Table of contents for 2022-10-31 in Cape Times

Power utility needs R72bn in the next 5 years to upgrade high voltage lines ESKOM’S quest for a R72 billion injection over the next five years to upgrade more than 2 890km of extra high voltage lines and 60 transformers may hit a snag as the power utility does not inspire the confidence of international funders. Eskom’s Managing Director for Transmission, Segomoco Scheppers said on Friday the entity is placing a strong focus on the implementation of these projects over the next five years. “The analysis carried out reflects a requirement of approximately R72.2bn will be required to expand and strengthen the transmission grid over the next five years,” he said. Scheppers said: “This requires that some challenges beyond Eskom’s full control, such as the lead time to…

from page 1 We only became aware of it on Thursday because it appeared on the front page of a local newspaper. “I did not do anything wrong. I did my job. That is all I can say at the moment. We are waiting for legal advice. Because we were never invited to court we were shocked by this. All this was out of the blue.” Lottering echoed the statement, saying they would respond once they had read the judgment. “I was never part of that case. We only heard about this from a local newspaper. My response is that we support any investigation and if there is a judgment I will study it and I will get legal advice. “For this specific case I know it was not about…

TWO children were among six people who were killed in a head-on collision on the R60 between Worcester and Robertson in Boland on Saturday morning. The incident happened while in KZN, a fatal crash involving a minibus taxi and a Toyota Corolla took place in Estcourt, leaving eight people dead and others with serious injuries. In Worcester, it’s been reported that a truck and a car collided at about 4.50am. Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg said the circumstances leading to the incident were under police investigation. “Worcester police registered a culpable homicide case following a fatal crash on Saturday morning on the R60 Road between Worcester and Robertson in which six occupants which include two children of the vehicle passed away. The identities of the deceased persons are yet to…

The Matric Class of 2022 has been described as the most unfit group for the National Senior Certificate (NSC) exams. Their road to these final exams starting today was severely affected after the Covid-19 pandemic hit South African shores when they were in Grade 10. Compounding the situation are the rolling power cuts, after Eskom refused to exempt exam venues from load shedding. But despite these challenges, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) has expressed satisfaction that it went all out to prepare this cohort and was ready to deliver the final exams. This is the largest NSC group to date, with more than 900 000 candidates. DBE chief director for curriculum Moses Simelane said the Class of 2022 bore the brunt of Covid-19 in that they were confronted with…

THE fire that ravaged parts of Table Mountain at the weekend has been contained, according to authorities. It began early on Friday evening in Fountain Ravine, in the Kasteelspoort area of Table Mountain. “The fire has burnt up the steep slopes of the mountain, along the western section of the upper cable station,” according to SANParks. On Saturday, the City of Cape Town said 12 hikers were assisted down from Platteklip Gorge after they were overwhelmed by dense smoke. One of the hikers was in a serious condition and had to be airlifted for urgent medical attention. City Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson, Jermaine Carelse said a fire crew was dispatched to the scene on Friday evening. Fire engines were despatched from both Roeland Street and Sea Point fire stations.…

LAND redistribution, a moratorium on farm evictions, a ban on pesticides, and social protection are among the demands made by more than 200 women farmworkers, dwellers, and other precarious workers from across the country. The group marched to Parliament on Friday to hand over a memorandum to Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) Minister Thoko Didiza. The women marched from Hanover Street in the city, singing empowering songs as they made their way to Parliament with placards in hand reading “the land shall be shared among those who work it”; “municipality there is no land for evictions” and “Esta don’t stop evictions”. “We provide this country with food but we can’t afford to feed our own families,” said Joanne Johannes. Women on Farms Project (WFP) said while the Extension…

