Table of contents for 2023-04-17 in Cape Times

THE MOST RECENT World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) meetings indicate traditional aid such as for poverty in Africa is likely to dry up unless such funding addresses climate change, but the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a tool to lift the economic resilience of the continent. This was according to AfCTFA secretary-general Wamkele Mene, who spoke at a briefing on Saturday ahead of the three-day 2024 African Continental Free Trade Area Business Forum, which started at the International Conference Centre in Cape Town yesterday. The AfCTFA was launched in July 2019 and this is the first such forum to be held in person. The AfCFTA aims to progressively eliminate tariffs and liberalise trade on intra-Africa trade, making it easier for African businesses to trade within…

from page 1 were alerted to the exclusion practice weeks after meaningful engagements between themselves and management. “Council is not innocent in this matter. They have failed to carry out their legally binding mandate to hold management accountable. “The agreement clearly stated that, ‘The parties are committed to reasonable measures to ensure academic success of each student (and) provide full access to the educational resources and academic activities at UCT for the 2023 academic programme.’ Each one of these clauses and many more were breached by management. They had presented their own recommendations to the council without the SRC.” The student leaders said management had dragged its feet when providing access to educational resources and had victimised students. UCT spokesperson Elijah Moholola said: “Management conducted a survey on a cohort…

THE 56km Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon was once again a triumph for Gerda Steyn, who raced to her second record victory in successive years and her fourth successive win. Steyn, from the Free State, was at her best on Saturday and simply had too much speed and strength for the strong Ethiopian quartet of Amelwork Bosho, Yeshiemebet Nguse, Tinebeb Ali and Ashakech Yami, who posted four Two Oceans golds from Ethiopia – the first time in Two Oceans history. Although slowing on the race’s biggest climb, up Constantia Nek, Steyn had enough in the bag to be able to savour the moment and high-five cheering fans in the finish straight to take the tape in 3:29:06, and with it a record incentive which doubled her R250 000 first prize to…

THE Sentech Africa Tech Week comes to Cape Town again from May 2 to 5. Held at the Century City Conference Centre, the event is set to be a tour de force, providing illuminating answers to local challenges. Sentech’s CEO Mlamli Booi said: “Sentech Africa Tech Week resonates with our culture of innovative value creation, and commitment to ensuring access to content and connectivity. “As we evolve into ‘A global leader in digital infrastructure, enabling connectivity and content delivery’, we want the continent to be part of and benefit from that transformation. “We look forward to this gathering of tech minds and showcasing Sentech’s capability in creating digitally connected communities.” Topco Media CEO Ralf Fletcher said the event had always been a bridge that connected growing companies to information they…

President Cyril Ramaphosa threw down the gauntlet to local and global investors attending the 5th South Africa Investment Conference (SAIC) in Sandton a few days ago. “We are on the recovery path, we refuse to be daunted by the challenges we face, we are confident that we will recover,” he declared defiantly in his opening speech to SAIC last Thursday. “We remain convinced that South Africa is an investment destination with significant untapped potential. We do believe that by leveraging our unique value proposition, we have the ability to attract higher levels of investment,” he said. In 2018, he boldly set an ambitious target to raise R1.2 trillion in investment over a five-year period. Last Thursday, also in his closing speech to the one-day conference, a jubilant Ramaphosa announced…

China is expected to announce an economic rebound tomorrow when Beijing releases its first quarterly GDP figures since abolishing growth-sapping Covid-19 restrictions last year. The Asian giant’s virus containment policy – an unstinting regime of strict quarantines, mass testing and travel curbs – strongly constrained normal economic activity before it was abruptly ditched in December. The disclosures tomorrow will give the first snapshot since 2019 of a Chinese economy unencumbered by public health restrictions, with analysts polled expecting an average of 3.8% year-on-year growth in the period from January through March. But the world’s number two economy remains beset by a series of other crises, from a debt-laden property sector to flagging consumer confidence. “The recovery is real, but still in its early stage,” said Larry Hu, chief China economist…

The G7 pledged yesterday to quit fossil fuels faster and urged other countries to follow suit, but failed to agree to any new deadlines on ending polluting power sources like coal. The language reflects the depth of disagreements among the allies on the balance between climate action and energy security, with host Japan leading a pushback against the most ambitious proposals discussed. After two days of talks in the northern city of Sapporo, the bloc’s climate and environment ministers vowed to “accelerate the phase-out of unabated fossil fuels so as to achieve net zero in energy systems by 2050 at the latest... and call on others to join us in taking the same action”. But they offered no new timelines beyond last year’s G7 pledge to largely end fossil fuel…

