Table of contents for 2021-10-19 in Cape Times

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za DOMESTIC natural gas and helium producer Renergen has completed a forward sale agreement for 100 000 units of helium to Argonon Helium US, a helium trading company. The agreement is for 19 years. Each unit represents a thousand cubic feet (mcf) of liquid helium. Argonon will use the helium to issue tokens, which will in due course be listed on an exchange with the assistance of financial services provider Purple Group’s EasyCrypto platform, providing transparency in the price of helium for the first time. Renergen’s share price surged 6.7 percent to R585.85 yesterday morn- ing after the deal was announced. Purple group’s share price was up 1.51 percent to R2.02 at the same time. The tokens will be fully redeemable for helium at the…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za TRANSNET confirmed yesterday that its Richards Bay and Durban ports were fully operational after a major fire at the former facility and bad weather at the latter last week saw the utility declare force majeure over the weekend. The major logistics state-owned enterprise said a second fire at Port Richards Bay, which broke out on Wednesday and reignited on Friday, had affected one of the import conveyor belt routes. “Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) would like to reassure all stakeholders that the ports of Durban and Richards Bay are open. TNPA is aware of reports on social media that these ports are closed and confirms that this is fake news,” said Ayanda Mantshongo executive manager: corporate affairs and external relations at TNPA. Mantshongo said shipping was suspended…

| Bang Showbiz Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian are engaged. The Blink-182 drummer and the Poosh founder started dating earlier this year, and over the weekend, the 45-year-old rocker got down on one knee inside a circle of red roses on the beachfront of the Rosewood Miramar Hotel in Montecito, California. Kourtney’s sisters, Khloe Kardashian and Kim Kardashian West, and Tristan Thompson were among those present as the pair took the next step in their relationship. An onlooker told E! News: “Travis escorted Kourtney down to the beach, where he had red and white florals set up in the shape of a heart. “It looked very romantic. I could see Kourtney smiling from ear to ear and put her hand over her mouth looking surprised. The family cheered for…

Loyiso Sidimba loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za THE group of military veterans arrested for holding two ministers and a deputy hostage last week will be back in court today at the Kgoshi Mampuru prison in Tshwane. The 53 former members of uMkhonto we Sizwe, the Azanian People’s Liberation Army and the Azanian National Liberation Army are accused of holding Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise, her deputy Thabang Makwetla and Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele hostage at the St George Hotel in Centurion, Tshwane, last Thursday. The group faces charges of intimidation and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has indicated it could add terrorism charges. Dali Mpofu SC, who is representing 30 of the veterans, told magistrate Bheki Ntshingila the state did not know what to charge his clients with. “We live…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za SOME science and medical experts have thrown their weight behind the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority‘s (Sahpra) decision not to approve Russia’s Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use in South Africa at this stage. Sahpra said yesterday that the high prevalence of HIV in the country was the reason behind the refusal as concerns had been raised about the safety of Ad5-vectored vaccines in populations at risk for HIV infection. Sahpra chief executive, Dr Boitumelo Semete said one of the challenges faced by such vaccines was the presence of pre-existing Ad-specific neutralising antibodies (NAbs) in the general population. She said two studies, namely the Step trial, which primarily recruited men who have sex with men in the Americas, and the Phambili trial, which recruited heterosexual…

Nicola Daniels nicola.daniels@inl.co.za SOME companies will go to extreme lengths to achieve a higher Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) status for the purposes of accessing contracts, authorisations and benefits – and this has prompted the B-BBEE Commission to conduct site visits to verify compliance by entities. In one case, a warehousing and courier company presented itself as 100% black-owned and obtained a B-BBEE level 7 (seven) based on incorrect ownership credentials, as the owner was in fact a white South African man, the Commission said. The owner, Evert Phillip Serfontein, argued that he “was apparently informed by his mother that his biological father is actually a coloured man and that his white father is not really his father. In this regard they promised to provide proof to substantiate this claim,…

