreme Court on their legality later this year. The new legislation is at the heart of the government’s pledge to stop asylum seekers from making the dangerous crossing from France to the southern…

ISLAMABAD: A suicide bombing near a paramilitary force vehicle wounded several people in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar yesterday, police said, while a separate “martyr” was also killed. Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan, a newly founded jihadist group, claimed responsibility for the attack. The explosion was a suicide attack that hit a vehicle of the paramilitary Frontier Corps in Peshawar, police said. Pakistan’s army said it was concerned that militants had found safe havens in Afghanistan and threatened to take an “effective response” two days after 12 of its soldiers died in two attacks. Islamist militants aim to overthrow the Pakistani government. | Reuters…

Seoul: The South Korean Welfare Ministry said yesterday that nearly 12% of more than 2 100 undocumented, or “ghost” babies nationwide were confirmed to have died. The ministry said its probe found that 249 out of the 2 123 babies who were born between 2015 and 2022 but not registered with the government had died. A total of 1 025 babies were confirmed to be alive, while 814 cases were under police investigation. The police have referred seven cases of dead “ghost” babies to prosecutors, suspecting foul play. The ministry said it would conduct a regular probe into undocumented babies. | IANS…

The way RG Snyman pulled Malcolm Marx’s jersey after he scored the Springboks’ opening try against the All Blacks was exactly the sort of spark that the visitors needed in Auckland. The South Africans had endured a lacklustre first half at Mount Smart Stadium, with the tight-five not able to match the fire of the Loftus performance against the Wallabies a week earlier. While it was understandable that captain-on-the-day Eben Etzebeth wasn’t firing on all cylinders following the death of his father, Lood de Jager wasn’t his energetic self either, and they lagged behind the efforts of Jean Kleyn and Marvin Orie in Pretoria. The 30-year-old, who plays in Japan, was dependable as a ball-carrier and tackler, but did produce his usual high work-rate in broken play, while the Boks…

The Mother City made the cut to host one of the Sevens tournaments of the revamped World Rugby Sevens Series with New Zealand's Hamilton getting the boot. Rugby's international governing body revealed the host cities for the SVNS, as the series will be known, yesterday confirming that Madrid in Spain will host the Grand Final. What is probably most exciting about the new format, is that any of the top eight teams over the season can still win the series in May 2024. Dubai, Cape Town, Perth, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Singapore kept their spots along with Madrid, meaning Toulouse and Twickenham lost their hosting rights along with Hamilton. Sydney was swapped for Perth, Down Under. Cape Town will host in December (9-10) as Dubai kept its status…

Johnny Sexton's slap on the wrist for the abuse of match officials sets a dangerous precedent in international rugby. After he was found to have hurled abuse at South African referee Jaco Peyper and his assistants Karl Dickson, Christophe Ridley and Tom Foley, he was only handed a three-match ban, making him eligible for Ireland's Rugby World Cup. He will only miss their warm-up matches that he probably would not have participated in as his workload has been managed ahead of the competition. What makes this punishment so mind-blowing, is that Sexton confronted the officials after a match - the Champions Cup final in Dublin - and did not do it via social media or in a 60-minute video. He did this on the pitch while Peyper and his assistants…

Ange Postecoglou was left enthused yesterday by Tottenham Hotspur’s willingness to embrace a high-octane style despite his Spurs coaching reign starting with a 3-2 pre-season friendly defeat to West Ham United in Perth. Much like Postecoglou’s previous teams, Tottenham played aggressively at a rain-sodden Perth Stadium. But their late rally was thwarted by Gianluca Scamacca’s strike in the 78th minute. In a taste of what’s ahead under Postecoglou, Spurs constantly pressed forward with their defenders given latitude to roam up and down the touchline. “I’m trying to provide a structure and security to encourage them to release that fear and play that football,” Postecoglou said. “That’s the team we want to be. There will be missteps along the way. “We’ve got to be all in and for the most part…

The BUCCANEER ship – Orlando Pirates – forged ahead last week with gusto to meet its friendly rival, Maccabi Haifa, in spite of last-minute warnings from the coast guard. Earlier, an ANC Navy ship had sailed close to the Orlando and advised them not to engage with Haifa because of the apartheid policy practised on board that Israeli ship. This was ignored on the rightful grounds that the ANC Navy itself had not laid out the national ground rules regarding engaging with ships that originated from Israel. So the captain of the Orlando vessel could be forgiven on the grounds of: “Do you guys know what you are saying half the time regarding the South African standpoint on Israel? Really? So leave us to make our own decision, please.” But…

Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola has called on the International Criminal Court (ICC)to be even-handed when prosecuting cases. He said it should not be involved in global power struggles, but treat all cases of human rights violations in the world equally. He added that there should be no double standards in the work of the court. Lamola also said the lack of reform of the UN Security Council was a critical issue as there were permanent members of the Security Council who were putting pressure on the ICC, yet they are not signatories of the Rome Statute. South Africa has been under scrutiny since the ICC issued a warrant of arrest against Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Putin is expected to attend the BRICS summit in Johannesburg next month.…

Police in Mpumalanga have arrested a 49-year-old man in an operation where heroin bricks worth R75 million were confiscated from a truck travelling from neighbouring Mozambique. The drugs were destined for the international market, according to Hawks spokesperson, Colonel Katlego Mogale. Mogale said an operation was conducted in Mpumalanga on Sunday. “It is reported that the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation’s South African Narcotic Bureau (Sanab) received information from Witrivier K9 about a truck that could possibly be ferrying illegal drugs,” said Mogale. The Hawks’ Secunda Sanab, with the assistance of Elukwatini police, the Elukwatini fire department and SAPS Badplaas pulled over the truck and it was escorted to the station. The suspect is scheduled to appear before the Carolina Magistrate’s Court today on charges of possession of illegal drugs…

A FEW years ago, one would never have thought one would hear a minister of health boldly and confidently stating that there was a possibility of ending the HIV epidemic. Dr Joe Phaahla, the Minister of Health, made this brave statement at the recently ended 11th South African Aids Conference held in Durban. While the minister made this remark, he is equally aware of the challenging road ahead for such a picture-perfect status to be attained. The aids conference is an important event, and beyond just being another mere talk shop, the conference has, over the years, even before the pre-Covid-19 period, always been a critical platform where various voices in the public and private sectors, and funders, are huddled up to honestly converse about the various challenges caused largely…

A US soldier crossed the inter-Korean border into North Korea and was believed to be in North Korea custody, a US official said yesterday, creating a fresh crisis for Washington in its dealings with the nuclear-armed state. The UN Command that oversees the demilitarised zone area at the border earlier yesterday identified the individual as a US national who had crossed into North Korea without authorisation while on a tour. It said the person was likely in custody. He had been due to face disciplinary action by the US military, two US officials said. South Korea’s Dong-a Ilbo daily, citing South Korea’s army, identified the person as Travis King, a US army soldier with the rank of private second class. The newspaper later deleted the name. The crossing comes at…

Washington: Former US president Donald Trump said yesterday he had received a letter from prosecutors suggesting he was likely to be criminally indicted over the January 6 riot at the US Capitol. “Deranged Jack Smith, the prosecutor with Joe Biden’s DOJ, sent a letter ... stating that I am a target of the January 6 Grand Jury investigation,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform. He said he was given “a very short four days” to report to a grand jury, “which almost always means an arrest and indictment.” | AFP…

Paris: A major exhibition dedicated to the Titanic opened in Paris yesterday, with many of the objects on display brought up from the ship’s wreck by a French deep-sea explorer who died in a submersible disaster last month. Henri-Paul Nargeolet was one of five people on board the Titan tourist sub when it lost contact with the surface after plunging down to visit the wreck in mid-June. Rescuers in the North Atlantic found evidence that the vessel had imploded underwater, killing all on board. Nargeolet participated in six of eight exploration missions to the wreck between 1987 and 2010, which brought back more than 5 000 objects to the surface. | AFP…

London: The head of McDonald’s in the UK apologised after reported allegations of sexual misconduct, racism and bullying by staff at the fast-food giant. More than 100 former and current workers of the US company had made the allegations, the state broadcaster said. This was after McDonald’s signed a legally binding agreement with Britain’s Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), pledging to protect staff from sexual harassment. McDonald’s UK chief executive officer Alistair Macrow said that “all proven breaches of our code of conduct will be met with the most severe measures we can legally impose”, including dismissal. | AFP…

