Table of contents for 2022-04-14 in Cape Times

From page 1 place over Saturday and Sunday. The 21.1km Half Marathon is on Saturday and will start at 6.30am. On Sunday, the 56km Ultra Marathon starts at 5.20am. Both races will start in Main Road, Newlands and will end on the Rugby field at UCT. Two Oceans Marathon non-profit company board member Hilton Kearns said because of Covid-19 restrictions, they were hosting only the Half Marathon and the Ultra Marathon this year. “We are unable to offer our other races such as the trail run and the fun run. “Regarding the route, everything stays pretty much the same. “However, some of the big changes we had to implement since 2019 include that no spectators are allowed at the finish, and we have more batches of runners as we need…

A SENIOR manager in the Cederberg Municipality has resigned with immediate effect after admitting that he lied about having a Bachelor of Technology degree in construction management. The municipal council had instituted a qualifications audit in December to verify that staff were in possession of the requisite qualifications for their jobs/posts. The preliminary results of that audit were tabled to Mayor Ruben Richards at a meeting recently. Richards said the Project Management Unit Manager admitted that he had falsified his qualifications from CPUT. “On Monday 11 April 2022, a senior manager voluntarily resigned with immediate effect, after admitting that he falsified his qualifications. “Other senior staff were invited to prove their qualifications for the positions they hold in the municipality. “As a result of this qualifications audit process, each staff…

Island informal settlement residents in Site C, Khayelitsha, have threatened to protest if the City does not attend to a collapsed sewer pipe which has damaged the foundation of their homes. More than 30 residents have moved from the area due to the situation. Community activist Simbongile Dlokolo said leaders would meet to find a way forward. “The City does not care about this at all because the last time they were here they told us that we will be moved out of this place within five days, but that never happened. “The manhole is getting bigger and it affects other structures. The City could have avoided this from the beginning. “The office of Malusi Booi said that the residents illegally occupied the area whereas that is not true. We…

RESIDENTS in Mpumalanga may have to live with the polluted air in their region a while longer. This is after it emerged that Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister Barbara Creecy will seek leave to appeal certain portions of the judgment in favour of various NGOs in the Mpumalanga “deadly air” case. Environmental justice group GroundWork Trust and the Vukani Environmental Justice Alliance and Mpumalanga community organisation Vukani Environmental Justice Movement in Action said they were disappointed by the minister’s decision to apply for leave to appeal some parts of the judgment. They said the judgment, handed down last month in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, was a resounding victory for environmental justice in South Africa. Judge Colleen Collis recognised the poor air quality in the Mpumalanga Highveld region…

THE FORGOTTEN SISTER Judy Summers Loot.co.za (R173) Welbeck ABANDONED and alone, can she find new hope? Liverpool, 1848. Meg Shaw is the middle child of eight siblings, not quite old enough to bring in a wage to help her struggling family, but not young enough to be a babe to be cared for. When the family realise they can’t feed all the children, Meg makes a choice. She volunteers to go to the workhouse for one season, and she'll take her little sister, Rosie, with her. As long as they are together, they can make it through. But the moment they enter the workhouse, Meg and Rosie are separated. Abandoned and alone, Meg is determined to make it through, and soon finds herself surrounded by a new family of vulnerable…

THE deadly KwaZulu-Natal floods, which also hit parts of the Eastern Cape, not only showed the devastating impact of climate change, but also exposed how unprepared governments, including ours, are to deal with it. The deaths recorded and the trail of destruction that has been left by the floods serve as a stark reminder that more action and less talk is required to prepare communities to better deal with the effects of severe weather. These events also remind us that climate change is no longer “coming”. It is here. A study by the African Centre for Disasters on the institutionalisation of disaster risk management structures in 279 municipalities found that many had yet to put the most basic disaster risk management structures in place. Dr Robyn Pharoah from the Research…

More than 1 000 Ukrainian marines had surrendered in the port of Mariupol, Russia’s defence ministry said yesterday, signalling that it had moved closer to capturing the ruined city, its main strategic target in eastern Ukraine. If the Russians take the Azovstal industrial district, where the marines have been holed up, they would have full control of Mariupol, Ukraine’s main Sea of Azov port, reinforcing a southern land corridor before an expected new offensive in the country’s east. Surrounded and bombarded by Russian troops for weeks and the focus of some of the fiercest fighting in the war, Mariupol would be the first major city to fall since Russia invaded Ukraine on Febuary 24. Russia’s defence ministry said 162 officers were among the marines who had surrendered to Russian and…