The DA is a party in decline across the country, especially in the Western Cape ACTIONSA recently announced our Provincial Chairperson for the Western Cape, Michelle Wasserman. By any measure she is an excellent candidate with a strong track record in leadership. In the wake of this announcement I could not help but notice various DA leaders criticising ActionSA for launching in the Western Cape. Their message was that ActionSA must not try and win DA support in the Western Cape and, rather, should stick to the other eight provinces. I was astonished and cannot believe it necessary to even respond to this, but apparently it is. Let’s start by clearing up one important fact. Political parties do not own the people that support them. Political parties must be…

ATHENS: A “huge rock” fell from a hillside and crushed two rooms at a coastal hotel on the Greek island of Crete, killing one Slovenian woman as she slept and injuring her young son, police said. The incident happened early yesterday at the Markos Studios, a family-run beachside complex of rooms to rent built under a rocky hillside at Ierapetra. Police said the rock destroyed two rooms. The victim’s 51-year-old husband was in a different room and was unhurt. The 47-year-old woman and her eight-year-old son were buried under the debris. About 50 firefighters rushed to the area and rescued the boy after an hour of digging through the rubble. | Reuters…

DOVER: A man threw petrol bombs attached with fireworks at a centre for processing migrants in the southern English port of Dover yesterday and then killed himself, a Reuters photographer said. The attacker, a white man in a striped top, drove up to the centre in a white sports utility vehicle. He got out and threw three petrol bombs, one of which did not explode. He then drove to a nearby petrol station, tied an improvised noose around his neck, attached it to a metal pole and drove off, killing himself, the photographer said. Police arrived minutes afterwards and cordoned off the area. Local police were not immediately available to comment. | Reuters…

The two car bombs that exploded at Somalia’s education ministry, next to a busy market intersection, killed at least 100 people and wounded 300, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said yesterday, warning the death toll could rise. Mogadishu’s K5 intersection is normally teeming with people buying and selling everything from food, clothing and water to foreign currency and khat, a mild narcotic leaf, but it was quiet yesterday when emergency workers were still cleaning blood from the streets and buildings. Saturday’s attack was the deadliest since a truck bomb exploded at the same intersection in October 2017, killing more than 500 people. No one claimed responsibility, but the president blamed the Islamist al-Qaeda-linked group al Shabaab. The first of the explosions hit the education ministry at about 2pm. The second hit…

More than 300 Iranian journalists have demanded the release of two colleagues jailed for their coverage of Mahsa Amini, whose death in custody triggered protests posing one of the biggest challenges to ruling clerics in decades. Their call came in a statement published by the Iranian Etemad and other newspapers yesterday. Niloofar Hamedi took a photo of Amini’s parents hugging each other in a Tehran hospital where their daughter was lying in a coma. The image, which Hamedi posted on Twitter, was the first signal to the world that all was not well with Amini, who had been detained three days earlier by Iran’s morality police for what they deemed inappropriate dress. Elaheh Mohammadi covered Amini’s funeral in her Kurdish hometown, Saqez, where the protests began. A joint statement released…

THE SAPS have confirmed they would investigate “serious and concerning” allegations made by Western Cape High Court Judge Daniel Thulare, relating to corrupt links between gangs and cops. Judge Thulare lashed out against the corrupt operations of SAPS officials who allegedly have links to organised crime. Gangsters, he said, had “moved gear upwards”, infiltrating the justice system. Judge Thulare made the statements as he denied bail to alleged gangsters, Elcardo Adams and Alfonso Cloete, where evidence in the case pointed to how cops, allegedly on gang payrolls, shared confidential police information with gangsters for personal gain. National SAPS spokesperson, Mathapelo Peters, said: “The SAPS has taken note of and is in the process of studying the judgment delivered by Western Cape High Court Judge Daniel Thulare. “The SAPS views the…

NURSES were once again honoured for their levels of excellence, as the Tygerberg Hospital resumed its tradition of hosting the annual Hartman Nursing Awards Ceremony. Named after the former chief matron of Tygerberg Hospital, Ms M Hartman, the event on Friday recognised and rewarded the dedication of nurses in the clinical nursing field. A total of 90 nurses were nominated to receive the prestigious award. “I am delighted that we can formally honour our nursing staff for their contribution made to the health system. Nurses deserve to be celebrated and commended for their hard work and dedication in providing quality health care to our patients at our facilities,” said Western Cape Health MEC, Nomafrench Mbombo. The nursing staff are integral to the function of Tygerberg Hospital, as they provide clinical…

