Table of contents for 2022-11-14 in Cape Times

EFF leader Julius Malema has delivered on his promise to table a private member’s bill that provides for the relocation of Parliament from Cape Town to Tshwane. In May, Malema gave notice that he intended to introduce the Relocation of Parliament Bill during the second quarter of the 2022-23 financial year. The bill finally made its way to Parliament last week. National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said on Friday the bill had been introduced and referred to the joint tagging mechanism for classification to determine whether it affected provinces or not. “The bill may only be classified after the expiry of at least three parliamentary working days since introduction,” Mapisa-Nqakula said. She had a day earlier referred the bill to the portfolio committee on public works and infrastructure for information…

THE Afrikanerbond has launched a scathing attack on Justice Khampepe’s recent damning report on racism at Stellenbosch University (SU), describing it as 184 pages of “woke theory”. The political organisation is the latest to criticise the findings of the report. The university last week received the report of the independent Khampepe Commission led by retired Judge Sisi Khampepe. It found that black students and staff still felt unwelcome and excluded at the institution. The leadership of the university had requested the external independent inquiry into alleged racism at the university in May. But chief secretary of the Afrikanerbond, Jan Bosman, said the report has failed to engage with the allegations on a factual basis. “Instead, it becomes a protest against Afrikaans, white people and Afrikaners. In the judge’s introduction to…

CAPE Town’s Ferdinando’s serves South Africa’s favourite pizza, according to diners who voted the establishment into top spot in this year’s Porcupine Ridge Pizzeria Challenge. The colourful and quirky Observatory-based restaurant, run by Italian Diego Milesi, initially with his late partner Kiki Bisogno, beat out strong competition to take the title. In second place was Joburg favourite Gino’s in Robertsham, owned by Gino Mazza and last year’s winner, while Enzo Pizzeria Trattoria in Scottburgh made it into 5th position, the first KwaZulu-Natal establishment to achieve a Top 10 ranking. Mazza’s second operation in Stellenbosch, with brother Dom at the helm, was in fourth spot while restaurateur sisters Cristina De Almeida and Claudia Lau both made the Top 10. De Almeida’s Edenvale establishment Piccola Rossa came in at 8th position and…

HUNDREDS of National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers (NUPSAW) members marched to Premier Alan Winde’s office calling for the provincial government to permanently absorb community healthcare workers (CHW) and lay counsellors into the public service. The union on Friday said while some provinces had taken steps to comply with Resolution 1 of 2018 of the Public Health and Social Development Sectoral Bargaining Council (PHSDSBC), the Western Cape was “dragging its feet”. “Our CHW’s in the Western Cape continue to be exploited and underpaid by NGOs/NPO’s, despite calls for them to be integrated into public service,” NUPSAW said in a statement. On December 14, 2016, the National Department of Health pronounced its commitment to integrate the CHW and drafted a policy framework to achieve that objective, the union explained.…

POLICE in the Free State shot and killed a pit bull terrier after it mauled an 8-year-old boy to death at his home in Vista Park, Bloemfontein, on Saturday. It is alleged that the dog escaped from its enclosure and jumped over a fence into a neighbour’s premises and attacked the 8-year-old. He suffered bite wounds on the neck and chest, and was declared dead at the scene. Police spokesperson Mahlomola Kareli said police were alerted to the incident by a call from a distressed witness. “On Saturday at about 2pm Mangaung police received a distress call from a witness about a dog that was mauling a child in Vista Park. “Police rushed to the scene and, on arrival, found emergency personnel already on the site attending to the severely…

THE argument (advanced recently by Carol Paton of News24) that “all of Minister Gordhan’s (BEE) regulations can still be used by state entities should they wish to make them part of their own procurement policy” is incorrect. It arises from a failure to read the Constitutional Court (Concourt) ruling in conjunction with the ruling made in November 2020 by the Supreme Court of Appeal, which stated that tenderers could not be disqualified on the basis of their BEE status (that the price and proposition of the tender had to be considered). In addition, the SCA stated that SOEs and other state-owned entities have to comply with Section 217(1) of the Constitution, which enjoins organs of state to contract goods or services in a manner that is “fair, equitable, transparent, competitive…