Sri Lanka urged its citizens overseas to send home money to help pay for desperately needed food and fuel yesterday after announcing a default on its $51 billion foreign debt. The island nation is in the grip of its worst economic crisis since independence in 1948, with severe shortages of essential goods and regular blackouts causing widespread hardship. Authorities are weathering public protests demanding the government’s resignation before negotiations for an International Monetary Fund bailout. Central Bank governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said he needed Sri Lankans abroad to “support the country at this crucial juncture by donating much-needed foreign exchange”. His appeal came a day after the government announced it was suspending repayments on all external debt, which will free up money to replenish scant supplies of petrol, pharmaceuticals and…

PARIS: Three years after a devastating fire, Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris is mostly cleared of a thick layer of soot as an army of craftsmen race to meet a deadline to reopen in time for the 2024 Olympics. Ahead of the anniversary of the blaze tomorrow, the job of cleaning the walls, vaults and floor is almost completed. The inferno that engulfed the 12th-century Gothic landmark in 2019 caused its central frame to collapse and ravaged the famous spire, clock and part of the vault. The fire triggered nearly e844 million in donations for restoration from 150 countries. | AFP…

EOH IS “back in the black” and had completed its turnaround strategy, “an important milestone”, the technology firm said as it posted its results for the six months to end-January. In 2019, EOH embarked on a turnaround strategy after it was hit by a corruption scandal the previous year involving its senior directors. Headline earnings per share grew by 214 percent to 41 cents. The group’s operating profit, which includes continued and discontinued operations, amounted to R167 million, compared to the previous year’s R76m. EOH chief executive Stephen van Coller said: “We embarked on a challenging turnaround strategy for the EOH Group, and it has been a tough but truly rewarding journey. “Today we stand together as an agile and focused organisation proudly cele- brating the fact…

WITH an expected evening peak of 29 429MW, combined with fully unplanned and partial losses of 13 662MW, Eskom says the demand for power is “uncomfortably high” and they have “no choice” but to extend load shedding until at least tomorrow. A media briefing was held yesterday during which Eskom chief executive André de Ruyter said they had a shutdown at Komati 9, Kendall 6 and Medupi 6, as well as an interruption at Apollo substation. “We are dealing with an extensive legacy of under-maintenance over about two decades. “We had to take a decision to extend load shedding at least until Friday depending on how the situation changes, from unplanned trips or potential further breakdowns, that risk remains. “We also lost two units, then Medupi 2 tripped just after…

THE Special Tribunal has given the go-ahead to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to join four companies and an individual allegedly linked to former health minister Zweli Mkhize’s family in its litigation to recover monies from the Digital Vibes contract. Yesterday, Judge Lebogang Modiba granted the SIU leave to amend the notice of motion in its review application. The proposed respondents that will be joined in the review application are All-Out Trading, Tusokuhle Farming, Sithokozile Mkhize, Cedar Falls and Sirela Trading. In her ruling, Modiba said the SIU’s allegations against the proposed respondents met the test for the joinder. “If granted, the order sought cannot be carried out without prejudicially affecting the respondents,” she said. Modiba ordered the SIU to file the amended pages of the notice of motion in…

RESPECTED boxing trainer Zola Koti, who has produced world champions such as Mzonke “The Rose of Khayelitsha” Fana and Mzuvukile Magwaca, to name two, has gone back to grassroots level, working to revive the love of boxing in communities. At the busy Kuwait Taxi Rank in Site C Khayelitsha recently, he hosted an amateur boxing tournament for struggling clubs around Khayelitsha, for boxing hopefuls aged 11 to 17. The youngsters did not disappoint as we witnessed some good, strong punches, jabs and uppercuts. I for one witnessed the great talent of Elam Rhayo, 11, which reminded me of the great Baby Jake Matlala, who was short but able to defeat taller opponents due to his skill and strong punches. The youngster had a big heart as he took charge of…

MOST people who are still unvaccinated don’t plan to take the jab. This is according to the Covid-19 Vaccine Survey (CVACS) implemented by the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) at UCT, which collected information on facilitators and barriers to vaccine uptake in South Africa. Between November 2021 and March 2022, CVACS conducted two phone-based surveys to understand public opinion and demand for vaccination. SALDRU’s Brendan Maughan-Brown and Katherine Eyal co-lead the project, with collaboration from Kim Ingle and Tim Brophy (SALDRU), and Alison Buttenheim of the University of Pennsylvania. The CVACS team was joined by Lindokuhle Njozela and Tim Köhler for Survey 2 research activities. A key finding among the unvaccinated group was that “the majority of unvaccinated do not plan to get vaccinated, most say ’only…