THE Cape of Good Hope (CoGH) SPCA says it has lodged a criminal complaint against the suspect accused of shooting and killing a chacma baboon in Bel Ombre, Constantia. The organisation said it had lodged complaints under the Animals Protection Act 71 of 1962, relating to the “horrific suffering” the baboon experienced, in addition to charges under the Firearms Control Act 60 of 2000 for the use of a firearm in a residential area and the Nature Conservation Ordinance 19 of 1974 for the unlawful hunting of a protected species. “A full post-mortem was also conducted at the SPCA where a penetrating wound to the baboon’s chest was found and a small calibre bullet was removed from the muscle adjacent to the spine. “The bullet had penetrated the lobe of…

WITH changes to the City’s Water and Sanitation portfolio, the Milnerton Central Residents Association (MCRA) is hoping projects and plans to restore the water health at Milnerton Lagoon will start without delay. The City has called on residents in and around the area to make submissions, preparing a Remediation Plan for the Milnerton Lagoon. The water’s quality has been poor for years due to polluted water in the Diep River, which discharges into the lagoon. The area recently experienced an incident of dead fish washing up, after about 500 fish washed up in March, causing greater public health risk and ecological damage concerns. The water is not suitable for recreational use. Last month the City hosted the first Milnerton Lagoon quarterly meeting where it presented residents with a draft estuary…

ECONOMIC growth is re-emerging as the holy grail of public policy with the biggest ideological fillip coming just a few weeks ago from fallen British prime minister Liz Truss, whose leadership campaign motto was unashamedly “growth, growth, growth!” Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement this past week did not disappoint. “Our approach to growth is based on a clear and stable macroeconomic framework, complemented by the implementation of structural reforms to improve competitiveness, industrial policy to boost manufacturing and measures to strengthen state capacity,” he said. Unlike Truss and Kwarteng, Godongwana is a fiscal pragmatist and not a brazen ideologue. He had a stark message for South Africans. Real GDP growth is forecast to be lower at 1.9%, compared with a 2.1% estimate in February. Over…

BEIJING: China has appointed Chen Yixin as state security minister, replacing Chen Wenqing who was promoted to oversee police, legal affairs and intelligence, the National People’s Congress, or parliament, said yesterday. Chen Yixin, who was elected to the ruling Communist Party’s Central Committee during its once-every-five-years congress this month, had been in charge of a campaign in recent years to purge corrupt security and legal officials. Chen Wenqing, who was elevated to the ruling Communist Party’s Politburo, has been named as party secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, China’s top security post. | Reuters…

Stockholm: After a week of evading staff and sophisticated customs equipment in Stockholm aquarium, a king cobra returned to its enclosure on its own, officials said yesterday. The Skansen Aquarium announced that he snake, named Sir Vas (Sir Hiss), slithered off last weekend through a lamp fixture in a terrarium. Following the disappearing act, the venomous vagrant was renamed Houdini, in honour of the famed human escape artist. The aquarium’s staff tried everything, even handheld X-ray machines, to capture the sneaky serpent. But overnight Saturday/Sunday, the snake apparently decided to give up the life of an outlaw and crawled back to his safe, warm home. | AFP…

Michel Aoun, the 89-year-old Christian president who presided over Lebanon’s cataclysmic financial meltdown and the deadly Beirut port blast, vacated the presidential palace yesterday, leaving a void at the top of a failing state. Parliament has so far been unable to agree on a successor in the role, which has the power to sign bills into law, appoint new prime ministers and green-light government formations before they are voted on by parliament. As it was during more than half of Aoun’s time in office, Lebanon is currently governed by a caretaker cabinet as the premier-designate has been trying for six months to form a government. Dozens of supporters gathered at Baabda Palace to say farewell to Aoun, wearing the orange associated with his Free Patriotic Movement party and carrying portraits…