Kenyan soldiers landed in Goma, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, at the weekend as part of a regional military operation targeting rebels in the conflict-torn region. Their arrival comes as the M23 militia has surged across the DRC’s North Kivu province, capturing swathes of territory and inflaming tensions in central Africa. Kenya’s parliament approved the deployment of more than 900 troops to the DRC last week as part of a joint military force from the East African Community (EAC). Two planes carrying about 100 Kenyan troops touched down at Goma airport on Saturday, according to AFP reporters on the ground, where they were greeted by local dignitaries. A Kenyan commander, Lieutenant- Colonel Obiero, said their mission was “to conduct offensive operations” alongside Congolese forces and to assist in disarming…

London: British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, pictured, faced new questions on Saturday over his choice of senior officials after his number two was accused of behaving aggressively towards staff. The controversy over Dominic Raab, who is deputy prime minister and justice secretary, came after fellow Sunak ally Gavin Williamson was forced out of the government because of alleged bullying. Raab, Sunak’s most vocal supporter in the Conservative leadership race against Liz Truss, was brought back into the cabinet when she was forced out as prime minister. Sunak restored him to his previous role of justice secretary, where he had presided over a “culture of fear”, according to the Guardian newspaper. The Sun newspaper meanwhile reported that Raab had once hurled tomatoes from a salad across a room in a fit…

London: Charles III took part in his first Remembrance Sunday yesterday as king, laying a wreath in tribute to UK and Commonwealth war dead, as Britain’s new prime minister also lauds Ukraine’s defenders. The 73-year-old monarch had previously deputised for his mother Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September. Last year a back complaint forced her to miss the ceremony. Charles, who served in the Royal Navy in the 1970s, laid a wreath on her behalf. Now king and commander-in-chief of British forces, he will lay his first wreath at the war memorial as reigning monarch.…

FRANCE fullback Thomas Ramos said it was "too early" to claim his side were favourites for next year's Rugby World Cup after Saturday’s win over holders South Africa in Marseille. Les Bleus, the World Cup hosts, edged the Springboks 30-26 to claim a 12th straight victory in a run including successes against the likes of New Zealand, Australia last week and world No 1-ranked side Ireland. Ramos' side kick the tournament off on September 8 by facing the All Blacks, who, like South Africa, are three-time winners. "I don't know if we're favourites for the World Cup but of course it's good to beat teams like that before playing a big competition," Ramos told reporters. When you get to a competition like a World Cup, everything is back to square…

IN a week that could see his political career sealed one way or the other, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s opponents and supporters will now shift their focus to the independent panel established to determine whether he has a case to answer over the Farmgate scandal. The three-member panel led by retired chief justice Sandile Ngcobo is expected to submit its report this week – days after Ramaphosa survived a gruelling ANC NEC meeting at the weekend where calls for him to step down intensified. His woes were exacerbated by the leaked integrity commission report, stating that while it could not come to a conclusion over the matter, the scandal brought the ANC into disrepute. However, the commission distanced itself from the report, saying it had no authority or stamp of approval…

THE LUTZVILLE community along the West Coast say they have had enough of police allegedly taking the law into their own hands, reporting two recent incidents of suspects allegedly being assaulted to police watchdog, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) to investigate. According to local community police forum representative, Davine Witbooi, there have been various incidents of suspects assaulted while in custody. Ipid confirmed it was investigating two incidents. Witbooi said about two weeks ago, a suspect was arrested and detained. His parents learnt of his arrest and alleged assault during the arrest, and went to the police station the next day to check on him. “When they got to the police station, officers apparently didn’t want to give them any information on the wellbeing of their son. “According to…