THE LITTLE WARTIME LIBRARY Kate Thompson Loot.co.za (R240) Hodder & Stoughton LONDON, 1944. Clara Button is no ordinary librarian. While the world remains at war, in East London Clara has created the country’s only underground library, built over the tracks in the disused Bethnal Green tube station. Down here a secret community thrives: with thousands of bunk beds, a nursery, a café and a theatre offering shelter, solace and escape from the bombs that fall above. Along with her glamorous best friend and library assistant Ruby Munroe, Clara ensures the library is the beating heart of life underground. But as the war drags on, the women’s determination to remain strong in the face of adversity is tested to the limits when it seems it may come at the price of…

Hammerman: A Walking Shadow Mike Nicol Loot.co.za (R209) Umuzi MIKE Nicol’s new book in the series featuring surfer/PI Fish Pescado and Vicki Kahn, lawyer and former spy. The action starts with a simple discussion about what to have for dinner between the couple. After years they are seriously considering Vicki moving from her apartment into Fish’s house in Muizenburg. The introduction is mild; the couple is debating on the phone what to have for dinner. Then Fish gets a call from Professor Summers, who he provides with cannabis oil and products; the professor has got himself into the middle of a shooting incident in Manenberg. Fish goes off to save the professor. In Manenberg, Colonel Andre Jacobs is managing an active shooting scene. A little girl has been shot and…

The clock is ticking, and the alternative is economic anarchy HAS anything changed as South Africans take time to breathe over the Easter holiday? Yes: today, April 14, it will be 45 days, excluding weekends, since President Cyril Ramaphosa announced in his State of the Nation Address that he wanted a new social compact within 100 days. The important deadline to finalise most of the issues up for discussion at talks on a social compact is a few weeks nearer: a basic income grant, investment targets for the private sector, labour law reform, and a debt-equity swop by government pension money for Eskom. So are other critical but seemingly unrelated deadlines: the implementation of the state capture commission of inquiry’s recommendations, the no-confidence motion in Parliament, the ANC elective conference…

China’s commercial capital, Shanghai, warned yesterday that anyone who violates Covid-19 lockdown rules will be dealt with strictly, while also rallying citizens to defend their city as its tally of new cases rebounded to more than 25 000. The city police department spelt out the restrictions that most of the 25 million residents are facing. “Those who violate the provisions of this notice will be dealt with in strict accordance with the law by public security organs… If it constitutes a crime, they will be investigated according to law,” the department said. The city is under huge pressure to try to contain China’s biggest Covid-19 outbreak since it was first recorded in the city of Wuhan in late 2019. Shanghai police also warned frustrated residents, millions of whom are confined…

Prosecutors have searched a frozen pizza factory in northern France, the suspected source of an E coli outbreak that has left dozens of children sick, police said. A probe was opened on April 1 after more than 70 infections, which may have caused the deaths of a 1-year-old and an 18-year-old. The search at the Caudry factory, operated by Buitoni, which is owned by Nestlé, was confirmed by the Paris prosecutor’s office. Nestlé announced a recall of the pizzas last month, and authorities ordered a halt to production after two inspections at the factory. These “revealed a deterioration of food hygiene controls”, “rodents”, and insufficient measures to prevent pests from contaminating a food production site, authorities said. Recalls were ordered in Belgium and Luxembourg. The pizzas were also distributed in…

AT LEAST one MP has a contract with the state and six others have declared that they have received paid work outside their parliamentary duties in 2021. It has also been revealed that more than 10 parliamentarians declared that they received various sponsorships and payments from consultancy work. This is according to the register of members’ interests that was released by the joint ethics and members’ interest committee this week. The 827-page document showed that DA MP Jan Naude de Villiers is a director of a company that owns the Eikestad Mall, where the DA-controlled Stellenbosch Municipality is renting office space. The report said De Villiers’s company first entered into a lease agreement in October 2016 until September 2019. The lease agreement was renewed in October 2019 and is set…

THE Clermont-based United Methodist Church of Southern Africa has been a source of refuge for the local community, but on Monday it became associated with tragedy when its structure collapsed on to a house next door, killing four members of the Sokhela family. The four members of the Sokhela family are among the 259 people who have lost their lives in the rains that lashed the province on Monday. When President Cyril Ramaphosa and his entourage, which included KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala and Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, visited the family yesterday, the mother of the four children who died wept uncontrollably. Mmeli Sokhela, father of Nhlanhla Mkhize, 27, Luyanda Sokhela, 16, Sandile Sokhela, 14, and Olwethu Sokhela, 12, said he watched helplessly as the…

