Table of contents for 2021-09-29 in Cape Times

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za The INDUSTRIAL Development Corporation (IDC) facilitated R7.4 billion worth of investments into the local economy for the financial year to March, with R6.3bn from on-balance sheet funding and R1.1bn off-balance sheet funds managed on behalf of other government entities. The state-owned entity said despite a subdued economic environment characterised by an economic lockdown, the result of the Covid-19 pandemic, it had facilitated the creation, saving of 13 354 jobs. Chief executive TP Nchocho said the corporation had further approved a combined R950 million from its Covid Essential Supplies and Distress Funds to support businesses afeted by the Covid-19 pandemic. “The disruption in both the local and supply chains resulting from the economic lock down had a knock-on effect on our funding activities. This is…

Marchelle Abrahams marchelle.abrahams@inl.co.za You know when local television Anele Mdoda has a story to tell, it’s going to be juicy. The 94.7 Breakfast Club host shared an interesting post over the weekend alongside a picture of herself wearing a moon boot. Without giving too much away, she wrote: “What a bloody long day !!!! You won’t believe what happened to me resulting in this moon boot. “It’s the most bizarre thing to happen… as it was happening I was in disbelief. “Anyway I will tell the story 7.10 on Monday on @947joburg it’s too long of a tale to tell here but madness was the order of the day. I am fine but I was a little sad, shame. I had a cry or two.” Fans were eager to hear…

From page 1 “It is most prudent that funds/administrators invest in training initiatives within their boards of management or organisations, to ensure that technical expertise or knowledge on how to deal with death benefit payments, is shared and maintained,” she said. “The lack, thereof, is apparently clear from the issues that get misinterpreted, as these are often not complex at all nor do they raise novel issues,” said Lukhaimane. More than 5 000 complaints were also carried over from the previous financial year, with 1 602 of those already over the six-month mark. “This was partly due to some funds, with a high volume of complainants not submitting responses timeously and also due to a less-than-successful change management process in the last quarter of 2019/20, resulting in a slowdown…

ZELDA VENTER zelda.venter@inl.co.za A MOTHER of four has been going through hell of being married for more than 15 years to a man she has never met in her life. However, her ordeal came to an end when the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, declared that the “marriage” she had entered into in February 2006 was not valid. Elize O’Brien has been struggling for years to try to convince Home Affairs that she had never met Khaled Elshahhat Ally Elsharakawi and that she was definitely not married. The Reiger Park, Boksburg, woman told the Cape Times’ sister publication, the Pretoria News, that although she was relieved to now be “divorced” from “her husband”, it was not the end of her problems. She is jobless and lives in poverty, as she could…

Siphokazi Vuso siphokazi.vuso@inl.co.za THE battle for affordable housing in the city centre has intensified after Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille revealed her plans to release the Customs House building along the Foreshore, which is owned by her department, for the cause. De Lille said they were in the process of finalising a feasibility study in order to package the building for release. She revealed her plans during a broadcast interview on Monday. “These things I am talking about are not just because it’s elections; they are well documented. In 2018, this was the key reason why I resigned from the Democratic Alliance and as mayor of the City of Cape Town before my term came to an end, because I was prevented from building houses in well-located…

Farouk Araie | Benoni FIFTY-TWO years ago Imam Abdullah Haron was brutally murdered by the apartheid state security forces. We as a nation must remember him for his dedication to free South Africa of oppression and express our admiration and the deepest respect for his courage and steadfastness to give his life for the cause of righteousness, justice and equity. His death will serve to remind generations of our countrymen of a generous and fearless personality, and of a life of nobility and patriotism, service and sacrifice. Those who hounded and killed him have changed the course of South Africa. What they probably got is his near deification in the hallowed halls of martyrdom and the certainty that he will be an even greater political icon in death…

Brett du Toit | Cape Town IN THE context of a failing national government and its accompanying policies, the City of Cape Town is arguably at a critical juncture. I am pleased with the DA’s announcement of Geordin Hill-Lewis as the metro’s mayoral candidate, as well as his goals of redefining the frontiers of local government by empowering the poor and protecting Cape Town from the shortcomings of the national government. Hill-Lewis believes that in order to unlock Cape Town’s true potential, we must measure it against global standards instead of only domestic standards. Among the mayoral candidate’s goals are to fight for the decentralisation of crucial national functions such as policing, electricity generation and public transport. With reference to electricity generation, his ultimate goal is to free…