Odwa Mkentane odwa.mkentane@inl.co.za THE Mandalay Community Police Forum (CPF) suspects the gang violence which is said to be behind the killing of a young woman, in an incident that also left seven others – among them a 5-year-old – wounded during a birthday party may have started outside the area. The 24-year-old was killed after shooters driving a green Honda Ballade opened fire on guests attending a 21st birthday party in Montclair drive. Seven others, including a five-year-old who was shot in the eye, are still recovering in hospital. Three suspects have since been arrested. “The execution of the 72-hour Activation Plan following the attack on party-goers in Mandalay on Saturday evening led to the arrest of three suspects. A 24-year-old female was killed and seven others aged between…

THE breakdown of law and order that was evident during the July violent unrest and looting has continued unabated in the country, and the government is proving powerless to deal with incidents of criminality. The rampant looting, burning of trucks and buildings and the killing of people in July was accompanied by an absence of police officers. The lawlessness provides a clear indication that the state is being perceived as weak, and several people are hell-bent on exploiting the weakest link for their own selfish benefit. The first incident that demonstrated the breakdown of law and order happened last week in Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Foreign nationals were seen on social media brandishing automatic rifles in broad daylight and torching minibus taxis during a quarrel with taxi bosses. The incident was…

Leaders in the south Indian state of Kerala opened near-overflowing dams yesterday after at least 22 people died when heavy rains lashed the state over the weekend. Rainfall across the state led to flash floods and landslides in several areas, with the Indian army and navy called out to rescue residents. Opening dams could reduce the risk of potentially catastrophic overflows like those partly blamed for the state’s worst floods in a century in 2018, when at least 400 people were killed and 200 000 displaced. But by releasing water downstream, the move could also worsen the situation in areas already experiencing floods. Authorities have already opened smaller dams to prevent flooding, while state Power Minister K Krishnankutty said the Idukki dam, the state’s largest, would also be opened…

VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis, a keen soccer fan, received an unusual gift from France’s prime minister yesterday – a jersey signed by the pontiff’s fellow Argentinian Lionel Messi. Jean Castex gave the pope the glass-framed No 30 jersey, signed by Messi, who plays for Paris St Germain, after private talks at the Vatican. Francis, 84, has met Messi, 34, and once called him one of the greatest soccer players of all time. Francis is a lifelong fan of the Buenos Aires San Lorenzo soccer team. The French premier also gave the pope a more traditional gift – an 1836 edition of Notre Dame de Paris, Victor Hugo’s classic novel about the hunchbacked bell ringer Quasimodo set in Paris in 1482. Castex was visiting the Vatican and Rome for celebrations marking…

LONDON: Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, who was shot by the Pakistani Taliban as a schoolgirl, has urged Afghanistan’s new rulers to let girls return to school. It has been a month since the Islamist Taliban, which seized power in August, excluded girls from returning to secondary school. The Taliban have claimed they will allow girls to return once they have ensured security and stricter segregation under their interpretation of Islamic law – but many are sceptical. Yousafzai called on the leaders of Muslim nations to make it clear to the Taliban that “religion does not justify preventing girls from going to school”.…

Amsterdam: Two men appeared in court for the first time yesterday accused of murdering the Netherlands’ best-known crime reporter in broad daylight on an Amsterdam street. Delano G, 21, is accused of shooting journalist Peter R de Vries in July while Polish national Kamil E, 35, allegedly drove the getaway car and carried out surveillance. The murder of de Vries, 64, who was an adviser to a witness in a major drugs trial and gunned down as he left a TV studio, stunned the Netherlands and sparked condemnation across Europe. Kamil E, a Polish national, told the preliminary hearing that he was innocent.…

