Table of contents for 2021-10-11 in Cape Times

From page 1 her mother and best friend, being strong enough to put aside her grieving to ensure that the farewell to her beloved “Barbie” as she affectionately called her, went off without a hitch. “As a family, we have been overwhelmed by the huge number of tributes which have poured in for Val. From tributes heralding her professional capabilities, assisting organisations in the city with projects, and streams of journalists who she helped, mentored and cared for were all of great comfort to us.” The veteran journalist’s father, John Boje, said although he knew his daughter was a special person, he did not know just how special she was until he heard and read all the wonderful things people had said about her since the news of her passing.…

Staff writer BRITISH Airways is set to resume services to Cape Town, offering three flights a week in November, before moving to a double daily service in December. The airline is also expected to ramp up daily services to Johannesburg by mid-December, following the announcement that a significant number of countries, including South Africa, have been removed from the UK government’s red list. From today, eligible fully vaccinated passengers travelling from South Africa to the UK do not need to quarantine in a hotel or take a pre-departure test. Instead, a Day 2 test will need to be taken. Travellers to the UK are still required to fill in traveller locator forms before travelling. British Airways’s services to Mexico City will also be increasing to five services a week from November…

Francesca Villette Francesca.villette@inl.co.za THE City is expected to appeal a Western Cape High Court judgment that found it had unlawfully confiscated the belongings of homeless people sleeping in District Six last month. Judge Rosheni Allie ordered the City to return all of the tents, materials and property within five days or pay R1 700 as compensation, and interdicted the City from further evicting them or confiscating their tents without a court order. The City said it noted the judgment and would challenge it. “The City will appeal this untenable judgment, which will cause District 6 to be lost to unlawful occupation and will deny the District 6 land claim beneficiaries the restitution of their land in perpetuity. “The City has a constitutional duty to ensure our public places remain sustainable,…

Kevin Meineke | Hout Bay I REFER to the cartoon in the Cape Times, October 6. The cartoon shows a set mousetrap baited with political party promises, being covertly watched by several dubious-looking characters. What a brilliant cartoon. The cartoonist hits the nail right on the head. Well done. In recent weeks we have had political parties promise, if you vote for them of course, to solve all of Soweto’s electrical problems, another party will open 24 hour clinics in smaller towns, with full nursing and medical services nogal! While a third says they will solve everyone’s sewerage problems. Why only now are such promises made? Why have these important issues not been dealt with since 1994? How do such spokespeople sleep at night? Promises, promises,…

Muhammad Omar | Durban North WHILE both the ANC and DA are at loggerheads regarding the Phoenix poster wars; there is a lot more under the surface that matters. First, the critical role players seem to be silent in these deliberations. Many community leaders and activists, notably the legendary Karou Chaou or KC were involved. I had the privilege of meeting him and mentioned that “you are the Malema of the SA Indian community”. Not sure if that was a compliment or otherwise! Except KC has his own brand of clothing and not some bling European label with the occasional red overall. The Gandhi burning of British textiles should be a lesson for many “Gucci revolutionaries”. Among the others were Mr Ronnie Veeran who together with the committee had…

EVERY DAY I drive 65km from the coloured location where I was born to work in central Cape Town. I park in Roeland Street, on the very piece of land where my family’s home once stood. Although the home was demolished nearly half a century ago, the land has never been developed. Nobody really needed it; they just didn’t want us there. Today the land belongs to the City of Cape Town. Much has changed in the intervening years, but the City has remained steadfast: it still doesn’t want us there. Four years ago, the City announced plans to build affordable homes on the land. My heart skipped several beats. Although I’m fortunate to have professional qualifications and a good job, house prices on the regular market in the area…

Blocks of molten lava as large as three-storey buildings rolled down a hillside on the Spanish island of La Palma while a series of tremors shook the ground yesterday three weeks after the volcanic eruption. There were 21 seismic movements on Sunday, with the largest measuring 3.8, the Spanish National Geological Institute (ING) said, shaking the ground in the villages of Mazo, Fuencaliente and El Paso. The blocks of red-hot magma flowed down the side of the Cumbre Vieja volcano were the size of three-storey buildings, the Spanish Institute of Geology and Mining said yesterday. The lava flow, with temperatures of up to 1,240 degrees Celsius, destroyed the last few buildings that remained standing in the village of Todoque, the Canary Islands Volcanology Institute said on Twitter. There was a…