Nicola Daniels nicola.daniels@inl.co.za PORTERVILLE police are investigating a case of attempted murder after shots were allegedly fired at a farm dweller trying to pick waterblommetjies from a dam on the Goedverdiend farm just outside Bergrivier on Friday. “An attempted murder case has been registered at Porterville police station and the circumstances are being investigated after a suspect fired two shots at the victim on a farm in Porterville on Friday, September 24, 2021,” police spokesperson Andre Traut said. Traut added that no injuries were sustained and that the suspect was arrested and later released on bail. Rural and Farmworkers Development Organisation executive director Billy Claasen said a group of about 50 farm dwellers and workers picketed on Monday over the shooting and included in their demonstration their disapproval of the…

IT WAS Amilcar Cabral, the giant of the north, who once said: “Always bear in mind that the people are not fighting for ideas, for the things in anyone’s head. “They are fighting to win material benefits, to live better and in peace, to see their lives go forward, to guarantee the future of their children”. In this passage, Cabral captures with precision the resolve of any revolutionary movement whose revolutionary agenda is rooted in the people. He brings to our attention the nobility of our cause, which is to improve the lives of the people and secure a prosperous future for their children. It is this noble cause that the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) pledged when it was formed back in 2013, and it is towards the grandeur of…

Dhaka: A Bangladeshi man in his 80s has been reunited with his nearly 100-year-old mother after about 70 years, thanks to social media. Abdul Kuddus Munsi was sent to live with his uncle when he was about 10, but lost touch with his family after running away and being adopted by two sisters. “This is the happiest day of my life,” the 82-year-old said from Brahmanbaria, the eastern border district where he was born. A businessman posted a video of Munsi on Facebook, appealing for help to find his parents. A distant relative in the village spotted the post and informed Munsi that his mother, Mongola Nessa, was still alive.…

Munich: A Munich court yesterday began hearing a case against a German audit company over failures that led to a dam collapse in Brazil in 2019 that left 270 people dead. The town of Brumadinho and the family of one of the victims are seeking compensation from TUEV SUED, which they claim certified the dam on behalf of mining company Vale, despite significant safety failings. In January 2019, the reservoir, holding millions of tonnes of tailings – mineral-laced mining waste – broke apart, washing over the mine near the town in the south of Brazil. The resulting wave spread toxic mud across the area, engulfing mine workers and local residents.…

Singer R Kelly has been found guilty of leading a decades-long scheme to recruit women and underage girls for sex in New York, with the jury declaring him guilty on all nine counts of racketeering and sex-trafficking charges. The jury, consisting of seven men and five women, convicted Kelly of racketeering and eight violations of an anti-sex trafficking law after nine hours of deliberations in the federal court in Brooklyn, after beginning its deliberations on Friday afternoon. Kelly faces the possibility of decades in prison. An attorney for Kelly said that they were considering filing an appeal as they are disappointed with the verdict. Kelly’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 4 next year. The singer sat motionless in the courtroom as the verdict was read, according to the NYT.…

Moscow: Russian investigators said yesterday that they had launched a new “extremism” probe against jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, pictured, and his top allies. The Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes in Russia, said around 2014, Navalny “created an extremist network and directed it” with the aim of “changing the foundations of the constitutional system in the Russian Federation”. Investigators said that Navalny and his top allies Leonid Volkov and Ivan Zhdanov are suspected of having run an “extremist network”, while Lyubov Sobol and his other allies are accused of taking part. Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s most vocal domestic critic, was detained in January and later saw his network of political offices and Anti-Corruption Foundation declared “extremist” and banned. In recent months, Navalny and his allies have become targets of…

THERE was a point during a press conference last week where Faf de Klerk, ever so slightly, let his guard down a bit. He was responding to a question from me about the try he had created for Lukhanyo Am in the second Test against the Wallabies, where he took a tap kick and made a great run into the 22, and then delivered a perfect grubber for Am to dive on to. I had told De Klerk that some fans on social media had stated that such a brilliant piece of play reminded them of when he was at the Lions, when they reached three consecutive Super Rugby finals, and I asked him if we would see more of that in the two games against the All Blacks. His…