THE Festive season is upon us, and eThekwini Municipality needs to work around the clock to ensure the city’s beaches are ready to welcome tourists. Some of the beaches that remain closed until further notice are Westbrook, Bronze, Laguna, eThekwini, uMhlanga, uMdloti, Winklespruit and Ansteys. The municipality has come under extreme pressure from the tourism sector, business and opposition parties to fix the sewerage infrastructure that was damaged during the floods earlier this year. The sewage leaks have led to high E coli levels at some of Durban beaches. City authorities responded by closing the beaches, leading to several businesses such as restaurants and hotels losing much-needed revenue. Unlike Cape Town, which receives a big slice of international tourists, Durban relies heavily on local and southern African visitors. If…

Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the 17th Group of 20 (G20) Summit in Bali, Indonesia, from today, at the invitation of President Joko Widodo of the Republic of Indonesia, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at the weekend. He will attend the 29th Apec Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, as well as visit Thailand later in the week, news channel CGTN reported Hua as saying. Meanwhile, EU chief Charles Michel said the bloc expected China to use “all the means at its disposal” to push Moscow to respect international law, days before a G20 summit expected to be dominated by the conflict in Ukraine. The European Council president was speaking on the sidelines of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit taking place in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Michel pointed…

Dubai: Bahrainis headed to the polls on Saturday but a ban on opposition candidates means the elections will bring no meaningful change despite a record number of people vying for seats, rights groups said. More than 330 candidates, including a record 73 women, are competing to join the 40-seat council of representatives – the lower house of parliament that advises King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa of the Sunni dynasty, who has ruled since his father died in March 1999. The country has barred its main opposition groups from fielding candidates – the Shia Al-Wefaq and secular Waad parties which were dissolved in 2016 and 2017.…

Santa Cruz: Riot police used tear gas to quell violent protests in Bolivia’s largest city, the latest in three weeks of unrest over demands that a new census be conducted. Vendors and workers set tyres ablaze in streets and threw rocks at opponents of leftist President Luis Arce in the centre of Santa Cruz on Friday. Santa Cruz, a key hub of the energy industry in Bolivia’s tropical lowlands, is a stronghold of centre-right political forces that are opposed to the Arce government. They argue that the region is not adequately politically represented. The federal government said that four people have been killed and 178 injured in the unrest.…

POLICE officers have to work in the dark and face the risk of attacks during load shedding as a total of 72 police stations across the country being without functioning emergency generators. This was revealed by Police Minister Bheki Cele when responding to written parliamentary questions from DA MP Okkie Terblanche. Terblanche wrote to Cele enquiring about the number of police stations in each province that were not equipped with emergency generators. He also wanted to know the impact this had on policing. Terblanche also enquired about the time frame set to equip all police stations with generators and physical access control measures. In his written response, Cele said a total of 72 fully-fledged police stations were not equipped with emergency generators. His response showed that Gauteng had the most…

CAPE Town has become the first South African city to be accredited as a Ramsar Wetland City. The announcement was made at the 14th Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Wetlands, known as the Ramsar Convention, held in Geneva, Switzerland from November 5 to 13. Because of the threats posed by urbanisation and the increased demand for land on wetlands, the convention in 2015 introduced Wetland City Accreditation for cities that have recognised the importance of protecting urban or peri-urban wetlands. The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment said cities that have taken exceptional measures to protect their urban wetlands, or a wetland of international importance, known as a Ramsar Site, within their city may apply to be accredited as a Ramsar Wetland City. “The Wetland City…

THE POLICE ministry will have to cough up damages in full to a man who was shot in the ankle while in a scuffle with police, unlawfully arrested and, then detained for about five days. Teboho Tlhatsi instituted claimed damages against the Police Minister for being arrested without a warrant on July 2, 2010. Tlhatsi’s case heard in the High Court of South Africa Kwazulu-Natal Local Division in Durban, claimed victory when the judge ordered the ministry should pay 100% of the cost of damages yet to be determined. Acting high court judge Nomfundo Sipunzi said the police ministry admitted the arrest of Tlhatsi “was without a warrant and contended the offence involved was a Schedule 1 offence and the arrest was based on a reasonable suspicion that he, Tlhatsi…