LONDON: Adele has reportedly been taking advice from Celine Dion ahead of a rumoured Las Vegas residency. The 33-year-old mega star has recently announced her return to music as her brand new single Easy On Me will be released next week and is said to have been getting tips from the My Heart Will Go On hitmaker about making a residency work - with Celine playing in the US city during a record-breaking four year run between 2003 and 2007 before returning to perform in Vegas from 2011 to 2019. A source told The Sun on Sunday newspaper: “Adele adores Celine. When they met she asked all about how she manages the workload. “Celine was happy to help and recommend Vegas. Adele wants to be near her LA home so…

MOSCOW: A plane crash in Russia’s Tatarstan region yesterday has killed 16 people and injured seven others according to preliminary data, emergency services said. “Seven injured are hospitalised; the remaining 16 (show) no signs of life,” they said. The local health ministry, in turn, said that one of the seven injured was in an extremely severe condition. The regional emergencies ministry later reported that rescuers had recovered the bodies of 11 people. According to intial reports, the L-400 aircraft made a hard landing. Communication with the plane was lost almost immediately after it took off from Menzelinsk in Tatarstan.…

Islamabad: Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, 85, the founder of the Pakistani nuclear programme, died due to lung problems yesterday, his family said. Khan’s health started deteriorating on Saturday night. He was rushed to the Khan Research Laboratories Hospital in Islamabad, his family said. In August, the nuclear scientist was admitted to the same hospital after testing positive for Covid-19. He had been moved back home after being successfully treated. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Twitter that Khan was loved by the nation over “his critical contribution in making Pakistan a nuclear weapon state”.…

England were able to name their strongest available squad for the Ashes Tour to Australia yesterday as their stars committed to the trip after coronavirus quarantine fears. The Ashes Tour had been the subject of tense negotiations after England’s players and their families expressed concerns over tough Covid-19 quarantine restrictions in Australia. England Test captain Joe Root and vice-captain Jos Buttler both hinted they might not travel if their fears were not eased. But following a breakthrough in talks with Cricket Australia, the England and Wales Cricket Board on Friday said they had given “conditional approval” for the tour to go ahead. Both Root and Buttler were named in the 17-man squad for the tour with Essex batsman Dan Lawrence the most eye-catching selection. “A Tour of Australia is the…

Valtteri Bottas ended his year-long drought with a dominant victory in Turkey on Sunday while unhappy Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton finished fifth and lost the Formula One championship lead to Red Bull's Max Verstappen. Verstappen, 24, was runner-up and 14.584 seconds behind the Finn at a wet Istanbul Park to overturn a two-point deficit to Hamilton and walk away six points clear with six races remaining. Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez finished third with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc fourth and ahead of seven-time world champion Hamilton, who had started 11th due to an engine penalty. “It’s been a while, but feels good. I think from my side probably one of the best races I’ve had ever,” said Bottas, who started on pole position and was never threatened. “Apart from that…

Stuart Hess stuart.hess@inl.co.za North West Dragons 158/7 Eastern Storm 157/6 Dragons won by one run Senuran Muthusamy’s smartly timed half-century, proved the difference between the two teams in a gripping final Pool C match, that saw the Dragons qualify for the quarter-finals of the CSA Provincial T20 Knock-Out yesterday. The North West’s stand-in captain scored 62 not out off 38 balls, sharing a crucial 48-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Wesley Marshall, that kept the momentum of the Dragons innings going at crucial stages. However, it was his finishing with the bat that was influential in the outcome. Marshall dominated the first half of the innings with another muscular half-century, in which he pounded the ball with great force through the field and on three occasions over…

Odwa Mkentane odwa.mkentane@inl.co.za POLICE are investigating the death of an off-duty Mfuleni officer, his wife and two children in a fire. Officer David Lekhethe, 48, his wife, and children aged eight and four years, were killed in the blaze, believed to have been sparked from an electrical box on Friday. Two other children survived and are in hospital. Police spokesperson Novela Potelwa said the cause of the fire is the subject of police investigation. “Police reports indicate a tenant on the premises heard screams after 9.30pm coming from the main house and went to investigate. The tenant tried to gain access to the house. “The bodies of the 48-year-old police sergeant and his 38-year-old wife were discovered in the bedroom of their home in Ringwood Street, Wesbank, Mfuleni. Their two…