Samkelo Mtshali samkelo.thulasizwe@inl.co.za THE second day of the Special Investigating Unit’s (SIU) Special Tribunal yesterday saw witness testimony before the Pietermaritzburg High Court paint a picture of the blatant and rampant flouting of tender regulations in the multimillion Rand security upgrades at Nkandla. The SIU is attempting to recoup R155 million from Minenhle Makhanya, the architect of former President Jacob Zuma’s sprawling Nkandla homestead which cost taxpayers about of R246 million. An SIU witness testifying before the court, who cannot be named as the trial is being held in camera, yesterday gave a blow-by-blow account of Makhanya’s appointment as chief architect by the Department of Public Works, including that he was not on the department’s service provider database when he was appointed. The SIU witness told Pietermaritzburg High Court Judge…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za THE Stellenbosch Hospital has been accused of negligence and trying to cover up a sexual assault after a 15-year-old girl was allegedly raped in a psychiatric ward. According to the family spokesperson, Bianca Booysen, the incident happened on September 17, but the family was only informed nine days later. The Western Cape Health Department has refuted this claiming the incident happened last Thursday. Booysen said: “The teenager was admitted on September 11 at the hospital after she tried to commit suicide. This past Saturday a doctor called the mother saying there was a sexual incident that took place. A nurse caught another patient raping her daughter and the parents must visit the facility on Monday. Bear in mind the father visited the hospital on Friday but they…

MICHAEL BAGRAIM | Highlands Estate YOUR Monday edition “Farmer who allegedly defrauded the Ters fund due back in court soon” refers: It is pleasing to see that the Department of Employment and Labour is pursuing people who defrauded the Ters (Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme). Thousands and thousands of individuals did not get paid due to both fraud and corruption within the department. It is unfortunately rather ironic that those individuals within the department have not been pursued or prosecuted.…

Chevon Booysen chevon.booysen@inl.co.za “NOW we can rest. Orderick can rest.” These were the words of slain Orderick Lucas’s mother, Davidene Lucas outside the Western Cape High Court yesterday after Melvin Volkwyn was sentenced to 20 years direct imprisonment by Acting Judge Nolundi Nyati. Volkwyn was convicted last month of the one-year-old’s murder. The toddler’s maggot-infested body was found in a stormwater drain by a group of children in 2019. The gruesome discovery was made eight days after Orderick was reported missing - his body was already in an advanced state of decomposition. Judge Nyati said she agreed with the defence’s argument during sentencing proceedings in mitigation of sentence that “the community had failed Orderick”. Medical evidence could not confirm the cause of death while a state pathologist said there was…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za HEINZ Park Primary School teacher Thulani Manqoyi’s murder last week was not only felt by his biological children, but also the many pupils who looked up to him as a loving father figure. “Mr Manqoyi was more than a teacher to us, but a father who treated us all as his children. “He showed us so much love and support,” said learner representative, Lindokuhle Vuko. A memorial service was held for Manqoyi at the school yesterday, where pupils and staff shared their tributes. Former principals, education department representatives and the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) came to support his family members in attendance. Another learner, who was overwhelmed by emotion, recalled how Manqoyi would give pupils money when they did not have food. “Besides helping us…

THE cows kept by small-scale farmers in Africa are notoriously unproductive. The average dairy cow, for example, produces about 540 litres of milk a lactation. By contrast, dairy cows in North America that belong to commercial or intensive farmers can produce up to 10 479 litres of milk a lactation. One of the main differences between the two animals lies in the quality of their feeds and forage. Simply put, the more nutritious cows’ diets are, the more and better quality milk they produce. And small-scale farms – of which there are about 33 million in Africa, contributing up to 70% of the continent’s food supply – usually cannot afford more nutritious feed. Brachiaria, the genus name of Urochloa, consists of about 100 documented species of grass of which seven…

LONDON: UK Labour lawmaker and shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds yesterday blamed the Conservative government for the shortage of tanker truck drivers that has translated in lack of fuel at petrol stations and long queues by panic-buying motorists. “We’ve found ourselves in this position because of a failure of the government to lead and to plan ahead,” the politician said. He claimed that he and his colleagues wrote to Transport Minister Grant Shapps in July to alert him on the situation, but in a reply a month later the secretary said the government would not use foreign labour to solve the truck drivers’ crisis.…

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s population size this year saw its sharpest percentage drop since 1950, a report said yesterday, as coronavirus-induced travel restriction kept foreigners away. It was the second consecutive year the city-state saw its population shrink and only the third time it had negative growth since 1950, according to a report. The population, which includes foreigners who live, work and study in Singapore but are not permanent residents, dropped by 4.1%. The government has offered one-off payment to encourage Singaporeans to have children during the COVID-19 pandemic…