A painting by Dutch abstract painter Piet Mondrian has been hanging upside down for 77 years, says a curator at the German museum. A retrospective of the avant garde artist’s work went on display at the Kunstsammlung museum in Dusseldorf, and one of the pieces is “New York City 1”, painted in 1941. But curator Susanne Meyer-Buser discovered the painting had been presented to the public rather differently from how it was perhaps intended to be on show. The error could have been made because “the painting doesn’t have a signature”, according to Meyer-Buser. | AFP…

Pakistan trounced The Netherlands by six wickets yesterday to keep their Twenty20 World Cup campaign alive, bouncing back to register their first win of the tournament after consecutive last-ball defeats against Zimbabwe and India. The 17th-ranked Dutch won the toss in Perth but crumbled to 91/9 in 20 overs after failing to counteract Pakistan's quality bowling unit, led by leg-spinner Shadab Khan, who picked up 3/22. The world's top-ranked T20 batsman, Mohammed Rizwan, batted with freedom on his way to a 39-ball 49 to help steer Pakistan to 95/4 with 37 balls to spare. "The last couple of games ... we played great cricket but still we didn't finish the game but today we finished the game," said Man of the Match Shadab Khan. "All the bowlers bowled great, because…

REISS Nelson was the unlikely hero as Arsenal retook top spot in the Premier League with a 5-0 thrashing of Nottingham Forest yesterday. Nelson was introduced for the first time in the Premier League this season after Bukayo Saka was forced off with a concerning injury for England boss Gareth Southgate just weeks ahead of the World Cup. Saka set up the opening goal for Gabriel Martinelli after just five minutes before being replaced due to an ankle injury. Nelson struck his first league goal since July 2020 early in the second half to give Arsenal breathing space. He added a second just three minutes later and then teed up Thomas Partey to curl into the top corner. Martin Odegaard rounded off a performance that shrugged off doubts over Arsenal’s…

from page 1 Any disturbance during revision causes anxiety. “Blackouts cause delays in travelling and students may find themselves arriving at exam centres already emotionally disturbed. “The candidates and their teachers will carry levels of anxiety through this exam period because they have not rested as they needed to cover three years of work,” said Maluleke. He also called on the department to apply more resources to capacitate learning and teaching in lower grades so that schools would not have to subject themselves to such catch-up programmes in higher grades. “While we welcome the catch-up programmes by the Department of Basic Education, these will not be sustainable eventually. “We call for flexibility in time management to accommodate learners or teachers arriving late due to delays caused by load shedding. We…

THE Oudtshoorn Municipality has instructed its lawyers to recover more than R9 million from two former officials, Ronnie Lottering and Lionel Prins, following a high court finding that they made unauthorised payments to a company that was awarded a contract to repair potholes. The awarding of the contract and the payments of more than R11m were found to have been unauthorised and in contravention of the Municipal Financial and Management Act. According to the municipality, Imvusa was contracted by Lottering during his tenure as acting municipal manager to repair potholes in the town. Prins was appointed by Lottering and had signed the Service Level Agreement (SLA), according to court papers. The whole project is estimated to have cost the municipality more than R19m, of which the company received R11.2m. The…

Previously, spinners had to use a section of Killarney’s track system also used by other motorsport codes. The new pitch will be open to all spinning groups through a booking system at the raceway. The new spinning pitch was just one of a few attractions at the Killarney Motor Show which also featured new, classic, vintage, modified, stance, and race displays of vehicles for public viewing. The motor show, the largest motor show in the Western Cape with approximately 10 000 visitors annually, also had some 2 000 exhibitors and vendors on site yesterday. “This new spinning pitch is a victory for Cape Town on many fronts. It provides a fit-for-purpose platform where spinning and motorsport enthusiasts can enjoy their sport in a safe environment with proper safety measures in…