Kailene Pillay kailene.pillay@inl.co.za IT’S NOTHING short of arrogance for Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane and Public Works MEC Babalo Madikizela to use Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s credibility as cover for their actions. That is the view of political analyst Ongama Mtimka following Mkhwebane’s scathing report against Mabuyane and Madikizela over funds meant for the memorial service of Struggle icon Winnie Madikizela Mandela. Her report found that Mabuyane personally benefited to the tune of R450 000 from the amount of R1,1 million which was “certainly” public money that went into the Nedbank account of Allan Morran Design Architectural Services to carry out renovations at his private house. “Whereas Mr Mabuyane denied the knowledge of arrangements between Mr Bam (a local businessman) and Mr Madikizela, evidence revealed that his wife, Siyasanga Mabuyane…

Odwa Mkentane odwa.mkentane@inl.co.za NOLAN Hoffman became the second most successful men’s rider in Cape Town Cycle Tour history when he won his fourth title in 2 hours, 37 minutes, 12 seconds in near perfect weather yesterday. In the Women’s race, 2018 winner Kim Le Court De Billot took the title after a thrilling race over 78km that started in Fish Hoek. She clocked 2 hours 13 minutes 37 seconds. The 36-year-old Hoffman, who won in 2014, 2015 and 2018 – delivered the perfect sprint after surviving the climbs up Chapman’s Peak and Suikerbossie and winning by over a bike length ahead of Christiaan Janse van Rensburg and Craig Boyes. “This is definitely the title that means the most. It has been a tough time for my family over the last…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za TAXI Associations have fingered the increase in companies making use of private staff transport in areas taxi operators are based, as one of the reasons contributing to ongoing extortion in the industry. Last week Transport MEC Daylin Mitchell called an urgent meeting with the taxi industry to discuss extortion allegations, claiming his office has been inundated with complaints. “Private companies and owners whose vehicles are being stopped by elements within the taxi industry (so-called patrollers), who impose ‘fines’ or ‘release fees’ on people when they drive in certain communities. These crimes are allegedly aligned to both Cata and Codeta.” Mitchell called for leaders to take responsibility to ensure that their members operate within the law and in accordance with their constitution and signed code of conduct. Cata…

Dan Adams | Southfield THE Pretorians must be glad and also sad because a few of their province’s players don't get a chance to play for the Bulls. More than 90% are players from other provinces. It must be sad for a parent to see that his son isn’t good enough to turn out for his beloved Bulls. Jake White can be extremely glad but to my mind it is an injustice to those born there and can't play, so don't brag Jake, you won the Currie Cup with imports. Brag is a good dog , but holding fast is better.…

Harry Wiggett (the Revd.rtd.) | Fish Hoek WHAT a timely injection of hope the celebration of Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s 90th birthday has been to many of us! Just to have been reminded by respected leaders in our diverse communities – such as the Rev Allan Boesak at the celebration in St George’s Cathedral at midday on Thursday, and then later with the holding of the annual Tutu Peace Lecture by Professor Thuli Madonsela and Graça Machel and the Dalai Lama – of the dynamic spiritual role played by Archbishop Desmond in the life of our evolving democracy was truly inspiring. And then at the end of the day to have had the privilege of hearing and seeing Dr J J Tabane’s Power to Truth TV programme with Archbishop Desmond…

AS South Africans enjoy the eased restrictions that come with level 1 of the pandemic, the dark cloud of the dreaded fourth wave, which is predicted to start in a month and continue into the festive season, is an ever-present reminder of the tumultuous nature of Covid-19. Indeed, it appears that the country is now experiencing the calm before another storm. It has intensified its vaccination drive in anticipation of the expected fourth wave and is encouraging more people to get vaccinated. The message is still clear and people are being asked to sanitise, maintain their social distancing and to avoid large crowds and gatherings. Deputy President David Mabuza, on the campaign trail in KwaZulu-Natal this weekend, spoke of the Covid-19 paradox that is taking place in the country when…

A Franciscan nun from Colombia kidnapped by jihadists in Mali in 2017 was freed at the weekend, Mali’s presidency said. Sister Gloria Cecilia Narvaez was taken hostage on February 7, 2017, in southern Mali near the border with Burkina Faso where she had been working as a missionary for six years. A statement on the presidential Twitter account paid tribute to her “courage and bravery” along with photos of the nun taken after her release. “I thank the Malian authorities, the president, all the Malian authorities for all the efforts you’ve made to liberate me. “May God bless you, may God bless Mali,” Sister Gloria said on television showing her with Mali’s interim president Colonel Assimi Goita and the archbishop of Bamako, Jean Zerbo. “I am very happy. I stayed…

