Table of contents for 2022-10-24 in Cape Times

PREMIER Fishing celebrated its 70th birthday yesterday having grown from humble beginnings in 1952 into a Level-1 BBBEE group with internationally recognised brands, a fleet of vessels, and loyal staff, some of whom have celebrated a 40-year tenure at the group. What started as a collection of several subsidiaries listed on the JSE in March 2017 as a single group, and became one of South Africa’s foremost fishing entities. It was voted number one in the “Food, Beverages, and Other” sector by Integrated Reporting & Assurance Services, and it continues to expand, operating across four continents – Asia, Europe, North America, and Africa. Newly appointed chief executive Sooren Ramdenee said: “It has not taken me long to realise I have stepped into a company that truly values its people. It…

PARLIAMENT, which will require R2.2 billion to fix fire-damaged buildings, is expecting to receive a R118 million allocation from Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana during his adjustment budget on Wednesday. This was revealed by Secretary to Parliament Xolile George when he briefed Parliament’s the joint standing committee on financial management on Friday. George said the national legislature had made submissions to the National Treasury for unavoidable expenditure that was occasioned by the fire that broke out on January 2. “Although we could not receive the amount we requested, we nevertheless received an indication that they will allocate us an amount of R118m out of the total request we made to help respond to issues,” he said. The amount would be used for the preparation for next year’s budget, State of the…

SUB-Saharan African (SSA) economies, including South Africa’s, have been subjected to a reality check in recent weeks, coming not only from the IMF and the OECD, but also from several African watchdogs. The prognosis for Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and his SSA counterparts is neither encouraging nor flattering. The narrative is largely the same, exacerbated by the impacts of the pandemic, the Ukraine conflict, and global economic shocks, especially rising inflation, interest rates, the cost of living and public debt. Any post-Covid-19 recovery, let alone normalisation, has been put on the back burner, at least for the near-to-medium term. Antoinette M Sayeh, deputy IMF manager, while agreeing that many developing countries needed debt relief, could not help but inject realpolitik. “For debt relief to be impactful countries also need to…

A Russian military plane crashed into a residential building in the Siberian city of Irkutsk yesterday, the region’s governor said. In a post on Telegram, Irkutsk governor Igor Kobzev said the plane crashed into a two-storey house. Both pilots died in the crash. It was the second such incident in six days. Last Monday, a Sukhoi Su-34 fighter plane crashed into an apartment block in the southern city of Yeysk, near Ukraine, and at least 15 people were killed. The emergency situations ministry said the plane, an SU-30, crashed during a test flight. Footage shared on social media showed what appeared to be several buildings on fire. | Reuters…

Arsenal dropped points for only the second time this season as Stuart Armstrong’s equaliser forced the Premier League leaders to settle for a 1-1 draw against Southampton yesterday. Mikel Arteta’s side went in front through Granit Xhaka’s first-half strike at St Mary’s but Armstrong levelled after the interval as Arsenal paid the price for failing to convert several chances to increase their advantage. It was a rare slip from the Gunners, who had won nine of their 10 previous league games this season, with their only defeat coming at Manchester United. The end of Arsenal’s eight-game winning run in all competitions leaves them two points clear of second-placed Manchester City, after 11 games. While Arteta will be frustrated that Arsenal squandered the lead given to them by Swiss midfielder Xhaka,…

STUDENT organisations have labelled measures taken by Stellenbosch University to root out racism and discrimination at the institution as “ineffective” following a third reported urination incident this year. The belongings of two black students were allegedly urinated on by an intoxicated white student at Eendrag male residence in the early hours of Saturday. Eendrag residence management said they were alerted to the incident by a senior student. “An intoxicated student urinated on the floor and clothing on the floor of a fellow student,” residence management said. “The implicated student was temporarily suspended (pending a confirmation of suspension hearing) from Eendrag on Saturday, and the incident has been referred to the Office for Student Discipline. “The affected students are in continual supportive conversations with the leadership of Eendrag. The upcoming week…

A PENSIONER couple from Botriver has been left in the dark for nearly two weeks after their electricity supply was cut with no warning and they are now in a dire situation after their food was spoiled. Memory Heunis said the past weeks had been distressing for her elderly parents as they were left with rotten food and no answers as to why their connectivity was “manually cut by an Eskom representative” despite having a credit balance with the power supplier. “An Eskom technician disconnected their supply and when my mother asked, he said he is only doing what he was told and she should phone the call centre. We phoned immediately and thought maybe my parent’s bill was in arrears, since they never get electricity statements, my mom makes…