Zaahier Adams zaahier.adams@inl.co.za SOUTH Africa’s history of exporting cricketers to the United Kingdom is a well-documented story, but on Sunday’s opening day of the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup in Oman a new chapter emerged. Johannesburg-born all-rounder Chris Greaves, who was playing just his second international match, delivered a match-winning performance to power his adopted country Scotland to a shock six-run victory over Bangladesh. The impact of Greaves’ performance goes far beyond his 28-ball 45 that led Scotland to 140/9 and 2/13 which restricted Bangladesh to 134/9. Greaves walked to the crease with Scotland in all sorts of trouble at 53/6 in the 12th over. He would never before have come close to facing the quality and class of a bowler such as the highest wicket-taker in T20 World Cup…

Thobile Mazibuko thobile.mazibuko@inl.co.za Famous South African self-taught baker Faaiza Omar has partnered with Charles Greig Jewellers to launch her jewellery range. The new Faaiza Omar x Charles Greig is Omar’s first jewellery design. “There was definitely a need for a standout local luxury collaboration. There hasn’t been one in South Africa for a while, and I saw a gap in the market for exclusive, standout pieces. “After months of planning, we are ready to launch. Now is the perfect time as we head into the summer season under level 1, with social calendars filling up with events and special occasions,” says Omar. The collection was inspired by the Beechwood Gardens, one of the best spring destinations in Joburg, where flowers are in full bloom. “Inspired by Beechwood Gardens and the…

Loyiso Sidimba GAUTENG Deputy Judge President Roland Sutherland has revealed that the judiciary is considering only allowing vaccinated people access to courts. Judge Sutherland told his colleagues last week that Judge President Dunstan Mlambo will set up pop-up vaccination sites in the province’s courts and has approached the Department of Health. “The probability that a decision will be made that access to the courthouse is restricted to the vaccinated is strong,” Judge Sutherland said in a letter dated October 13. The judge also said he will not allow anyone who is not vaccinated against Covid-19 to enter his chambers in the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg. “I intend to put on the door this sign, ‘If you are not fully vaccinated do not enter’,” he said. Some of his colleagues had…

Lisa Isaacs lisa.isaacs@inl.co.za IN a precedent-setting judgment, the Western Cape High Court has reviewed and set aside a Wynberg magistrate’s decision that the charge sheet against the accused in the country’s oldest sexual abuse case to go to trial, be amended. In 2019 magistrate Vanessa Miki found in favour of the defence’s argument that the provisions of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007 were not applicable at the time of the alleged offences, from 1974-1980, and that the act was not intended to apply retrospectively. The case involves sisters Lisa van der Merwe, 59 and Claudine Shiels, 62, who alleged that they were sexually abused by two relatives, from 1974 to 1979. The Cabinet’s approval, in 2018, of a bill aimed at amending…

Siyavuya Mzantsi siyavuya.mzantsi@inl.co.za HOME Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has slammed the conduct of staff who cut queues and send people home because there were already “more than enough people to serve for the day”. Recently, frustrated residents protested outside the Mitchells Plain Home Affairs office after they were told the office could only assist 100 people a day. Community activist Richard Williams said people were furious they could not get assistance after queueing at the office from as early as 4am. “They only helped 100 people at a time. And the people were very unsatisfied because they have to pay twice now for travelling from their homes to the offices, and when they reach 100, they say they are done, and people now have to return home,” he said. Motsoaledi…

Chevon Booysen chevon.booysen@inl.co.za MATHEMATICS fundi Emmanuel Rassou, a grade 11 learner from the South African College High school in Newlands, who won the Old Mutual South African Maths Olympiad (Samo) has dedicated his prize to his late mother. At the weekend, Rassou was named as one of the South African Mathematics Foundation’s (SAMF) top achievers when he received a gold medal as the overall winner of the Senior Division category. The Olympiad is a SAMF flagship learner development programme sponsored by Old Mutual, Nestlé Nespray South Africa, and the South African Institute for Chartered Accountants. Meanwhile, the overall top performing schools for the Samo and South African Maths Competition both from Cape Town, were Bishops Diocesan College and Sweet Valley Primary School, respectively. Rassou, previously a winner of the junior…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za THE Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has agreed to pay an educator R25 000 for acting “procedurally unfairly” towards her after she had not been appointed to a vacant advertised post for which she had been in an acting position for almost three years. Khairunnisa Gaffoor was employed as a teacher at Rylands Primary School since 1981. She also acted in the departmental head post for two-and-a-half years. When the post was advertised, Gaffoor applied and was shortlisted as one of the preferred candidates by the school’s SGB but was excluded on the basis of her formal qualifications. However Commissioner Lanthis Taylor found Gaffoor had been prejudiced against. “The fact that the WCED allowed her to act in the position without having the relevant qualifications for the…

