Table of contents for 2023-09-21 in Cape Times

South African dance legend Gregory Vuyani Maqoma, 50, will take his final bow on a local stage with his critically acclaimed Exit/Exist, at The Baxter Theatre for three performances from October 5 – 7. The production, which has been dear to his career over the years, is his second-last performance in South Africa; Maqoma retires from dancing later this year. Through his award-winning storytelling, he has introduced the world to characters and storylines that have captured the zeitgeist. He has become known as a catalyst for breaking new ground, and changing and elevating the arts landscape. “The return of Exit/Exist to the South African audience is not only befitting to the extraordinary journey I have taken so far, but marks 150 years since the passing of my ancestor, Chief Maqoma,”…

From page 1 This saw classes at the university also being moved online. Unisa SRC secretary-general, Shatadi Phoshoko, shared the same sentiments and frustration. UCT stated they had concerns with the funding model, the R45 000 accommodation cap and funding alterations had implications for their financial aid commitments, particularly regarding residence fees. “The impact of this in the 2023 budget is R177 million additional allocation by the university to financial aid.” The university’s spokesperson Elijah Moholola said there were ongoing measures by the university to assist students in need, with among others food security and other subsistence assistance support based on the limited budget available. However, Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) spokesperson Lauren Kansley said they have not had the same challenges seen at other institutions. “Our service…

IF THE parliamentary justice committee could have its way, the impeachment of two judges found guilty by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) would be held before the current Parliament’s end of term. This emerged yesterday, when the justice and correctional services portfolio committee decided to invite the JSC to make a presentation on retired Judge Nkola Motata and Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe. This, after the committee agreed on the steps to be followed in handling the referrals that were made to the committee, including inviting the JSC to brief them on the judges. Committee chairperson Bulelani Magwanishe said the MPs will be informed when the JSC would brief them. “We will be processing these requests this term. We are to do the first and second step concurrently and…

THE Swellendam Municipality saw another vital building go up in smoke yesterday, along with a firefighting vehicle amid protest action for subsidised municipal services. The Thusong Centre, a building in Railton that is used to provide essential services including distributing Sassa payments, was set alight after a flare-up in protest action. This as the N2 highway was blocked with debris, and private vehicles were pelted with stones. The highway was later reopened with a large police presence in the area. Police spokesperson Christopher Spies said that public order police and reinforcements from neighbouring stations were deployed in Swellendam. “Reports available at this stage suggest that sporadic incidents of public violence, arson and malicious damage to property occurred in the area. The N2 highway was also blockaded with debris and vehicles…

REFLECTING on the contribution that former president of the SA Council on Sport (Sacos) Frank van der Horst made to the liberation of oppressed sports communities in the country, a special exhibition to celebrate and commemorate him will open at the national library tomorrow. The exhibition, consisting of important Sacos research material and photos of various sports codes as well as personal memorabilia and other material of Van der Horst, is dedicated to the broader liberation movement and the sportsmen and women who dedicated their lives and sacrificed their careers for liberation. “Understanding and reflecting on the contribution by Sacos is important for provincial, national, and international federations, government employees and employers, scholars, students and researchers, and anybody else who is involved in the making of sport,” said Professor Francois…

THE family of four-year-old Unako Khala, who was burnt with hot water in June while playing in front of a neighbour’s house, says they are furious after the alleged perpetrator was spotted roaming the streets while she was “supposed” to be in jail. Asanda Makaluza, 22, appeared in the Bishop Lavis Magistrate’s Court yesterday, where the family said she arrived on her own accord, instead of being brought from prison. Makaluza is accused of pouring boiling water on Unako for swinging on the gate of her Langa home. The family said they were informed that her bail was denied at her last court appearance in July. Family spokesperson, Mbulelo Dwane, said they were “livid” after they found out that she had been granted bail without their knowledge. “We don’t know…

XOLISA Bangani, founder of Khayelitsha’s well-known gardening hub, Ikhaya Garden, says he is lucky to be alive after almost losing his life in a shack fire last month. Discharged recently after spending two weeks in hospital, Bangani, 35, said he was still traumatised by the ordeal. “On August 28, I woke up and went to do gardening as per usual. Friends started arriving and we had a nice lunch. “The day ended, we left the garden and split. I went straight to my shack for a bath as I was happily tired. “Around midnight, while I was still sleeping, I woke up with fire in my room, first from the curtains. “I pulled the curtains down, but I realised there was more fire in the room and by the door.…

HIGHER Education, Science and Innovation Minister Blade Nzimande’s denial of the crisis that is confronting the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) comes as no surprise. It is, however, a smack in the face of the thousands of tertiary education students who have been forced to go to bed on an empty stomach because their funds were delayed. We have not yet talked about the thousands of students who NSFAS has wrongfully defunded and are now left to fend for themselves. Add to that the instability within the entity itself following the resignation of its IT boss Modibedi Oliphant after having been served a notice letter of suspension, as a result of the IT unit’s alleged poor performance which also saw a delay in allowances payment. This is the same…