Dubai: A fire in a residential building in Dubai killed 16 people and injured nine others in the wealthy Gulf emirate, the government said yesterday. The fire broke out on the fourth floor of the building in the Al-Ras neighbourhood in the old part of the city. The civil defence force said preliminary investigations showed the fire was caused by a “lack of compliance with building security and safety requirements”, the government’s media office said in a statement. Firefighting teams were at the blaze within six minutes of being notified, it added. Dubai, one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates, has a population of around 3.3 million. | AFP…

JAKARTA: Separatist rebels in Indonesia’s Papua region yesterday claimed to have killed nine army personnel the day before, after Jakarta did not respond to a request for negotiations, while the military said one soldier died. Indonesian military spokesperson Julius Widjojono said yesterday other soldiers were dispersed to several sites in the search for captured Susi Air pilot, Phillip Mehrtens. The military will intensify the operation to rescue Mehr- tens as they’ve identified his location. The West Papua National Liberation Army abducted the New Zealand pilot in February. The group initially demanded Jakarta recognise the area’s independence but said this month they were prepared to drop that demand and seek dialogue. | Reuters…

The surprise announcement that Jacques Nienaber is to call it a day as Springbok coach after the World Cup in October begs the question: Who of who will succeed him? The answer has surely been there all along in the form of the two assistant coaches, Deon Davids and Mzwandile Stick, and the real conjecture is which of them will assume the head coach mantle. What would be a real shock is if the aforementioned pair were overlooked and an outsider to the current coaching structure was brought in above them. What message would that send out? Davids and Stick were the coaches when the Southern Kings played exciting rugby in 2017 and Makazola Mapmpi was finishing off try after try. The Bok coaching staff has been a tight unit…

Manchester United beat relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest 2-0 yesterday to strengthen their push for a top-four Premier League finish. Erik ten Hag's men took full advantage of slip-ups from rivals Newcastle and Tottenham the previous day to climb to third in the table, courtesy of goals from Antony and Diogo Dalot. The teams had already met three times this season, including in a two-legged League Cup semi-final - with United winning on each occasion. Injured United central-defensive pairing Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez were replaced by Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof, while Dalot came in for Tyrell Malacia. The visitors, also missing injured top-scorer Marcus Rashford, were forced into a late change when midfielder Marcel Sabitzer was injured in the warm-up and replaced by Christian Eriksen, making his first start since…

SAPPI’S share price closed 5.75% down on the JSE on Friday after it announced that the sale of three European mills to Aurelius, for about R5.4 billion, had fallen through. Sappi said in a statement yesterday that the date for completion of the suspensive conditions contained in the agreement to sell three European Graphic Paper mills to Aurelius had lapsed and the transaction would not proceed. The share price closed at R44.44 on Friday, compared with R56.46 a year ago at the same date. Sappi had announced on September 29, 2023, that it had reached an agreement with Aurelius Investment Lux One S.à.r.l, to divest its Maastricht Mill in the Netherlands, its Stockstadt Mill in Germany and its Kirkniemi Mill in Finland. The deal was subject to the fulfilment of…

THE Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and the National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS) are engaged in litigation with 16 companies to recoup more than R172 million arising from irregularly awarded personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts. Health Minister Joseph Phaahla revealed this in reply to parliamentary questions from DA MP Lindy Wilson who asked for details of irregular contracts and progress made to recover the monies from companies when the NHLS procured PPE in 2020. Wilson said about 175 PPE orders were placed to the combined value of about R993.8m and 21 of the orders were audited for possible irregular expenditure. In his reply, Phaahla said the 175 PPE orders valued at R993.8m were disclosed in the NHLS 2020/21 financial year annual report. The NHLS had indicated at the time of…

Accused fraudster and former SA Revenue Service (Sars) operational manager, Bayanda Mehlala, is expected in court again this month on charges including contravening the Tax Administration Act. Hawks spokesperson Yolisa Mgolodela said the East London-based Serious Commercial Crime Investigation Unit of the Hawks arrested Mehlala, 38, on Friday. “It is alleged that in 2020, Mehlala, as the operational manager at Sars, registered two companies Zeechor and Astral Commodities. “He allegedly unlawfully and intentionally submitted false tax returns on both companies and with intention to evade tax …” The matter was remanded to May 30 for copies of the dockets.…