While emotions remain high in Gatesville more than a week after 8-year-old Abirah Dekhta disappeared, a Chinese woman who was kidnapped last month has been found. The 27-year-old wife of a Blue Bottle Liquor manager in Bellville was reunited with her family last week. Three armed men approached a security guard at the liquor store in Strand Street on October 19 and allegedly threatened him with a firearm. They then proceeded to forcefully remove the woman from the premises and fled the scene in a VW Polo. “Kindly be advised the woman was released. No arrests have been made and the investigation continues,” police spokesperson FC Van Wyk said. It is not clear yet if any ransom was demanded for her release. Meanwhile, hundreds of anxious Gatesville residents joined by…

CUBA and the vast majority of the world are convinced that our country will not truly be able to live without the effects of the US embargo until all sanctions are lifted, the 243 measures imposed by Donald Trump are reversed, and the country is removed from the State Department List of State Sponsors of Terrorism. The US embargo impacts every aspect of Cubans’ lives. “Every possible means should be undertaken to weaken the economic life of Cuba”, the assistant Secretary of State, Lester D Mallory, wrote in an April 1960 memo. The goal of the Kennedy administration and those after him was clear: “To bring about hunger, desperation and overthrow of government.” The embargo has failed in destroying the Cuban Revolution and overthrowing the government, but succeeded in weakening…

The 2024 race for the White House could be uncharted territory in the US, which celebrates youth, but where millions of Americans – including presidents – now keep working well beyond the traditional retirement age of 65. Ronald Reagan was 77 when he left the White House, but President Joe Biden, who turns 80 next Sunday would be 86 by the time a second four-year term ends, should he win it. His leading potential Republican opponent, Donald Trump, would be 82 when he left office if he won in 2024. As a society, the US is ageing, and working until later in life. The 65-and-older population is projected to nearly double from 52 million in 2018 to 95 million by 2060. Still, some Americans have concerns about the advanced age…

Türkiye has appointed an ambassador to Israel after a gap of four years in the latest step to normalise ties with the Jewish state. Sakir Ozkan Torunlar, who served as Türkiye’s consul general in Jerusalem between 2010 and 2014, was named to the post in a presidential decree at the weekend, it was reported. Ankara withdrew its ambassador to Israel in May 2018 and dismissed the Israeli envoy over the Israeli army’s killing of dozens of Palestinians. Israel riposted by sending back the Turkish consul in Jerusalem. While this led to tensions, there has been a move to reinstate a relationship as Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdo an sent a congratulatory letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after his victory in elections this month.…

Geneva: UN chiefs and Russian officials held talks in Geneva on Friday on the Black Sea agreements on unblocking the export of grain and fertilisers, eight days before one of the deals is set to expire. Two agreements brokered were signed on July 22 under the 120-day Black Sea Grain Initiative that ends on Saturday. The first was to allow the export of Ukrainian grain blocked by Russia’s war in the country, while the second was on the export of Russian food and fertilisers despite sanctions imposed on Moscow. The UN is seeking to renew it for one year. Moscow, however, has not yet said whether it will agree to that.…

SHARM EL-SHEIKH: Climate campaign groups marched at the UN COP27 climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh on Saturday, calling for reparations for rising “loss and damage” caused by global warming, under the watchful eye of security who tightly controlled the protest. The activists, including many Africans, insisted there could be “no climate justice without human rights”, and lamented that they had not been permitted to demonstrate outside the centre where the two-week talks are being held. Developing nations are pushing for a new fund to repair “loss and damage” from climate disasters – and for separate finance to try to prevent them from happening.…

ENGLAND’S Tommy Fleetwood became the seventh player to defend Africa’s major as he won the Nedbank Golf Challenge by one shot over New Zealand’s Ryan Fox at the Gary Player Country Club at Sun City yesterday. With no tournament in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Fleetwood was the defending champion with his victory in 2019. In the previous 39 editions of the NGC, there had only been six players to successfully defend their title. Those players are Seve Ballesteros (1983 and 1984), David Frost (1989 and 1990), Nick Price (1997 and 1998), Ernie Els (1999 and 2000), Jim Furyk (2005 and 2006), and Lee Westwood (2010 and 2011). Fleetwood finished on 11-under after a closing 5-under 67, with Fox one adrift on 10-under after a 4-under 68.…