King Charles arrived in France yesterday for a three-day state visit, during which he and President Emmanuel Macron will hope to build on symbolism and personal bonds to turn the page on years of rocky relations between the two nations. The king and his wife, Queen Camilla, were greeted by French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne in a windy Paris, before heading to a ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe, where they paid tribute to French and British soldiers who died in two World Wars. They then drove down the Champs-Elysees avenue, waving at the thin crowds that had gathered along the tree-lined boulevard. The visit comes as French and British citizens feel the pinch of inflation at multidecade highs. A planned dinner at the sumptuous Palace of Versailles, a symbol…

LISBON: Six Portuguese youths are taking 32 nations to the European Court of Human Rights this month for not doing enough to stop global warming, the latest bid to secure climate justice through the courts. The move was sparked by the massive wildfires that struck Portugal in 2017, killing over 100 people and charring swathes of the country. Aged 11 to 24, the young people say they are suffering from anxiety over their health. The Strasbourg-based court will examine the arguments on September 27. The youths argue that excessive carbon emissions are infringing in particular the right to life, and the right to the respect of private and family life. | AFP…

LONDON: Mozambique can sue shipbuilder Privinvest in Britain over the $2 billion (R37.5bn) “tuna bond” scandal, the UK’s Supreme Court ruled yesterday, just weeks before a blockbuster trial begins in London. The country is suing Privinvest, its owner Iskandar Safa, Credit Suisse and others at London’s High Court over government-guaranteed loans raised in 2013 and 2014, hundreds of millions of dollars of which went missing. Privinvest had argued that under its contracts with Mozambique any dispute between the parties must be addressed by arbitration. In 2021, the Court of Appeal ruled in the company’s favour. But the Supreme Court allowed Mozambique’s appeal against the ruling yesterday. | Reuters…

The Salt River Heritage Society, in celebration of Heritage Month, will present its second edition of the Salt River Heritage Street Festival on September 30. The event, which starts at 2pm on the corner of Pope and Kingsley roads, promises a day filled with street art, local culinary delights, music, poetry and talks, all showcasing the diverse and intangible cultural heritage of the community. Organisers said three new street murals, introduced by local street artist Natheer Hoosain, also known as Gogga, and acclaimed photographer and activist Nawawie Mathews, will be available for viewing. “We celebrate the cultural value of graffiti and street art as a means of social connection and creativity, sparking conversations and shedding light on important issues,” said Nadia Agherdine, deputy chairperson of the Salt River Heritage Society.…

From page 1 However, the approval that was granted lapsed in July 2022 as the owner/applicant did not comply with the conditions of approval, nor have they exercised the rights that were granted at the time (in 2017). Importantly: during the aforesaid process, there was extensive public participation that took place in the form of registered letters to surrounding property owners to advise them of the application and to comment.” Neither the City or Umvoto responded to the conflict of interest allegations. Ardagh Glass Packaging said it was committed to sound environmental practices and was disappointed that its second revised water licence application had been rejected. “We will now explore the options available to us before making a decision on the way forward, including an appeal and/or reducing glass production…

THE Special Investigation Unit (SIU) has found that Nedbank, which was the first major bank to be temporarily defeated by the Sekunjalo Group in the battle against unfair termination of bank accounts, unlawfully and corruptly participated in a R12 billion Transnet locomotive contract. The SIU, which recently concluded its own investigation in the matter, also accused Nedbank of unreasonably delaying being held accountable for its role in state capture. Chief Justice Raymond Zondo’s state capture report implicated the bank in a R12bn club loan scam whereby it, together with Gupta-linked Regiments Capital, engaged in unauthorised interest rate swap transactions that “were not in the best interests of Transnet". Following the release of Justice Zondo’s report, the SIU conducted further investigations into various allegations contained in the document. The outcome of…

THE Philippi Horticultural Area (PHA) has secured another victory as an application by Ardagh Glass Packaging, formerly Consol Glass, for a water use licence to mine silica sand in the area has failed again. “The Water Tribunal ruling highlights the symbiotic and interdependent relationship of the PHA farmland and the Cape Flats Aquifer,” the PHA said. “The farmland needs the aquifer because it allows for drought-proof farming that sustains the City’s food supply. “The aquifer needs the farmland because the farm landscape, farm sloots, seasonal wetlands and sand dunes are the natural recharge green infrastructure that sustain the well-being of the aquifer. “Of the 12 reasons for its ruling, four are notable. Among other things, this application would destroy 55ha of wetlands. “These four wetlands recharge the aquifer in winter…

