Table of contents for 2023-01-09 in Cape Times

BLOEMFONTEIN business owners and community members say they have lost hope in the ANC and party president Cyril Ramaphosa’s presence, saying all the progress only happens when he visits the city. Yesterday, the party celebrated its 111th birthday in the Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium in Mangaung, where Ramaphosa addressed more than 10 000 party supporters. Resident Lex Strauss asked why the city was “suddenly” clean when Ramaphosa was around. “It’s a good thing that the president is here. He has come before, he must just give us service so we are able to run our businesses. “We are business people and need clientele. It’s dirty. Why is it that we don’t get service from the government, how will we employ people?” The city of Bloemfontein is generally dysfunctional, with…

ILLEGAL dumping has caused a stink in Ottery, with a number of residents accusing Freedom Park informal settlement residents of emptying their rubbish bins in front of the Sierra Park Apartment Complex last week. Freedom Park informal settlement resident, Jonathan Hendricks, however, said residents were frustrated that their rubbish bins were not collected for months. “We were staying in the old Freedom Park squatter camp, so they said they are going to build us houses, and they have put us in temporary structures not very far from where we used to live. “At the time we were staying at the old place, every Wednesday council would come and collect our bins. “But since we moved to this new place in July last year, they never came to empty our…

RENOWNED cleric Bishop Vusi Dube of eThekwini Community Church says churches have played an important role in community-building in South Africa without much support from the government, and it would therefore be a shame if churches were to be taxed. Dube was responding to recent remarks from the SA Local Government Association in KwaZulu-Natal for a review of the current arrangement in which churches are exempt from paying rates. Dube said churches were getting by without any government support despite playing an important role in the country’s social cohesion project. In November, the KwaZulu-Natal branch of Salga called for a national discussion and review of the tax exemptions allowable to churches. Salga said that, with many churches spread across the country, local authorities were losing potential revenue and land that…

JAKARTA: A boat with 185 Rohingya refugees landed on the shores of Indonesia’s Aceh province yesterday, following hundreds who arrived late last year fleeing desperate conditions in refugee camps in Bangladesh. Over half of those who arrived at 2.30pm yesterday were women and children, said Ridwan Jamil, head of Aceh Besar disaster agency. Hundreds of Rohingya have reached Aceh in the past few months, including a boat that washed ashore carrying 174 in December. The UN refugee agency said 2022 could be one of the deadliest years at sea in almost a decade for the Rohingya, persecuted in Buddhist-majority Myanmar. Nearly 1 million Rohingya live in crowded conditions in Bangladesh. | Reuters…

Bamako: Forty-six Ivorian soldiers detained in Mali since July arrived home this weekend, according to an AFP reporter at the airport, a day after they were pardoned by the neighbouring country’s junta. The troops, whose detention triggered a bitter diplomatic row between the countries, were arrested on July 10, 2022, after arriving in the Malian capital Bamako. Mali accused them of being mercenaries, while Ivory Coast and the United Nations say they were flown in to provide routine backup security for the German contingent of the UN peacekeeping mission. After their plane landed, the uniformed soldiers disembarked one by one. | AFP…

Kenyan police have arrested more suspects over the killing of LGBTQ activist Edwin Chiloba, whose mutilated body was found on a roadside stuffed in a metal trunk, media reports said yesterday. Rights campaigners have issued calls for heightened efforts to protect members of the LGBTQ community after Chiloba’s violent death in the Rift Valley of western Kenya. Police on Friday said they had arrested a freelance photographer said to be a longtime friend of the 25-year-old victim, a leading activist in the LGBTQ community in Kenya as well as a model and fashion designer. On Saturday another three suspects were detained for their alleged role in disposing of his remains, media reports said, quoting police officials. Chiloba’s body was discovered about 40km outside the Rift Valley town of Eldoret after…

Iran has hanged two men tied to anti-government protests, continuing a trend of using capital punishment to suppress dissent. The government has also killed hundreds of people, held thousands of sham trials and sentenced more people to death row, according to rights groups. The men, Mohammad Mehdi Karami, 22, and Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini, 39, were accused of taking part in the killing of a member of the Basij, a volunteer paramilitary force overseen by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, on November 3 near the city of Karaj, according to the Mizan News Agency, which is tied to Iran’s judiciary. They are the third and fourth protesters to be executed by the government since September and the first time two have been killed on the same day, perhaps indicating a ramping up…