Four Tunisian political parties yesterday urged President Kais Saied to reverse a recent power grab, warning that his controversial moves could stoke violence. At a press conference in Tunis, the four left-leaning parties accused Saied of violating the country’s 2014 constitution, after he moved on July 25 to sack the government of Hichem Mechichi, suspend parliament, scrap MPs’ immunity and seize control of the prosecution. The president last week suspended parts of the constitution and installed rule by decree, sparking angry weekend protests in the only democracy to have emerged from the 2011 Arab uprisings. “We believed the president had good intentions, (but) with the stroke of a pen he installed one-man rule,” said Democratic Current chief Ghazi Chaouachi, whose party has 21 seats in the now-frozen parliament. Accusing Saied…

Women will no longer be allowed to attend classes or work at Kabul University “until an Islamic environment is created”, the university’s new Taliban-appointed chancellor has announced. “As long as a real Islamic environment is not provided for all, women will not be allowed to come to universities or work Islam first,” Mohammad Ashraf Ghairat said in a tweet. The new university policy echoes the Taliban’s first time in power, in the 1990s, when women were only allowed in public if accompanied by a male relative and would be beaten for disobeying, and were kept from universities entirely. According to the New York Times, some female staff members, who have worked in relative freedom over the past two decades, pushed back against the new decree, questioning the idea that the…

Zaahier Adams zaahier.adams@inl.co.za SWALLOWS FC assistant coach Simo Dladla has clarified the current managerial situation at the club after head coach Brandon Truter was placed on “special leave” before their MTN8 semi-final second-leg match against Cape Town City today. Dladla has been put in charge for three matches, which included last Friday’s Premiership clash against City, the MTN8 semi against the same opposition, and the upcoming weekend clash against Mamelodi Sundowns. “Coach Brandon had a lengthy meeting with the club management, and after that, I was called in to be told of the board decision that I must take control of a few games. It was taken across to everyone,” Dladla said. “People were shocked, people were surprised. So, you can imagine it was a difficult task to get everyone…

From page 1 “What makes things worse is that the youth mostly are dying and they are being targeted. Now as a parent I always worry when one of my children is not in the house, especially at night,” said Nkasela. Khayelitsha Development Forum (KDF) chairperson Ndithini Tyhido said communities had to take a stand against crime. “The shootings of young girls like that can not be justified in any way. The suspects deserve to be punished very harshly because they have taken away the souls of future leaders in our society. No normal person can take a gun and shoot people on the head and this shows that whoever did this has no respect for the community or for human beings,” said Tyhido. Community Safety MEC Albert Fritz extended…

Odwa Mkentane odwa.mkentane@inl.co.za THE last time Khayelitsha mother Nontobeko Bless saw her 17-year-old daughter Unam Nolusindiso Bless was when she and her two friends were playing music in the house. Moments later, she received a call informing her that Unam, along with 20-year-old Siyasanga Nkasela and 21-year-old Zintle Meloni were found lying next to each other with bullet wounds to their heads, in a passage between shacks at TT Block informal settlement. Police have since instituted a 72-hour activation plan to mobilize resources in search of the suspects behind the triple murders which have left the community reeling in shock. Speaking to the Cape Times yesterday Nontobeko Bless said Unam, a pupil at De Grendel School of Skills in Milnerton, had just left the house with her friends moments before…

Sidney Sollinger | Sea Point IT IS PATENTLY obvious that our Boks are not playing at anywhere near their obvious potential, and to have watched was really frustrating. With just four minutes to go we have a slender lead of one point, for some reason once again Faf is taken off, and Jantjies makes the same mistake that cost us the game against Australia. Surely the main objective was to retain possession at all costs, yet once again Jantjies launched two meaningless high kicks which simply gave the crucial possession back to the All Blacks. To have made such an elementary mistake two weeks in a row is simply really hard to fathom. Really strange action.…

Nicola Daniels nicola.daniels@inl.co.za IN THE WAKE of a rabies outbreak in Khayelitsha, and coinciding with International Rabies Day yesterday, several organisations have committed to raising awareness around the dangers of the deadly virus. The Mdzananda Animal Clinic in Khayelitsha is also hosting a mass rabies vaccination day on Saturday, and has invited pet owners to bring their animals. Khayelitsha last month recorded the first two rabies cases in the province since 1994. State vet for epidemiology from the Western Cape Department of Agriculture’s Animal Health directorate, Dr Lesley van Helden, said they had vaccinated just under 1 700 pets within a 1km radius from the first detected cases, and no new cases have been reported. Mdzananda general manager Heidi May said: “It’s essential to vaccinate your dogs against rabies, and…