Unable to sort out differences in co-parenting their two-year-old daughter, a mother has been granted permission, after an application to the Western Cape High Court, to relocate to the United Kingdom. The application was opposed by the child’s father - an alleged drunkard with an abusive nature - while the mom was accused of equally destructive behaviour. The father had opposed the application saying relocation was “not bona fide and it is in any event premature since the bond of attachment between himself and (the child) at this stage is such that it will be severed should the mother be allowed to relocate”, according to court documents. In her judgment, Judge Judith Cloete said the papers relating to the matter and the mother’s application “are voluminous and are replete with…

THE deployment of 100 Law Enforcement officers in Cape Town’s CBD and surrounds has recorded 185 arrests in its first quarter. Between July and September, Law Enforcement officers have made 185 arrests and issued 5 011 fines for traffic and by-law offences. The members work in shifts, ensuring a 24-hour Law Enforcement presence in the CBD. This is in addition to the general Area Law Enforcement, Traffic and Metro Police deployments. Arrests include, 75 suspects for possession of drugs, 14 for possession of dangerous weapons, four for housebreaking. City mayco member for for safety and security, JP Smith said this was a positive start. “As the team settles into its rhythm with the other role-players like SAPS, the Metro Police Strategic Surveillance Unit and the CCID, to name a few,…

MOGADISHU: A car laden with explosives rammed into the gate of a hotel in centre of Somalia’s port city of Kismayu followed by gunfire – a police officer and a resident said yesterday. The state-run Somali National Television said on Twitter security forces were dealing with a “terrorist incident” at the hotel, which al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab has taken responsibility for. “There is a blast at Tawakal hotel and there is gunfire being heard,” Mohamed Nur, a police captain said. Three people have been confirmed deaed, but authorities warned the toll may rise. Witnesses said a huge blast was heard before the gunfire started. “The security forces have besieged the scene,” Farah Ali, a shopkeeper in Kismayu, told Reuters. | Reuters…

DUBAI: Iran’s atomic energy organisation said an e-mail server belonging to one of its subsidiaries was hacked from a foreign country, leading to some information later being published online. An Iranian hacking group, Black Reward, said in a statement published on Twitter that it had released hacked information relating to Iranian nuclear activities. The statement declared support for protesters in Iran, concluding “in the name of Mahsa Amini and for women, life, freedom,” It said the information released included “management and operational schedules of different parts of Bushehr power plant”, and “atomic development contracts”. | AFP…

AFTER a week of recovery in global stock prices, financial markets now await the European Central Bank’s interest rate decision on Thursday, the US non-farm payrolls next Friday and the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision next Wednesday. The uncertainty of the outcomes of these two events led to great volatility in most equity markets last week, as well as pressure on emerging markets currencies like the rand. The rand ended the previous Friday weaker at R18.36 to the dollar. During the middle of last week, the rand appreciated strongly to trade around R18.02 to the dollar at one stage, then slipped back on Thursday to R18.32 just to close the week again on R18.09. These volatile, but stronger movements followed world stock markets. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones…

THE ANC in Mpumalanga has urged police to continue searching for Nkangala District municipal manager Maggie Skosana and her driver Gugu Mtshweni, missing for four days following their abduction last week. Skosana and Mtshweni were snatched at the municipal gates in Middelburg on October 20 by suspects masquerading as police officers, police said. “The victims were attacked at the municipality premises’ gates before they could enter by suspects in a white sedan wearing police uniform. “Both vehicles were seen driving in the same direction following each other. Police immediately launched an investigation. The victims’ vehicle was recovered abandoned in one of the surrounding mines,” said provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala. Skosana’s wheelchair and other property belonging to both victims were recovered in the abandoned vehicle. “No arrest has been…

CONVICTED rapist and Kannaland Mayor Jeffrey Donson says he is “the people’s choice” following outrage over his re-election. The newly-formed Independent Civic Organisation of SA (Icosa) and the Kannaland Independent Party (KIP) coalition removed ANC mayor Nicolaas Valentyn and his deputy, Leoni Stuurman, at a council meeting on Friday. Donson, convicted of the rape of a minor in 2008, was elected mayor while Werner Meshoa, who is convicted of fraud, was elected his deputy. The election follows weeks of political turmoil in the municipality. A council resolution to remove Donson was declined by MEC for Local Government Anton Bredell last month. Speaking of his return as mayor yesterday, Donson said restoring order and stability, and tackling housing and service delivery issues were among his first priorities. He said he was…