BRITAIN and Ireland traded barbs on Twitter yesterday after British Brexit negotiator David Frost restated his view that the EU must agree “significant change” to the Northern Ireland protocol that governs trade and border rules in the province. The protocol was part of the Brexit settlement Prime Minister Boris Johnson negotiated with the EU, but London has repeatedly said it must be rewritten less than a year after taking force due to the barriers businesses face when importing British goods into Northern Ireland. Ireland’s Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, on Twitter, asked: “Does UKG (UK government) actually want an agreed way forward or a further breakdown in relations?” That drew a rebuke from Frost: “I prefer not to do negotiations by twitter, but since @simoncoveney has begun the process … ”…

Tunis: More than 5 000 Tunisians rallied yesterday against a presidential power grab in the only democracy to have emerged from the Arab Spring uprisings a decade ago. Despite checkpoints and security screening of protesters, it was the biggest in a series of Sunday rallies in central Tunis both pro and against the actions of President Kais Saied. On July 25, after months of political stalemate, Saied sacked the prime minister, suspended parliament and granted himself judicial powers, a move he followed up in September with measures that effectively allow the president to rule by decree. Tunisia was the birthplace of the Arab Spring uprisings.…

BEIRUT: Lebanese Energy Minister Walid Fayad has announced the resumption of power supply across the country after a blackout. Lebanon was completely left without electricity on Saturday after the country’s two largest power stations stopped operating over a fuel shortage. “The [power] network returned to its normal operation, which was before the gas-oil [a product of oil refining] at the stations ... ran out,” the official said, as quoted by the OTV broadcaster. Lebanon has been paralysed by a deepening economic crisis as supplies of imported fuel have dried up. The Lebanese currency has fallen by 90% since 2019.…

Staff writer MAJOR South African retailers have removed apple juice items from their shelves following the recall of LiquiFruit products. An investigation confirmed that a limited quantity of apple juice concentrate supplied to Pioneer Foods, which owns LiquiFruit, contained elevated levels of patulin. Patulin is a toxin that commonly occurs in rotting apples, and the recall was based on the presence of patulin exceeding 50 parts per billion (microgram/kg), which is the regulatory threshold. Retailer Pick n Pay said the recalled products were removed from shelves from Friday. “Any customer who has bought one of the products affected by the recall can return them to Pick n Pay for a full refund,” it said. Some of the recalled products include the LiquiFruit Clear Apple 250ml carton, LiquiFruit Clear Apple 300ml…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za USING someone’s HIV status to name-call, shame or degrade, is a setback for the work done over the last decades to destigmatize the disease. This is how health activists have reacted to the conviction of Khayelitsha Ward 92 councillor and candidate Xolisa Peter after being found guilty on charges of crimen injuria on Friday and sentenced to 125 hours community service. Peter had publicly shouted at another party member, Ntombi Dywili, that she had HIV, during a heated altercation as they came out of a meeting in August. The incident was caught on camera. In September, the ANC said Peter would be stepping aside and the IEC would take her off the party's list. She is expected to start her community service work at the Lingelethu West…

Chevon Booysen Chevon.booysen@inl.co.za THE woman injured during an anti-vaccination protest in Sea Point at the weekend says she will lodge a complaint of assault against police after she was allegedly hit in the face with a baton. This as two men, aged 25 and 51, are expected to appear in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court next month after they were arrested at the same protest on the Sea Point Promenade on Saturday. The injured woman, who wanted to be identified as Noleen, was part of the protesting group and said she was “traumatised” by the incident. Speaking from hospital, Noleen said she was in the process of getting a J88 form to have the matter formally reported to police. The woman said she had tried to assist a child to…

Staff writer THREE suspects were arrested during a raid on an organised dogfighting event in Saxonsea, Atlantis, on Saturday. The Cape of Good Hope SPCA and the City’s Law Enforcement Animal Control Unit said they confiscated four dogs during the operation. On arrival, just after 8pm, Cape of Good Hope SPCA chief inspector Jaco Pieterse and inspector Mark Syce discovered two dogs actively fighting and suspects attempting to flee the scene. The severely injured dogs were taken for veterinary treatment with multiple lacerations and puncture wounds. The organiser of the event was traced and arrested after fleeing the scene and the property owner and another person who tried to obstruct the operation were also arrested. A vehicle used to transport the fighting dogs was impounded. The City said the…