Kaizer Chiefs title aspirations suffered a huge blow after losing 1-0 to Sekhukhune United on their anniversary on Saturday, but coach Arthur Zwane remains optimistic. Chiefs ended 2022 on a high as they won back-to-back league games, including beating Orlando Pirates, to be fourth on the log. Zwane's men were expected to continue with that purple patch on Saturday night as they hosted Sekhukhune at FNB Stadium on their 53rd birthday but Chiefs came up short. An early second half strike from Vusimuzi Mncube sunk them. A win would have taken them up to third after fellow title competitors Richards Bay and SuperSport United lost. Instead, they remaining fourth on the log, 13 points behind leaders Mamelodi Sundowns, but Zwane is optimistic his side will find consistency in the coming…

Nearly R6.9 billion will be refunded to Gauteng motorists who have been paying their e-toll bills. However, it is unclear if they will be paid out in cash, or with vouchers and discounts. Speaking to eNCA, Vuyo Mhaga, spokesperson for Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, said government entities were discussing how and when payments would be refunded. Mhaga said political teams from the Premier’s office, as well as the Department of Finance, were in talks around modes of payment. It could be in the form of fuel rebates or discounts on driver’s licence discs, he said. “(With the Treasury) they are hard at work looking at different scenarios that could be used. It might not be hard cash,” he said. Mhaga said there were a few minor issues to be…

1 puff pastry sheet 150g cream cheese 1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce *optional 80g white cheddar cheese, grated 250g button mushrooms, sliced 2 large onions, sliced in thin halves 2 tbsp olive oil 1 egg salt to taste Garnish with chopped parsley Preheat your oven to 200°C In a medium-sized pan, add the olive oil, sliced mushrooms and onions together and sauté on medium-high heat for around 15 minutes or until soft, brown and caramelized. You want some charr on the mushrooms and onions because that adds great flavour to the end result :) Place your defrosted puff pastry on a baking tray that has been lined with baking paper. Lightly line a border with a butter knife - this will help the edges to puff up whilst baking.…

PHOLA Park informal settlement leaders in Philippi are hoping a meeting, expected today with City officials, will give fire victims a clear roadmap forward, as some families have been housed in a community hall following two separate devastating blazes in the area. About 378 people were left destitute after a fire destroyed 75 structures on Thursday. The blaze broke out around 2.15pm. The incident came as 760 people in the area were still counting the costs of losing everything when a fire razed 247 shacks to the ground last Sunday. Some residents were accommodated by relatives and friends, while others were housed in a nearby community hall. According to Phola Park committee chairperson Teenage Mthiyane, an agreement was reached with City officials that no resident would rebuild on the site.…

WHAT started as a positive day for Dr Genine Josias, who joined the “Remember Me” campaign in honour of murder victims, turned into a nightmare after she was allegedly assaulted during a row over private property, for standing in the shade next to the Groote Kerk in Adderley Street. Police confirmed they were investigating the incident which occurred around 4.30pm on January 2. “According to the report the victim alleged that she was pushed by an unknown male whilst at the premises after she was told to move away as it is private property. "Pinelands SAPS refers and it will be transferred to Cape Town SAPS for investigation,” police spokesperson Frederick van Wyk said. Josias said after she participated in the campaign event, the CBD was packed because of the…

ALTHOUGH South Africa’s history is replete with iniquitous policies that were pursued by the white settler colonial governments through a plethora of discriminatory measures, the Natives Land Act 27 of 1913 was the most notorious as it resulted in more land being made accessible to white farmers and the clear confinement of black people to dwell within the assigned “native” territories (13.5%). Land reform attempts to fight poverty, boost rural economic growth and create jobs. In the rural areas, land symbolises security, identity, history and a favoured home for retirement. Land incorporates everything that characterises black South Africans. The Freedom Charter of 1955 set the goal of sharing the land. Despite South Africa’s reform policies, the promise to redistribute 30% of white farmland (via redistribution and restitution) to black communities…