A VIDEO of Langerug School principal, Cecile de Villiers, running with a pupil in a wheelchair during the school’s athletics meeting, received 180 000 views after it was shared on social media by the South African Teachers’ Union (SAOU). Both De Villiers and the pupil had huge smiles on their faces as they completed the 100 metre distance while cheered on by spectators. The SAOU captioned the video by saying no one at the school in Worcester was left behind. People commenting on the video applauded De Villiers for setting a great example and clearly demonstrating her love and compassion for children. De Villiers said pupils at the school had specific learning difficulties and the staff aimed to address those needs as efficiently as possible. “We provide the same level…

THE Muizenberg Community Policing Forum (CPF) has come out in defence of four senior SAPS officials, including the station commander, saying they were doing valuable work in the community. This as the officers were “removed” from duty and expected to appear in the Muizenberg Magistrate’s Court today on assault charges. The Cape Times understands that some of the charges relate to the alleged assault of suspects in detention. According to information, the officers were removed from the local SAPS station with immediate effect. Police spokesperson Andrè Traut remained mum on the allegations and the charges against the officers. “The matter cited in your enquiry is an internal affair between the employer and the employees, and will be treated as such,” said Traut. Enquiries to police watchdog the Independent Police Investigative…

PORTRAIT OF A THIEF Grace D. Li Loot.co.za (R340) Hodder & Stoughton THIS was how things began: Boston on the cusp of fall, the Sackler Museum robbed of 23 pieces of priceless Chinese art. Even in this back room, with dust catching the slant of golden, late-afternoon light, Will could hear the sirens. They sounded like a promise. Will Chen, a Chinese American art history student at Harvard, has spent most of his life learning about the West – its art, its culture, all that it has taken and called its own. He believes art belongs with its creators, so when a Chinese corporation offers him a (highly illegal) chance to reclaim five priceless sculptures, it’s surprisingly easy to say yes. Will’s crew, fellow students chosen out of his boundless…

Saving My Sons – A Journey With Autism Ilana Gerschlowitz, Marion Scher Loot.co.za (R220) Bookstorm ILANA and Martin Gerschlowitz are an ordinary middle-class South African family – young, newly married with a bright, promising future. Ilana falls pregnant and gives birth to David, a happy, healthy baby boy. At 10 months old, David suffers recurring ear infections, and at 11 months old a terrible fever sends him to hospital. David’s behaviour abruptly changes; he no longer looks at his parents, his motor and budding language skills disappear, and the light in his eyes dims. It is the beginning of a journey with autism that few parents would ever want to encounter, yet a staggering number of children are now diagnosed with autism, and the number of diagnoses rises every year.…

A COUP is a coup, whether executed by a mob wearing military attire with guns, or gentlemen in suits and ties carrying pens. In a democracy like ours, the only way to assume power to govern the country is through the ballot, not through the bullet, mob or backdoor. The DA stands for many things, among them “Double Agenda”. It has managed to fool people, especially black people. It presents itself as better than the ANC. In the motion of no confidence it sponsored in Parliament against the Cabinet, it said the ANC stood for “Absolutely No Consequences”. DA leader John Steenhuisen kept on repeating this like a small child trying to impress a teacher. Unfortunately, he was making a mockery of himself without winning over the crowd. One member…

The International Monetary Fund hopes to mobilise around $45 billion for a new trust to help a broad range of countries, including some middle-income economies, deal with climate change and other longer-term challenges, a paper prepared by the IMF shows. The IMF’s executive board was to approve plans for the new Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) that were hammered out by IMF staff after the Group of 20 major economies backed creation of the instrument in October. Nearly three-quarters of the IMF’s 190 members would be eligible to borrow from the new trust, the global lender’s first facility set up expressly to help countries manage balance-of-payments risks posed by longer-term challenges, the paper said. “Today, even as IMF member countries confront the immediate challenges of rising inflation, constrained fiscal…

London: A British judge yesterday sentenced Islamic State group follower Ali Harbi Ali to a whole-life prison term for murdering MP David Amess in a knife attack last year. “This is a murder that struck at the heart of democracy,” judge Nigel Sweeney said at London’s Old Bailey courthouse. Ali, 26, had told the trial he had no regrets about killing father-of-five Amess in revenge for votes in parliament for air strikes in Syria in 2014 and 2015. He stabbed Amess over 20 times in a church in Leigh-on-Sea, southeast England. Amess’ family said nothing could ever compensate for his murder. | AFP…