GENDER-Based-Violence (GBV) and Femicide activists have expressed disappointment at the way President Cyril Ramaphosa and his Cabinet have handled violence against women in the country, saying he had broken his promises to “prioritise” the scourge. According to police statistics, violent crimes committed against women and children are alarmingly high. From April to June 2022, 855 women and 243 children were killed in South Africa. In 2019 UCT student Uyinene Mrwetyana’s rape and murder shone a spotlight into GBV and sparked outrage across the country. This resulted in scores of communities across the country marching to the Union Buildings against the scourge. In September 2019, Ramaphosa told a joint sitting of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces that the Cabinet had resolved to direct R1.1 billion…

WITH the festive season around the corner, experts in the banking sector are warning consumers to be on the lookout for fraudsters trying to make a quick buck. This comes after the South African Banking Risk Information Centre released annual crime statistics on banking fraud last week. The report revealed that the amount of money lost to card fraud increased by 17% from R993.5 million in 2020 to R1.1 billion last year. Although there was an overall increase in card fraud in 2021, debit cards remained the card type with the highest fraud amount, with R664.4m lost to scams last year. Credit card fraud also increased by 40.7% to R240.9m last year. Standard Bank revealed that it had recorded 5 328 debit card scams last year, an increase on the…

MORE than 30 local teams will be competing in this year's highly anticipated Red Bull Box Cart Race. Spectators will line up to witness cart-drivers take to the iconic streets of the Bo Kaap to be crowned the Red Bull Box Cart 2022 champions on November 6. Over 60 teams of all levels, from amateur to experienced, have been carefully selected by judges to take on the colourful steep street of the Bo-Kaap. The likes of Potjie Boytjies, Raging Bulls, Date Night Team and Brass Monkeys are among 31 teams that will be representing the Mother City in the competition where they are challenged to create non-motorised carts that can race down the slope the fastest. The judges - Red Bull MotorSport Athlete Giniel de Villiers, Friends Of Red Bull…

NOW that the crippling Transnet strike has been resolved, the difficult task of reducing the backlog caused by the 12-day industrial action should begin in earnest. Early last week, the majority union – the United National Transport Union (Untu) – accepted a 6% wage increase. The union was followed by a reluctant SA Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu) that accused its counterparts of “selling them out” after they had attempted to hold out for a double-digit settlement. The end of the strike came as a huge sigh of relief for the government and the business sector, particularly those who are involved in the transportation of goods. According to industry experts, the strike prevented the transportation of an estimated R65.3 billion worth of goods. It is estimated that while operations…

Jerusalem: The Israeli government yesterday confirmed Major General Herzi Halevi, a former military intelligence head who led forces along the Gaza border, as the country’s next military chief. Halevi, 54, who serves as deputy to outgoing Chief of General Staff Aviv Kohavi, will take charge of Israel’s armed forces on January 17, Prime Minister Yair Lapid said in a statement. Halevi’s appointment at the end of Kohavi’s term comes as violence surges in the occupied West Bank and just weeks since the latest flare-up in turbulent Gaza. His nomination was approved less than two weeks before Israelis head to the polls on November 1. | AFP…

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told his French counterpart in a telephone call yesterday that the situation in Ukraine was rapidly deteriorating and trending towards “uncontrolled escalation”. In a phone call with French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu published by the Russian side, Shoigu said Moscow had concerns Ukraine could use a “dirty bomb” in the conflict. “They discussed the situation in Ukraine which is rapidly deteriorating,” the defence ministry said in a readout of the call. The ministry did not elaborate. A so-called dirty bomb uses conventional explosives laced with radioactive material. | Reuters…

An unbeaten 82 from Virat Kohli led India to a stunning last-ball win over Pakistan to supercharge their bid for a first T20 World Cup crown since 2007 in front of 90 000 fans at the MCG yesterday. The world No 1 Indians restricted their fierce rivals to 159/8 and scraped home by four wickets after a remarkable final over, with superstar Kohli the hero. It looked to be going badly wrong for India as they struggled to just 45/4 off 10 overs, but Kohli and Hardik Pandya (40) launched an incredible fightback with a century stand. “It’s a surreal atmosphere, I have no words, no idea how that happened,” said Kohli. “I am really lost for words.” Pakistan got off to a stuttering start after being sent in to…