Dakar: Thirty-eight people died and 87 were injured when two buses collided near the town of Kaffrine in central Senegal yesterday, a fire brigade official said. “It was a serious accident”, said Colonel Cheikh Fall, who is in charge of operations of the National Fire Brigade. “There were 125 victims, of whom 38 have died.” Following the accident on No 1 national road, all the victims were evacuated to a Kaffrine hospital. The wreckage and demolished buses have since been cleared, he said. Road accidents are common in Senegal, largely because of driver indiscipline, poor roads and decrepit vehicles. | AFP…

Kampala: Twenty-one people were killed when a bus headed for the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, crashed shortly after crossing the border from Uganda, police said. The Ugandan government is planning to issue measures to improve road safety after a surge in accidents in the country over the festive period. Ugandan regional police spokesperson Rogers Taitika said 21 people were confirmed dead and 49 injured after the accident on Saturday evening. Those killed were mostly Kenyans but also included eight Ugandans. The bus was travelling from the eastern Ugandan city of Mbale to Nairobi and crashed in the Kenyan town of Lwakhakha. | AFP…

German police have taken into custody an Iranian citizen, 32, suspected of having procured deadly poisons cyanide and ricin to commit an “Islamist-motivated” attack, authorities said yesterday. The residence of the suspect in the city of Castrop-Rauxel was searched, a joint press release from the Duesseldorf public prosecutor’s office and police in Recklinghausen and Muenster said. “The suspect is suspected of having prepared a serious act of endangering the state by allegedly procuring cyanide and ricin to commit an Islamist-motivated attack,” it said. The crime carries a prison sentence of between 6 months and 10 years. Castrop-Rauxel is in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, whose Interior Minister Herbert Reul said: “We had a serious tip-off that prompted police to act.” A second individual – the suspect’s brother –…

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called for “bold and radical” action to reform the crisis-hit state healthcare system as he held emergency talks with health leaders. After years of underfinancing, the NHS state-funded health service is struggling to meet the demand for emergency medical care during a particularly difficult winter with high rates of coronavirus and flu. Hospital and ambulance staff have launched rare strike action – in the case of the nurses, for the first time in 100 years – with many members of the public sympathetic to their cause. Nurses are calling for a salary hike to reflect inflation soaring above 10%. | AFP…

Wayne Parnell is as far removed from a Pretoria local as you can get. The Proteas all-rounder is a social media influencer of note, often snapped in his funky street gear, dyes his hair all shades of silver, and is married to a Cape Town model. But for the next month Parnell will call the capital of the nation home as he leads the Pretoria Capitals in the upcoming Betway SA20. And he knows that one way to get the locals on his side is to get the team winning from the outset, especially as they are accustomed to success with the Titans in South Africa’s domestic competitions. "Obviously everyone wants to win that beautiful trophy but there is a process that needs to be put in place first and…

THREE ousted Swellendam municipal officials are the latest DA former members who will take the party to court to fight for the reinstatement of their memberships. The memberships of Speaker Bongani Sonqwenqwe, deputy mayor Gcobisa Mangcu-Qotyiwe and councillor Abraham Pokwas were ceased in December after they voted against a caucus decision. DA Federal Council chairperson Helen Zille has remained adamant that no one’s membership was terminated, but the three officials ceased it. Swellendam Municipal spokesperson, Bianca McKechnie, said that the DA informed the municipality that the councillors’ memberships to the party “had been terminated” and that they therefore no longer hold office at Swellendam Municipality. Pokwas and Mangcu-Qotyiwe’s positions were declared by the municipal manager as vacancies to the IEC, and in the case of Pokwas, additionally, to Local Government…

THE cape minstrels tradition is as old as slavery at the Cape and forms an intrinsic part of our slave history and heritage. It celebrates the one day in the year when slaves were given the day off by their slave masters and they celebrated their freedom in a spirit of defiance, joy and mirth. Traditionally, the Christmas Choirs would march on Christmas Eve, December 24, Malay Choirs on December 31 and the Minstrels on January 2 or Tweede Nuwejaar. In all it has become an intrinsic part of Cape Town’s social memory both for the klopse participants handed down from generation to generation and equally so for the spectators whose presence and joining in the revelry some camping by the roadside in anticipation of the klopse is an equally…