RECENTLY, I felt like Pastor Niemöller in Nazi Germany who was unperturbed every time the Nazis came for folks all around him to be killed, until finally they came for him. Queue rage, unfortunately, is real, not a new phenomenon, and it happens all so suddenly. One is never aware nor prepared when confronted by it. Daily we are warned about hijackers, scammers, drunk and reckless drivers, smash and grabbers, but hardly about folks misbehaving when queuing. There is so little one can do to defend oneself in such situations. Road rage and other forms of rage in the form of school and domestic violence are happening all over the world. It is something totally different when one is accused when not even guilty of queue-jumping, but what does one…

THE ongoing energy crisis in Europe and elsewhere is not caused by geopolitics but is a product of multiple factors coming together, such as unexpected return of demand and regions taking markets away from each other, Angela Wilkinson, secretary general and chief executive of the World Energy Council told Sputnik. Gas prices have been surging across the world due to demand outpacing supply amid an economic recovery after months of Covid-19 restrictions. To complicate matters further, Asia’s shift from coal to gas creates additional competition among buyers. “This isn’t a geopolitical crisis, this is a combination of other factors. What’s happening in Europe, or in China, or in Oceania, or in Latin America, or in North America, is a combination of a surprise in the return of demand where it’s…

Colin Powell, the first Black US secretary of state and top military officer, died yesterday at the age of 84 due to complications from Covid-19. He was fully vaccinated, his family said in a statement on Facebook. “We’ve lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American,” his family said, thanking the staff of the hospital near Washington, who treated Powell. Powell was one of America’s most prominent Black figures for decades. He served three Republican presidents in senior posts and reached the top of the US military as it was regaining its vigour after the Vietnam War trauma. The Powell family did not address what vaccine he received or whether he had received a booster shot; when he fell ill; when he may have been hospitalised…

MBABANE: eSwatini’s King Mswati III has ordered the immediate and indefinite closure of schools in the kingdom amid pro-democracy protests which have flared up. Local media in eSwatini said the move comes after students and pupils boycotted lessons and called for free schooling, as well as an end to Mswati’s rule. eSwatini, previously Swaziland, has been rocked by a wave of violent pro-democracy protests. Authorities have again restricted the country’s internet services, leaving most social media applications down. Swaziland News reported that hospitals are flooded with over 20 protesters having been shot and four reportedly killed.…

Taipei: A Taiwanese court sentenced a train driver to four and a half years in prison yesterday for negligent homicide over a 2018 derailment that killed 18 people. The crash on the scenic east coastline also injured around 200 people and left the Puyuma Express lying zig-zagged across the tracks. The driver had turned off an Automatic Train Protection system used to monitor speed, the court said in a statement. He was driving at 140km/h, twice the limit for the curved part of the track where the train approached a station in north-eastern Yilan county, causing it to derail, the statement added.…