Odwa Mkentane odwa.mkentane@inlco.za HUNDREDS of Khayelitsha residents blocked main roads and burnt tyres yesterday in protest over a lack of service delivery in the area. According to residents, sewerage pipes have been blocked since last year, and all efforts to get the City to fix them have failed. Principal of Avela Educare in Site B, Sheila Maqwentshu, said she had to close her centre due to overflow of a sewer in front of the gate. The area’s Victoria Mxenge branch secretary, Ludwe Vara, said residents had vowed to embark on a total shutdown for the week if the City did not urgently respond to their needs. “We have engaged with the City many times since February to come up with solutions but nothing happened. “The only reason they gave us…

PRETORIA pastor William Emeka has been jailed for 37 years for sexual assault and raping women and children in his congregation. The God Is Love Ministries preacher faced multiple charges, involving women or children – and was found guilty of all of them. He is the latest to join the list of men of the cloth who have abused their power. The Seshego Regional Court sentenced the 50-year-old pastor to five life terms in prison, after convicting him on five counts of rape. His victims included children aged between 11 and 13. Another Limpopo pastor, 57, was convicted on two counts of rape, and was sentenced to two life terms in the Mankweng Regional Court. He raped children aged 14 and 16. In the Western Cape, 50-year-old pastor Freddie Jafta…

TOKYO: Japan’s coronavirus state of emergency restrictions are set to lift tomorrow, allowing restaurants and bars to resume more flexible hours in an effort to jump-start the economic recovery after nearly six months, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said yesterday. Japan has been under a partial or nationwide “state of emergency” status since April, a designation meant to express the threat of the spread of the coronavirus. The restrictions have been extended or expanded for a few weeks at a time since April in response to rising cases, the prevalence of the delta variant, and the slow roll-out of the vaccine programme.…

Paris: France and Greece yesterday signed a multibillion-euro deal for Athens to buy three French warships, an accord hailed by President Emmanuel Macron as a major boost for the EU’s defence ambitions. The memorandum of understanding for the purchase of the Belharra frigates was inked less than two weeks after Paris was left reeling by Australia’s cancellation of a contract to buy French submarines, in favour of a new defence pact with Britain and the US. Macron said after meeting Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the Elysée Palace that Greece would buy the three frigates from France to cement a deeper “strategic partnership” between the two countries to defend their shared interests in the Mediterranean. The deal marks “an audacious first step towards European strategic autonomy”, Macron said. “Europeans…

Chicago: Former president Barack Obama has defended his choice of the historic Jackson Park neighbourhood on Chicago’s South Side as a site for the Obama Presidential Center, says ABC News. Obama said he was “absolutely confident” the planned centre to honour his legacy, which will include a library, museum, gardens, and a children’s playground, will benefit the community. “Any time you do a big project, unless you’re in the middle of a field somewhere,you know, there’s always going to be some people who say, ‘We don’t want change’,” the former president said.…

A new report from the Coalition for Urban Transitions (CUT) and FSD Africa has noted that the economic benefits from investing for climate readiness in African cities would far outweigh the cost. Based on an analysis of cities in Ethiopia, South Africa and Kenya, which represent 18% of Africa’s urban population, the report estimates that the greening of the continent’s cities could produce huge economic dividends over the next three decades. The report, launched at Africa Climate Week, which ends today, proposes a new model for urban growth in Africa that emphasises compact area development, connected infrastructure, clean technologies and climate resilient planning. Doing so will create jobs, improve health, reduce pollution and raise productivity. An economic analysis shows that across the 35 major cities in the three countries, efficient…

Zaahier Adams zaahier.adams@inl.co.za BANYANA Banyana showcased their strength in depth with a 2-1 win over Malawi in their opening Cosafa Women’s Championship match at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium yesterday. Banyana were without the majority of their overseas-based players who were crowned the inaugural 2021 Aisha Buhari Cup champions last week after crushing hosts Nigeria 4-2 in Lagos. Glasgow City defender Janine van Wyk was the only overseas-based player to return with Banyana to help the national women’s team claim their fifth consecutive Cosafa Women’s Cup. Coach Desiree Ellis has, though, an abundance of local talent to call upon in Gqeberha, particularly from Mamelodi Sundowns, who are set to play in the Caf Champions League in November. It was Sundowns forward Melinda Kgadiete who wasted no time in asserting Banyana’s…