Entire justice system is in meltdown ENDEMIC corruption, maladministration and austerity’s most savage cuts are barely visible. Ambulances failing to respond to emergency calls and sick people packed in overflowing hospital waiting rooms make the news because that could affect you or your family any day. Potholes in the road evoke motorists’ and cyclists’ wrath, as do missed bin collections or unattended overflowing sewerage tunnels. But the near collapse of the entire criminal justice system can happen right under our noses, and none but judges, lawyers, prosecutors and prison staff know anything about it. Prisons did top the news last week when in another extraordinary day in the life of the “Facebook rapist” saga that has gripped the nation, Thabo Bester and his lover, Dr Nandipha Magudumana, arrived back in…

Germany switched off its last three nuclear reactors this weekend, exiting atomic power even as it seeks to wean itself off fossil fuels and manage an energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. While many Western countries are upping their investments in atomic energy to reduce their emissions, Germany brought an early end to its nuclear age. It’s “the end of an era,” the RWE energy firm said in a statement shortly after midnight confirming the three reactors had been disconnected from the electricity grid. Europe’s largest economy has been looking to leave behind nuclear power since 2002, but the phase-out was accelerated by former chancellor Angela Merkel in 2011. The exit decision was popular in a country with a powerful anti-nuclear movement, stoked by lingering fears of a…

Russian President Vladimir Putin marked Orthodox Easter Sunday by applauding the “strengthening” role of the church for society and youth. “I would like to express my profound gratitude for your tireless and selfless work in preserving the enduring historical, spiritual, moral and family values, by educating and enlightening youth,” said Putin after taking part in the liturgy at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. “For many years, your wise pastoral words have served to strengthen society. As we face serious challenges, it is particularly important,” he said. | AFP…

Sulaimaniyah: At least two people have been killed and two others wounded in northern Iraq’s Kurdistan region, officials said yesterday, blaming a drone strike carried out by neighbouring Türkiye. The strikes near the town of Penjwen, close to the Iranian border, targeted a vehicle carrying Turkish Kurdish fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), one official said. The PKK, which Ankara and its Western allies classify as a “terrorist” organisation, operates rear bases in Iraq’s north. Haval Abubaker, regional governor of Sulaimaniyah, expressed “concern” about the “attacks” in a telephone call with Masrour Barzani, prime minister of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan. | AFP…

SEOUL: South Korea fired warning shots towards a North Korean vessel that crossed the maritime border, South Korea’s military said yesterday, a day after the incident that further raised tension over the North’s missile tests. The South said it had broadcast warnings to expel a North Korean patrol boat that breached the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the sea boundary. “Our military maintains decisive battle posture,” it said. The North’s incursion came as tension flared over the North’s stepped up military activities in recent weeks, including Friday’s test of a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile that experts say would facilitate missile launches with little warning. | Reuters…

from page 1 There are further ongoing engagements with both COGTA (Cooperative governance and Traditional Affairs) and various municipalities regarding additional exemptions for both private and public health care facilities from the grid,” he said. Out of the already 76 exempted hospitals, 26 are directly supplied by Eskom and 50 by municipalities. Meanwhile, experts say the power utility has quietly implemented, not for the first time, stage 8 load shedding. Energy expert Lungile Mashele said: “Stage 8 happened last week. However this was not the first time this year. We had over 7000MW in reduced demand. This was a mix of manual load reduction, interruptible load shedding and virtual power station.” The biggest issues in generation relate to “a lack of reliability, maintenance, funding and maintenance planning” said Mashele, adding…

WITH the UDM and the ACDP rejecting the DA’s moonshot pact, analysts say declaring war on the EFF and ANC could be seen as declaring war on efforts to redress historical injustices and transformation. Political analyst Dr Kuhle Zwakala said the DA seemed to be oblivious of the profile of the majority of the South African electorate following the opposition party’s briefing at the weekend on its moonshot pact. On April 3, DA leader John Steenhuisen approached political parties to consider joining the party’s “moonshot pact” ahead of next year’s general elections to keep the ANC and the EFF out of power, by trying to grow this pact’s support from a third, to a 51% majority in 2024. Addressing the media at the weekend, Steenhuisen said out of the 15…

More than half a billion rand spent on diesel in just 12 months PUBLIC hospitals have spent more than half a billion rand on diesel just to keep the lights on during load-shedding between April 2022 and March this year. That amount of more than R685 million is expected to significantly increase in the coming weeks as Eskom again announced stage 6 load shedding indefinitely. Apart from other generation challenges, the current situation was exacerbated by the loss of four major units which were on extended outages. “Due to a shortage of generation capacity, Stage 6 load shedding will continue to be implemented until further notice. Breakdowns are currently at 17 481MW of generating capacity while the generating capacity out of service for planned maintenance is 5 657MW. Over the…