stuart.hess@inl.co.za The quarter-finals of the Cricket South Africa Provincial T20 Knock-Out take place in Kimberley from today. Stuart Hess provides a forecast for all four matches Today, 10am: South Western Districts v Titans South Western Districts is the only Division Two team to qualify for the playoffs. They have done so by finding a good balance between circumspection from their top order, with Yaseen Vallie and Jean du Plessis playing anchor roles; some explosive hitting in the middle from young Heath Richards; and outstanding bowling from Herschell America, Renaldo Meyer and Onke Nyaku. Their opponents have studied them now, so how they adjust when their strengths are put under pressure is intriguing. For the Titans, it’s about being more aggressive with the bat. For a team that was once…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za SOUTH African businesses are expecting trade conditions to ease for the next six months and move into positive territory after the turbulence experienced in July and August. The SA Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) yesterday said the momentum in trade conditions remained in negative territory in September. Sacci said the Trade Activity Index (TAI) was at 39 points in September, below the 50 points mark that separates contraction from expansion. The TAI was temporarily interrupted in July and dipped to its lowest this year at 34 points due to supply chain disruption during civil unrest, and recovered to 39 points in August. Trade was severely hampered as thousands of businesses were van- dalised, looted and burnt down in July during some of the…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za IRONGATE Group, formerly Investec Australia Property Fund (IAP), said yesterday that it had received a “highly conditional” and “unsolicited” A$1.1 billion (R12bn) takeover offer from fund manager 360 Capital Group, a company that IAP’s board previously warned might make a predatory offer. The offer was for all shares in Irongate that 360 Capital did not already own for A$1.6047 cash per security, which was made up of a headline price of A$1.65 less the anticipated distribution of A$0.0453 per IAP security for the half-year to September 30. Irongate’s share price rose 3.66 percent to R16.69 on the JSE yesterday around midday, while in Australia the price was up by the same percentage to A$1.56 per share. The proposal was conditional on ESR Real Estate (Australia)…

Rapula Moatshe rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za TRANSPORT Minister Fikile Mbalula has rejected the assertion that the new traffic laws, seeking to introduce the demerit points system, were unconstitutional. He was responding in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, in the application launched by the Organisation Undoing Tax (Outa). The organisation is challenging the constitutionality of the Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act 46 of 1998 (Aarto Act) and the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offence Amendment Act 4 of 2019 (Amendment Act) passed by Parliament. Mbalula was cited as the first respondent, with the Road Traffic Infringement Authority and the Appeals Tribunal as the third and fourth respondents respectively. The second respondent was the Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, who did not oppose the application and committed to…

Odwa Mkentane odwa.mkentane@inl.co.za THE City has blamed vandalism as one of the factors leading to exposed cable wires which led to a 2-year-old being electrocuted in Malibu Village near Mfuleni. But the Good Party has accused the DA-run City of being responsible, because it neglected poor, black areas, pointing out that such tragedies never occured in affluent, white suburbs. “The City of Cape Town’s Electricity Distribution and Generation Department carried out the necessary repairs to this particular street light, reference number: 9111565893, and others in the area on October 9, 2021. Unfortunately, the street light was vandalised soon after the repairs took place. “The Malibu Village area and other areas across the metro have experienced an unprecedented increase of electricity infrastructure theft, vandalism and illegal connections. “City teams go to…

Staff WRITER A WESTERN Cape distributor of health-care products has agreed to pay a penalty of R20 000 for allegedly colluding on a provincial Health Department tender. The Competition Tribunal of South Africa said the tender related to the supply of diagnostic sets to hospitals and health institutions under the Western Cape Department’s control (clinicians use diagnostic sets to examine patients’ eyes, ears, noses and throats). “In September 2019, the Commission received a complaint from the Department of Health Western Cape. It had alleged that competitors, Intermed and BMS Medical colluded when tendering for the supply of diagnostic sets. There were similarities in the tender documents which led the department to believe that Intermed and BMS had colluded with each other. “The commission’s investigation found in June 2018, Intermed…