Former Banyana Banyana coach Joseph Mkhonza will be rooting for the team at the World Cup, but he feels the absence of a professional women’s league in South Africa and lack of preparation could magnify the side’s shortcomings at the tournament. Mkhonza is widely regarded as one of the cornerstones for Banyana’s success, having been the first coach to guide the team to an international tournament, the London Olympics in 2012. That feat is regarded as the foundation that inspired the teams to the Rio Games in 2016, 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations triumph and two World Cups – in 2019 and this year in Australia and New Zealand. Despite taking pride in Banyana’s growth over the years, Mkhonza is not naïve, though, thinking that his fellow South Africans…

Golf’s biggest stars will be brought together at the Open Championship this week as the foundations of an uneasy truce between the traditional tours and breakaway LIV series are still being built. In a shock announcement last month, the PGA and DP World Tours announced plans to merge with the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which had bankrolled huge signing bonuses and prize money for players to jump ship to LIV. But details on how the deal will work remain unknown, even for the world’s leading players who stayed loyal to the PGA Tour. “They keep saying it’s a player-run organisation (but) we don't really have the information that we need,” said world No 1 Scottie Scheffler at last week’s Scottish Open. Without a concrete deal, the best of the…

THE absence of youth participation at the main table of the BRICS summit was detrimental to members of the bloc, especially the smallest member, South Africa, delegates were told at the organisation’s youth summit in Durban yesterday. The summit, hosted by the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), is one of the events taking place in the build-up to next month’s 15th BRICS summit that will see the heads of state of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa gather in Gauteng. Delivering the keynote address, Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, said young people from the BRICS countries had a duty to share their knowledge on innovation and play their part in transforming the world. “As BRICS youth leaders, you have…

THE significance of Narendh Ganesh’s letter of July 14 in which he refers to President Ramaphosa’s exhortation to violence and militancy, cannot be overstated. As Ganesh asks, what does Rama phosa have in mind by urging the ANC youth to emulate the mayhem and murder of the 1980s and 1990s? Why would a head of state urge revolution when his oath of office requires him to uphold the Constitution and promote unity? Indeed, his inflammatory words were more than irresponsible and unpresidential. They are downright unconstitutional and heinous. Nonetheless, what Ramaphosa’s exhortation amounts to is the quiet part of the ANC’s long term objective of the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) which he has now amplified. The period we have been living through since 1994 is the interim phase. Incrementally, socialist…

THE government has a duty to ensure the inhabitants of KwaZulu-Natal’s almost 1 000 informal settlements and transit camps are safe and comfortable while they wait for housing amid a backlog of more than a million people. Yet, the recent shack fires and subsequent loss of life have highlighted the dangerous conditions that continue to exist. This includes the urgent need for the upgrade of such settlements, replacing of dangerous illegal electricity connections with safe, legal electrification, proper ablution facilities, clean water supply, refuse removal and proper access. Regrettably, there does not seem to be any indication of improvement for KZN’s informal settlement dwellers. According to the Medium Term Expenditure Framework Report 2020- 2023, the target for the number of informal settlements to be upgraded to Phase 3 of the…

The Southern African Music Rights Organisation (Samro) has announced that it has distributed R22 million in accumulated unclaimed royalties to members who had “outdated or incorrect banking information”. Samro is a copyright asset management society that administers the performing rights of its members. It currently represents 137 313 members. Samro announced this week that the project to track and trace members who needed to update their banking details commenced in April 2021. Samro CEO Annabell Lebethe said that the organisation embarked on a large-scale process to contact thousands of members to request that they update their banking details. “It is worth noting that 1 011 members have already engaged with the digital platform and 32% of those members have updated their banking details in the past six months, resulting in…

It is still unclear when the long-awaited criminal trial of two former security police officers accused of being involved in the kidnapping and murder of anti-apartheid activist Nokuthula Simelane in the 1980s will go ahead. This is because the court will have to decide in October whether one of the accused is mentally fit to face trial. Yesterday, the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, unsealed reports following an inquiry into the mental state of accused Willem Coetzee. He is facing a charge of murder together with co- accused Anton Pretorius. Advocate Jaap Cilliers, who appeared on behalf of both accused, earlier told the court there was a possibility Coetzee may not be fit to stand trial. He said a specialist had issued a preliminary report which indicated that he may suffer…