A KHAYELITSHA woman has lost her bid in the Western Cape High Court to reverse the sale of her house, which she says her late husband sold without her knowledge about a decade ago. When he signed the sale agreement, the late Jikeleza James Menziwa said he was unmarried as he mistakenly believed that his customary marriage was not legally recognised as a valid marriage. His widow, Noeliot Nosiwaphi Menziwa had approached the courts seeking an order that the subsequent registration of transfer of ownership of the property to Nonkululeko Priscilla Ndokwana, be declared null and void. Judge James Lekhuleni found: “My conclusion is that the first respondent (the buyer) did not know that the second respondent (the deceased) was married when the impugned sale agreement was concluded and could…

THE handing over of a certificate recognising Zulu King Misuzulu KaZwelithini marks the beginning of the end of a painful chapter that could have led to a civil war. Allow us to begin this editorial by congratulating King Misuzulu and the Zulu Royal Family for the successful coronation which many have never witnessed since the late king, Misuzulu’s father Zwelithini, ascended the throne more than half a century ago, in 1968. To say the road to Saturday’s historic occasion was bumpy is an understatement. In his own words, King Misuzulu told the gathering at Moses Mabhida Stadium that: “We were on the brink of a civil war because of the throne.” It was a journey dominated by court battles, public spats and sometimes insults over who the rightful heir to…

Ouagadougou: Suspected jihadists have ambushed and killed 13 soldiers in Burkina Faso’s eastern province in the latest violence to shake the insurgency-torn west African nation, security sources said yesterday. Four members of the defence forces were also wounded in Saturday’s attack along the road linking Fada N’Gourma with Natiaboani. “Reinforcements have been deployed to secure the zone and carry out a search,” a second source added, confirming the casualty toll. The unit that came under fire had been sent to relieve a detachment from Natiaboani. The Support Group for Islam and Muslims claimed on Friday it carried out an attack on a military base in Djibo. | AFP…

More than 150 people were killed in a stampede at a Halloween event in central Seoul, officials said yesterday, with South Korea’s president vowing a full investigation into one of the country’s worst-ever disasters. The crowd surge and crush hit in the capital’s popular Itaewon district, where police estimate as many as 100 000 people – mostly in their teens and 20s – went to celebrate Halloween on Saturday night, clogging the area’s narrow alleyways and winding streets. President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday declared a period of national mourning, saying in a televised address that “a tragedy and disaster occurred that should not have happened”. The government “will thoroughly investigate the cause of the incident and make fundamental improvements to ensure the same accident does not occur again in…

Ukraine’s maritime grain exports were halted yesterday after Russia suspended its participation in a landmark agreement that allowed the vital shipments, blaming drone attacks on its ships in Crimea. The July deal to unlock grain exports signed between Russia and Ukraine and brokered by Turkey and the UN, is critical to easing the global food crisis caused by the conflict. The agreement had already allowed more than nine million tons of Ukrainian grain to be exported and was due to be renewed on November 19. On Saturday, Russia said it was halting its participation after its army accused Kyiv of a “massive” drone attack on its Black Sea fleet, which Ukraine labelled a “false pretext”. US President Joe Biden called the move “purely outrageous” while Secretary of State Antony Blinken…

Kinshasa: A stampede left seven spectators and one police officer dead during a packed concert by African music star Fally Ipupa at the biggest stadium in DR Congo’s capital, the police chief said yesterday. “There were eight deaths including one of a police officer,” general Sylvain Sasongo said. The Martyrs’ stadium has an 80 000 capacity and reports said it was absolutely full for the local favourite, with one witness saying “even the corridors” of the stadium were overflowing. “It was a stampede,” that caused the deaths, a policeman on the scene told the official Congolese Press Agency. “The music-lovers suffocated.” The agency reported that police had cordoned off three areas to secure the pitch, the VIP stand and the stage. “Under the pressure of the crowd, the police…