Índice para 2021-08-16 em Star

Rapula Moatshe rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za DEPUTY sheriffs swooped on the offices of the national Department of Transport last week and attached state assets, including computers used by Minister Fikile Mbalula and his deputy Dikeledi Magadzi over unpaid monies. The Star’s sister paper, the Pretoria News understands that the attachment was related to millions of rand owed to road accident victims by the state-supported insurance fund, the Road Accident Fund (RAF). The attachment was made after the North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, on July 28 dismissed a case brought by the RAF against Ehlers Attorneys, in which it made a failed attempt to block the sheriff from attaching, removing and selling state property on behalf of the law firm. Mbalula’s spokesperson, Lawrence Venkile, said the writ of execution was issued against the department…

Tarryn-Leigh Solomons THE NATIONAL Prosecuting Authority says it is deeply saddened by the passing of Johan van der Walt, the man dubbed the bloodhound auditor. De Walt was listed as the main witness and author of the forensic report in the corruption trial against former president Jacob Zuma. Reports suggest that the auditor, who was a senior managing director of FTI Consulting, died of natural causes in Johannesburg on Saturday. The cause of his death is not known at this stage. Van der Walt, who was a partner and forensic auditor at KPMG before he joined FTI in 2017, testified in the corruption trial of businessman Schabir Shaik and two former senior Saambou Bank officials, Charles Edwards and Gerhardus De Clercq. The duo, however, were found not guilty on…

| Julian Richfield THE SKIPPER’S DAUGHTER Nancy Richards KARAVAN FROM her many years of broadcasting, few would be unfamiliar with the voice of Nancy Richards. With her new book, The Skipper’s Daughter, we get to enjoy Nancy’s writing as well. Back in 1988, on board a flight from Cape Town to Johannesburg, Nancy asked her mother: “So, tell me what happened?” It was a question she had been wanting to ask her mother all her life. “What happened in Australia with your father and Ron and that little boat?” Her mother, Nancy Brooks, was 16 when she went to sea with her father. She signed up on July 2, 1938 as captain’s clerk for a shilling a week on the SS Nailsea Manor. Leaving from Birkenhead in Liverpool, the…

Beverly Tsitsi Mutandiro | UK IT IS very upsetting that Zimbabwe, once known as the bread basket of Africa which produced food in abundance, is now in a state of hunger. The current situation is disheartening. It is unthinkable that this country was once a shining star of Africa. The Zanu-PF government has managed to destroy Zimbabwe and bring it to its knees. Many citizens were pushed outside the country. They left Zimbabwe to search for employment opportunities, better living conditions and safety. An awful estimated 7 million productive and able-bodied men and women of Zimbabwe are living outside Zimbabwe. These people should have been in Zimbabwe and helping to boost the economy. It is painful to think of the skills of these Zimbabweans which are not being…

JOHN Whitlock | Germiston An extremely disappointing Cabinet reshuffle that’s equivalent to, and as effective as having four flat tyres and swapping them around. Moving people from one failed portfolio to another in the hope they will do better in the new portfolio, is insane. South Africa has a wealth of highly talented, experienced and qualified people, all with the necessary expertise, that can be utilised, but we’re lumped with the same non-performers once again. It is essential to institute a strict selection process whereby candidates can be interviewed by a select panel, their CVs scrutinised, and the best suited for the job be appointed. Cadre deployment is a disaster. Only candidates who have the necessary qualifications and experience for the specific post must be recommended for selection.…

Mihlali Baleka @Mihlalibaleka Mamelodi Sundowns (2) 2 Shalulile 10, Zwane 23 Kaizer Chiefs (1) 2 Parker 38, Billiat 59 Sundowns win 3-1 on penalties Kennedy Mweene proved to be the hero, saving four penalties as he inspired Sundowns to the MTN8 semi-finals following a penalty shootout win over Chiefs in their quarter-final at Lucas “Masterpieces” Moripe Stadium yesterday. In a game that proved to be an entertaining contest, ending 2-2 after extra time, Bafana Bafana coach Hugo Broos, who was in the stands, will take a lot of positives heading to the 2022 World Cup qualifiers next month against Zimbabwe and Ghana. Coming into yesterday’s match, there were deja vu moments for both technical teams. Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter started his first stint in charge at the club against…

Eshlin Vedan eshlin.vedan@inl.co.za Orlando Pirates’ lack of finesse in front of goal once again haunted them as they were beaten 2-1 by Swallows FC in their MTN 8 quarter-final on Saturday. Pirates’ defensive lapses in concentration were punished by veteran Swallows striker Ruzaigh Gamildien, who scored a brace with his goals coming either side of a Buccaneers goal from the penalty spot by Kabelo Dlamini. “Our build-up was not good enough,” said Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer. “Swallows were good in their high press and we could not find a solution. This was the biggest issue from the beginning. “We made too many mistakes as well. Individual mistakes are not easy for the whole team. In the second half, we got better. We also had opportunities in the first half but…

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za GROWTHPOINT, South Africa’s largest real estate investment trust (Reit) by market capitalisation, said on Friday it has declined an offer from a consortium of buyers to acquire the Eastern European office-focused Reit Globalworth. Growthpoint holds about 30 percent of Globalworth. In April, an independent committee of Globalworth’s board appointed to consider the offer by Aroundtown SA and CPI Property Group SA concluded that their offer significantly undervalued Globalworth, its assets and its prospects. The Growthpoint board agreed and therefore did not accept the offer. Meanwhile, Growthpoint said on Friday it had started the development of Kent, its first greenfield sectional title residential development in KwaZulu-Natal. The R140 million apartment project involves a standalone 10-storey building next to La Lucia Mall. Construction was scheduled for completion in November…

Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za The GAUTENG Department of Education (GDE) has hailed the first week of online admissions applications a success after more than 100 000 applications for Grade 8 were completed. The GDE’s 2022 online admissions applications system opened last Tuesday for Grade 7 learners currently enrolled in the public school system in Gauteng to apply for Grade 8. “Bravo, indeed we are vindicated that the two-phase process was in the best interest of both learners and parents,” Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi said. The process for Grade 1s and 8s was split into two phases this year to ensure that the high demand for school placement was managed more efficiently. By Friday, the number of successful applications from Grade 8 was at 104 504. “Accordingly, this milestone is indicative…

Geoff Embling | Joburg From 1994 there was great hope and unity in South Africa. All races watched soccer and rugby together in pubs and sang along to Johnny Clegg’s Spirit of the great heart and Impi. We were unified and working together towards a bright future. In the midst of hope and unity, small circles, notably in academia and politics, did not find resonance in the spirit of accord. They had their noses tucked into literature involving “critical race theory”, a philosophy based on identity politics, which first divides people into groups and then states that if a perpetration of injustice has been committed against a group there must be redress to the point of egalitarianism. The South African dream of turning the other cheek, forgiving and…

SAA preens wings as unions grit their teeth Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za National carrier South African Airways (SAA), 51 percent privately owned by the Takatso Consortium, telegraphed its return to the skies possibly in early September with the arrival of two Airbus 320s from Abu Dhabi to muscle back market share from rivals FlySafair and Airlink. Sources said the aircraft, each with the capacity to carry 138 passengers, will spearhead the airline’s return on the domestic market between Johannesburg and Cape Town, as well as the Durban route, in its first forays. The airline said the aircraft, which were among those sent back to lessors, were placed in storage and given six-year maintenance checks in Abu Dhabi during the airline’s time in business rescue, and had now been given “rigorous…

IN DECEMBER last year, I argued that the stage was set for a re-rating of Richemont against its peer group and global equity markets. Since I penned the article “Riche- mont reinvigorated: An opportunity?”, Richemont has outperformed the South African stock market as measured by the FTSE/JSE All Share Index by about 21 percent. Richemont has also outperformed the S&P Global Luxury Index in terms of US dollars by more than 18 percent since the end of November last year. The capital returns for holders of Richemont shares who received warrants in the shareholder loyalty scheme last year was even greater if the value of the warrants is taken into account. In South Africa, Richemont is listed as a depositary receipt where each depositary receipt represents a one-tenth share…

ITUMELENG MAFISA COSATU is seeking an urgent meeting with Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to express frustrations over Treasury’s decision to deny public servants’ early access to their pensions. The meeting is also meant to compel Parliament to draw up a bill that will ensure that workers can access a portion of their pensions. The move to allow workers early access to their pensions was part of the government’s response to the financial constraints caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Prior to the decision a worker could access their pension on resignation, retrenchment or retirement. Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said the decision offended public servants who have also been experiencing financial challenges because of the pandemic. “The federation rejects this unwanted isolation and victimisation of public servants. This represents an intensification…

Chulumanco Mahamba PROMINENT medical expert and heart surgeon Dr Susan Vosloo has found herself in hot water for making “problematic” anti-vaccine remarks in a viral video. Vosloo was South Africa’s first female heart surgeon and performed her first heart transplant at the age of 33. However, the doctor from Netcare’s Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital made controversial claims about Covid-19 vaccines in a video that was publicised on BitChute on August 10. In the video, she claimed that Covid-19 was the first medical condition to be “predominantly mismanaged not by knowledgeable people, by politicians, bureaucrats, and academics”. She added that the disease was fuelled by “relentless scaremongering” by the media. “The risk of the vaccine is worse than the risk of virus,” she added. She likened the composition of the vaccines…

THE ground-breaking decision of the African Union Commission (AUC) to provide observer status to the State of Israel signifies hope for peace – and a way towards solving the Israel-Palestine political impasse, which has lasted for decades. Israel was a member of the AU’s forerunner, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), until 2002 when it was relaunched in Durban. The Jewish state has been campaigning for a comeback to the AU and was successful on July 22, 2021. This decision by the AUC provides an opportunity to bring both the State of Israel and the State of Palestine together in an attempt to hold a proper engagement that will address the long-standing issues between them. However, it has chosen rather to take sides with Palestine. The fixated stance of the…

On September 25, the Springboks and the All Blacks play in the 100th Test match between the two nations and the occasion and the spectacle in prospect grows ever mouth-watering with each game Siya Kolisi’s team play. On Saturday, the All Blacks put 50 points past Australia’s poor Wallabies, and then a much-changed Springbok team from the third Test against the British & Irish Lions made a very good Argentina team look decidedly average. I have to confess that I was concerned that the Boks would be flat in this game at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium and that the changes could mean a disjointed performance similar to what happened when the Bok ‘B’ team (posing as South Africa ‘A’) lost to the Bulls. And this was a Pumas team boasting…

Tottenham Hotspur shrugged off the absence of Harry Kane to give Nuno Espirito Santo a dream start as manager as Son Heung-min's strike beat Premier League champions Manchester City 1-0 yesterday. Nuno left Kane out his squad with the England captain closely linked with a move to City, who showed why they are in need of a natural goalscorer in a toothless display. City have already spent £100million on Jack Grealish and are prepared to smash the Premier League transfer record once more to get Kane by the end of the month. The Spurs striker was reportedly in the stadium, but not on the pitch after returning back to pre-season training late in his bid to force a move away from his boyhood club. Early on it was easy to…