Staff writer A “RUTHLESS” taxi driver who allegedly attempted to knock a provincial traffic officer off during an operation on the closed B97 route between Bellville and Mbekweni has been charged for attempted murder. Another was charged with assault of a traffic officer, while a third taxi operator was charged with interfering with a law enforcement officer while executing his duty. When seven taxis were impounded, some taxi drivers allegedly blocked the road in an attempt to stop the operation. The officer saved his life by firing shots at the wheels of the taxi charging towards him and forcing it to stop. Transport and Public Works MEC Daylin Mitchell terminated operations on the connected route from July 26 in an effort to quell the violence between feuding operators aligned…

Pieter-Dirk Uys has a new show and is finally filling in his diary once more – but in pencil Pieter-Dirk Uys AFTER 19 months of lockdown, each of us has our own unique story to tell. Previous daily routines have been uprooted. Jobs have disappeared. Families have been disrupted. People we know have died. In March 2020, I had just finished three productions at the Stellenbosch Woordfees. Then came the breaking and brittle news that a new virus was on the way from the other side of the planet. But this was Cape Town. Nothing that awful ever happens here unless we do it to ourselves. Even as a child, I remember whispers about the possible World War III breaking out in nuclear mushrooms. But we believed it would…

ADDIS ABABA: ETHIOPIAN forces carried out air strikes on the northern city of Mekele yesterday, humanitarian officials and diplomats told AFP, in the first reported bombing raids over the Tigrayan capital since the early stages of the year-long war. Air raids were reported inside and outside Mekele, the regional capital held by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) since it was recaptured from government forces in June. “Air strike now in Mekele,” one humanitarian official in the city said via an SMS to AFP, describing attacks also confirmed by a second humanitarian source, two diplomats and a rebel spokesperson. The first raid occurred in the morning on the outskirts of Mekele near a cement factory, the sources said. The second took place around midday in the city centre near…

LONDON: Duchess Catherine re-wore the lilac Alexander McQueen gown she wore to the 2011 Baftas to the Earthshot Prize ceremony. The royal wowed at Prince William’s inaugural event at London’s Alexandra Palace at the weekend, where she announced one of the five winners of the Earthshot Prize, who received £1 million to scale solutions to the planet’s environmental challenges. The Earthshot Prizes were created by William to reward people for trying to protect the planet. He said the next event would take place in the US.…

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has promised to abolish prostitution in the country, saying it “enslaves” women. Speaking at a three-day congress of his ruling Socialist Party on Sunday, Sánchez vowed to move ahead with a pledge to outlaw prostitution that was part of his leftist party’s election manifesto in 2019. The manifesto called prostitution “one of the cruellest aspects of the feminisation of poverty and one of the worst forms of violence against women”. Prostitution has boomed in Spain since the practice was decriminalised in 1995; a 2011 UN report cited Spain as the third-biggest capital of prostitution in the world, behind Thailand and Puerto Rico, and it has made a name for itself as the brothel of Europe. Recent estimates put revenue from Spain’s domestic sex trade at…

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Court of Appeal yesterday granted a request from former prime minister Najib Razak, who was convicted on graft charges last year, to temporarily release his passport so he can attend the birth of his grandchild in Singapore, a prosecutor said. Najib was sentenced in July 2020 to 12 years’ jail for corruption and money laundering in a case linked to a multibillion-dollar scandal at now-defunct state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). He has denied wrongdoing and is out on bail pending an appeal. The court allowed Najib to retrieve his passport from October 20 to November 22 so that he could be with his daughter.…

Fast bowler Curtis Campher took four wickets in four balls to help Ireland thrash The Netherlands by seven wickets in a first round match of the Twenty20 World Cup yesterday. Campher took a hat-trick and then struck again to return figures of 4/26 as the Dutch were dismissed for 106 in the Group A opener in Abu Dhabi. In reply, Ireland lost two early wickets but veteran opener Paul Stirling, who made an unbeaten 30, and Gareth Delany, who scored 44, put on 59 runs for the third wicket to ease into their chase. Ireland achieved their target with 4.5 overs to spare as Campher hit the winning runs for his team's first win over The Netherlands in a World Cup. "(We wanted) just to attack the stumps as much…