THE number of retailers in Cape Town Central Business District (CBD) has now surpassed pre-pandemic levels, according to the Cape Town Central City Improvement District (CCID). As the country and the rest of the world starts to pick up the pieces, the CCID said that nearly 80% of the 230 retailers it surveyed in the city centre during the first quarter of 2023, indicated that they were “satisfied” with current business conditions. The CCID said that one of the key reasons underpinning business confidence is that certain key parts of the CBD are insulated against load shedding. “A large number of businesses and residents in town are shielded from power disruptions suffered by the rest of the country. This has been a particularly important benefit during Q1 of 2023, when…

JUSTICE and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola’s apology to Thabo Bester’s victims could be easily acceptable if it was followed by his resignation. Not only did he and his leadership drop the ball, they are not the right people for the job. In fact, their failure to timeously communicate Bester’s escape is more than just dropping the ball. We would be not off the mark in arguing that it may have been a deliberate ploy to not come out early with news of Bester’s escape as it would once again have been an embarrassment to the government of President Cyril Ramaphosa. Or is it true that Bester was well connected politically? Whatever the case, Lamola cannot expect the victims and South Africans to simply accept his apology and move on.…

Sudan’s army launched air strikes on a rival paramilitary force’s base near the capital in a bid to reassert control over the country yesterday after a power struggle erupted into clashes that killed 56 civilians and dozens of fighters. The fighting that broke out on Saturday between army units loyal to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by deputy leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, is the first such outbreak since both joined forces to oust president Omar Hassan al-Bashir in 2019. At the end of a day of heavy fighting, the army struck a base belonging to the government’s paramilitary RSF in the city of Omdurman, which adjoins the capital Khartoum, witnesses said late on Saturday. Both the military and the RSF claimed…

A former lawmaker in India’s parliament, convicted of kidnapping, was shot dead along with his brother while police were escorting them for a medical check-up in a slaying caught on live television. The dramatic footage of the men being killed was shared across broadcast channels and social media. A gunman is seen reaching over the shoulders of police to point a pistol at the temple of the former lawmaker, Atiq Ahmed, whose turban is blown off as the gun discharges. His brother, Ashraf Ahmed, was shot a split second later. In other footage, one gunman is seen firing repeatedly at the brothers’ bodies as they lay on the ground. The two victims died within minutes, while the police quickly detained three suspects. Media reports say the assailants had been posing…

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez apologised in an interview published yesterday to victims of sexual abuse over a sexual violence law that included a loophole enabling at least 978 imprisoned offenders to get their sentences reduced or ended early. The “Only Yes Is Yes” law, which arose as a result of public outrage over the so-called Wolf Pack case, centred on consent and was meant to resolve cases where defendants were convicted of the lesser crime of sexual abuse as victims had not resisted out of fear. But because the new law carries a lower minimum sentence – the result of merging sexual abuse and aggression – it has enabled some perpetrators to successfully seek reduced sentences or early release. After the law was passed in October, sentences in 978…

DHAKA: Firefighters, supported by military personnel, in the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka finally extinguished a blaze that had swept through a three-storey shopping complex some 27 hours after it erupted, in the second such incident in two weeks. Some 30 people, mostly firefighters, were injured, but there were no other casualties. The fire broke out in the early hours of Saturday morning, when most of the nearly 1 500 shops in the complex were shut. Another massive fire in another shopping complex in Dhaka on April 4, destroyed 5 000 stores. Lax regulations and poor enforcement have been blamed for industrial fires that have plagued Bangladesh. | Reuters…

ARSENAL blew a two-goal lead for the second game in a row as Bukayo Saka’s penalty miss proved crucial in the Premier League leaders’ damaging 2-2 draw against West Ham United yesterday. Mikel Arteta’s side struck twice in the first 10 minutes at the London Stadium thanks to goals from Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard. But just seven days after squandering a 2-0 advantage in their 2-2 draw at Liverpool, the Gunners again cracked under the pressure of the title race. Said Benrahma’s penalty reduced the deficit for West Ham before the interval and after Saka fired his spot-kick wide early in the second half, Jarrod Bowen volleyed in an equaliser for the struggling hosts. It was a hammer blow for Arsenal, who sit four points clear of second-placed Manchester…