Ellen Fedele | Plumstead IT IS shocking that the behemoth that is the Coca-Cola company still plies local stores with free boxes of plastic straws (obviously with their name on them). Has your desire for more millions of rand so overcome you that you don't care what that plastic does to the environment/oceans? It's appalling that you don't have enough of a conscience to switch to the cardboard ones or as other franchises do, simply do not supply straws at the tills, etc anymore. Companies like yours that wield such huge influence over the youth with your beverages should be much more cognisant of the image you portray. I don't drink any of them but will be calling every head office of franchises I see that still…

MICHAEL BAGRAIM | Highlands Estate YOUR October 7 edition ‘SA shuts doors on Zim health workers’ refers: It is an absolute shame that the South African government feels the necessity to have an outright ban on health workers from Zimbabwe. In the same breath our government thought it expedient, at enormous expense, to bring in health workers from Cuba. The Cuban health workers could hardly speak English and in all probability weren’t as qualified as their Zimbabwean counterparts. Over and above all this, many of our health workers can’t find jobs despite years of professional training. Our local South African health workers including doctors and nurses struggle every single year to find placements. The Department of Health needs to explain themselves to the local medical profession and the…

Poor decision making by Team Ramaphosa will have a lasting impact ONE of the more depressing things as we marked this year’s World Mental Health Day on October 10 is that most of the mental wellness targets set in WHO’s Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan were missed in 2020. These targets have now been extended to 2030 with the inclusion of mental health and psychosocial support in emergency preparedness plans and its integration into primary healthcare. The dire data from WHO’s just-published World Mental Health Atlas comprising 171 countries including South Africa, confirms an abject worldwide failure to provide people with the services they need, at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic exposed a growing need for mental health support. Lest the pandemic emerges as a convenient scapegoat for society’s…

Kunduz: The imam had just led his congregation in a chorus of “Allahu Akhbar” (God is Greatest) when Abbas recalls hearing a “terrible sound” before being knocked to the ground. “It was a noise I had never experienced in my 24 years,” he said from his hospital bed in the northern Afghan city of Kunduz. Now Abbas knows that a suicide attacker had detonated his bomb, ripping through the crowd during Friday prayers at the Gozar-e-Sayed mosque and instantly killing dozens of Shia worshippers. But despite the distress and his injuries, Abbas vowed to continue his work as a prayer caller (muezzin) and reciter (Qari) at the mosque, saying he sees it as his “human responsibility” to carry on. Friday’s blast killed around 100 Shia Muslims, according to locals, the…

LOS ANGELES: Hollywood actor Morgan Freeman recently defied the progressive left by stating that he does not support the effort to defund police forces around the country. “I’m not in the least bit for defunding the police,” Freeman told Black Enterprise. “Police work is, aside from all the negativity around it, very necessary and most of them are doing their job.” Frankie Faison, who co-stars with Freeman in the film playing a man who is shot by the police, agreed with Freeman, that there is no need to defund the police.…

A 51-year-old woman was set to become the first person in this majority-Catholic country without a terminal prognosis to die by legally authorized euthanasia yesterday. But a surprise 11th-hour decision by health officials has halted her bid. Martha Sepúlveda was awakened by her lawyers Friday night with the news of a letter announcing that her euthanasia procedure scheduled for 7am yesterday had been canceled, after a medical committee determined that she no longer met the conditions because her health had apparently improved. The decision to cancel the procedure came as a complete surprise, according to her lawyers. She had no idea health officials were even meeting to review her case. She had been quietly living out her final hours, and had tuned out media coverage of her case. “She canceled…

VIENNA: Austria’s ruling coalition soldiered on yesterday after Chancellor Sebastian Kurz quit to keep it alive, but a top newspaper likened his future role in parliament to Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s stint as prime minister in name only. Prosecutors placed Kurz and nine others under investigation last week on suspicion of corruption offences, as part of what they suspect is the use of public funds to produce manipulated polling and newspaper coverage favourable to Kurz. Kurz denies wrongdoing. Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg will take over the chancellorship today, according to reports.…