The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education says it has dispatched teams to provide assistance to pupils who have been affected by last month’s storm and informal settlement fires. Residents lost all their belongings when homes in Inanda and Cato Crest were severely damaged or washed away in the June 27 storm, while more than 1 000 residents from the Kennedy Road informal settlement were left homeless after a fire gutted their homes at the weekend. Muzi Mahlambi, spokesperson for the KZN Department of Education, said that as a department they were aware of the incidents and their impact on school-going children, who returned for the third term yesterday. “The department has dispatched teams which will help out as schools have opened. “We have even had private entities and individuals who want…

Opposition parties have lambasted the KwaZulu-Natal government for apparent inaction after it emerged that over R60 million meant to assist businesses that were affected by floods had still not been used by March 31. This was revealed in the close out report for the 2022/23 financial year presented by KZN Treasury to members of the finance portfolio committee last week. EFF Member of Provincial Legislature (MPL) Nkululeko Ngubane said it was shameful that there were instances where money was allocated but was not being spent. “We feel vindicated because we had been stating that not enough was given to our people, now this report shows that the money was there but was not used. “This is something that cannot be justified,” the EFF MPL said. He accused some MECs…

The world should get ready to face increasingly intense heatwaves, the UN warned yesterday, as countries across the Northern Hemisphere reeled from soaring temperatures. Health authorities have sounded the alarm from North America to Europe and Asia, urging people to stay hydrated and shelter from the burning sun, in a stark reminder of the effects of global warming. John Nairn, a senior extreme heat advisor at the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO), warned the health risk was growing rapidly, amid burgeoning urbanisation, higher temperature extremes and ageing populations. He said the recently-declared El Nino – a warming climate pattern that occurs every two to seven years – “is only expected to amplify the occurrence and intensity of extreme heat events”. But regardless of El Nino, Nairn pointed out that the…

Israelis yesterday marched on highways and blocked army headquarters in Tel Aviv in the run-up to a parliament vote on the government’s judicial reform agenda that protesters say would “dismantle democracy”. The proposals have divided the nation and triggered one of the biggest protest movements in Israel’s history since being unveiled in January by the hard-right government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Weekly rallies have drawn tens of thousands of protesters aiming to prevent what they believe could open the way to a more authoritarian government. Crowds gathered yesterday in Tel Aviv after organisers had called for a “national day of resistance” ahead of a planned vote by MPs on a key clause later this month. Thousands of demonstrators marched on highways and bridges, and blocked roads as well as…

LONDON: King Charles marked 400 years since William Shakespeare’s plays were published in collective form yesterday, bringing actors and directors together to celebrate his love for the bard and a book hailed as one of the most important in English literature. It was to Shakespeare who Charles turned in his first speech as king, the day after his mother Queen Elizabeth died, quoting from Hamlet to round off his tribute to her devotion and duty: “May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.” At a gathering hosted by Charles and his wife Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle, to celebrate the first Folio, actors performed extracts from Julius Caesar and The Tempest. Britain’s theatres will hope to benefit from the king’s long-standing support for the arts. Charles’s interest in Shakespeare…

LONDON: The proportion of Britons who say Brexit was a mistake hit a new record high this month, a survey from pollsters YouGov showed yesterday. With few economic benefits to show for the June 2016 vote to leave the EU, 57% of Britons said the decision to leave in 2016 was the wrong one, compared with 32% who thought it was correct. More than half, 55%, said they would vote to remain in the EU, against 31% who said they would stay out, if the referendum were to be held again. British business investment has barely grown since mid-2016, in contrast with other advanced economies. | Reuters…

David Warner is set to open in the fourth Ashes Test against England, Australia captain Pat Cummins said yesterday but spinner Todd Murphy could be squeezed out to accommodate both all-rounders, Mitchell Marsh and Cameron Green. Warner’s place looked uncertain after his double failure in the third Test at Headingley where the opener managed a total of five runs and fell to Stuart Broad in both innings. “Josh (Hazlewood) will come in for Scott Boland and the top order will stay the same,” Cummins, whose team are 2-1 ahead in the five-match series, said at Old Trafford. “Davey didn’t have his best game last week at Headingley, but prior to that, he has looked really good. He has had three 50-run (opening) partnerships, which can be rare over in England.”…