BABOON conservation non-profit organisation, Baboon Matters, has expressed outrage at the death of two baboons that were electrocuted at the weekend, bringing the tally to four baboons electrocuted in only 14 months, they said. This, as the organisation said it had presented the City with a solution to curb similar incidents about a year ago. Baboon Matters said: “Many of you will remember the posts of Rafiki (Blue Tag) the male who dispersed from his natal troop in Tokai and bravely moved around Boyes Drive and made his way to the Da Gama Park, where he joined the troop without too much drama. “Rafiki had become a much loved member of the troop and I so looked forward to Tim Basset’s lovely posts about this lad. Tragically, yesterday Rafiki and…

SOCIAL grant beneficiaries have been affected by yet another late payment, after the Postbank issued another apology for delayed payments. “The Postbank wishes to convey a heartfelt apology to the social grants recipients who have been experiencing challenges with accessing their January 2023 payments for parts of the morning of January 6, 2023 due to system glitches,” said Postbank. In December beneficiaries were also left in the same dilemma after Postbank said criminal elements attacking its network resulted in the suspension of the grants funds’ ATM channel, as the financial service provider said its “early alert system detecting unusual activities that demonstrated possible ATM fraud” called for swift action. This glitch had affected close to half a million people with late payments. According to Postbank, its system became unstable at…

SA’s position a vivid response to Russophobic hysteria unleashed by Western countries ON THE eve of the South African BRICS chairmanship scheduled for this year, I would like to point out that the world is now undergoing an irreversible transformation to become multipolar and, as I believe, more equitable and fair. I would like to quote the extracts of the speech of the President of the Russian Federation, Mr Vladimir Putin, which he addressed during the BRICS summit last year: “Only honest and mutually beneficial co-operation will make it possible to look for proper and successful ways out of the crisis situation in the world economy that has arisen out of the selfish actions of individual states that use financial mechanisms to shift responsibility for their own mistakes in macroeconomic…

Cotonou: Benin yesterday voted for a new parliament with opposition candidates authorised to stand in the elections for the first time under President Patrice Talon after a four-year absence. The vote will be a key test for the West African nation, where Talon’s supporters say he has ushered in political and economic development, but critics argue his mandate has eroded democracy. The streets of Cotonou, the economic capital, were calm. The 2019 elections were marked by deadly violence, record abstention, a total internet shutdown and the opposition barred due to a tightening of voting rules. This time, seven political parties – including three claiming to be opposition – were allowed to participate. | AFP…

Russia’s bombing of regions in eastern Ukraine killed at least two people overnight, local officials said yesterday, after Moscow ended a self-declared Christmas ceasefire and vowed to push on with combat until it reaches a victory over its neighbour. President Vladimir Putin ordered a 36-hour ceasefire along the line of contact from Friday at midday to observe Russia and Ukraine’s Orthodox Christmas, which fell on Saturday. Ukraine rejected the truce, and the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said Russian troops had shelled dozens of positions and settlements along the front line on Saturday. A 50-year-old man died in the north-eastern region of Kharkiv as a result of Russia’s shelling overnight, Oleh Synehubov, the governor of the region, said on the Telegram messaging app. The news came minutes after midnight…

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron’s government will attempt to revive his economic reform drive and score a major political victory this week with a launch of the pension system’s overhaul in the face of vehement trade union opposition. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne is to detail plans tomorrow to make the French work longer, most likely by raising the retirement age to 64 or 65 from 62 currently. With one of the lowest retirement ages in the industrialised world, France also spends more than most other countries on pensions at nearly 14% of economic output, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. The reform’s passage through parliament will not be easy. Macron lacks a working majority and will need to win over several dozen conservative lawmakers or use his…

Orlando Pirates head coach Jose Riveiro says he can’t explain his side’s poor conversion rate in front of goal after his men suffered yet another defeat, this time a 2-1 loss against Cape Town City on Saturday. The Buccaneers' latest loss means they've now lost three consecutive league matches after going down to Kaizer Chiefs before the World Cup break and Mamelodi Sundowns after the resumption. The Sea Robbers' failure to score in the second stanza against City saw them extend their barren run in the second half of games to 15 matches, a first in the club's history. "There's no explanation for that, if you want to go deep with the analysis then we have to speak about the chances we create and not the amount of goals we…