IN A Road Accident Fund (RAF) claim with a twist, a motorist claimed damages from the entity after he said that he had hit a black, dead donkey that was in the middle of the lane in which he was travelling. Frederick Barnard told the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, that at first he did not realise what had caused the accident. However, he later saw that a donkey was lying in his travel lane. It appeared that Barnard had struck a donkey that had been hit by another motor vehicle and left on the road. Counsel for the RAF questioned whether the animal was hit by another vehicle, and if the court found that it was, it raised the aspect of contributory negligence on Barnard’s side. He testified that he…

THE child of a parent with a blocked ID is not only denied recognition and use of their South African citizenship, but faced many problems including being refused access to school, social grants and health-care services, among others. This is according to the Children’s Institute at UCT, represented by the Centre for Child Law, who yesterday provided evidence as a friend of the court, in the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria, to highlight the consequences for children whose parents’ IDs have been “blocked” by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA). Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) is representing over 100 people in the court challenge, which seeks to declare the DHA’s conduct as unlawful and unconstitutional, and seeks an order to unblock the IDs. An ID is blocked when an ID…

The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) has apologised for the delay in arranging the board medical exams. According to the council, the Medical Board exams were previously managed by an external service provider for the Medical and Dental Professional Board. Earlier the council appealed for patience after South African foreign-qualified medical doctors whose registration with the council has been delayed due to “administrative challenges”, raised their frustrations. HPCSA registrar Dr Magome Masike said a new contract had been signed with the University of KwaZulu-Natal to manage the HPCSA Medical Board exams for the next three years. Theory exams will be on October 25, and practicals between December 5 and 8. |…

Consider this ratio for a minute. 45:45:10. That is the global average of formal employment by large firms, self-employed and informal, micro and small businesses and finally, the unemployed. In South Africa, our ratio is something like this: 50:10:40. Our formal employment statistics are on par with or even exceed global averages. However, we have seemingly not been able to address the creation of jobs through small and medium enterprises despite a number of policy and programmatic interventions. In recent years, the South African start-up ecosystem has captured the attention of global investors, with Cape Town’s “Silicon Cape” emerging as a hub for innovation and entrepreneurship. I witnessed this first hand as I built and launched my tech start-up, DigsConnect.com, right in the heart of Cape Town’s tech scene. However,…

Azerbaijan said yesterday that it had halted military action in its breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh after Armenian separatist forces there agreed to a ceasefire whose terms signalled the area would return to Baku’s control. Under the agreement, confirmed by both sides yesterday, separatist forces will disband and disarm and talks on the future of the region and the ethnic Armenians who live there will start today. Karabakh, a mountainous area in the volatile wider South Caucasus region, is internationally recognised as Azerbaijani territory, but part of it has been run by separatist Armenian authorities who call the area their ancestral homeland. Fearful of what the future might hold, thousands of Armenians massed at the airport in Stepanakert, the capital of Karabakh which is known as Khankendi by Azerbaijan. Others took…

Israel closed crossing points with Gaza yesterday, preventing thousands of workers from getting to their jobs in Israel and the West Bank following days of border demonstrations that saw Israeli forces open fire and kill a protester a day earlier. The move stops more than 18 000 Palestinians from crossing for work, depriving the blockaded territory’s ailing economy of about $2 million (R37.5m) a day, say local economists. Protests backed by Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, have been held for days, against issues ranging from the treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails to Jewish visits to the Al Aqsa mosque compound, a site holy to both Muslims and Jews, who know it as the Temple Mount. On Tuesday, a Palestinian man was fatally shot by…

London: UK interior minister Suella Braverman said yesterday that green policies should not mean “bankrupting” British citizens, as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appeared set to soften some of the government’s net-zero pledges. Her comments come amid growing concern of the potential financial cost to citizens of some of the government’s net zero policies. A general election is expected next year and Sunak’s Conservative Party is trailing in the polls behind the Labour opposition amid a cost-of-living crisis. Sunak said while the government was committed to the net zero target, it would try to achieve it “in a better, more proportionate way”. | AFP…

Sydney: Australia yesterday abandoned its fight to eradicate the Varroa mite, a parasite responsible for the collapse of honeybee populations across the planet. Authorities have destroyed more than 14 000 infected beehives since the tiny red-brown pest was first detected in June last year. The government yesterday conceded its US$64 million (about R1.2 billion) eradication plan could not stop the mite from spreading, saying beekeepers should prepare to live with the incursion. Varroa mites attach themselves to honeybees and feast on their body tissue. They are the “most serious pest of honeybees worldwide”, said the Australian government. | AFP…

A SELECTION of artwork by artists living in Angola and South Africa alongside diasporic artists with ancestral roots in Tanzania, Algeria and Morocco, will feature in the Goodman Gallery’s newest exhibit, Unbind. “The featured works provide a variety of perspectives on Africa’s inherited colonial past, with artists like Zineb Sedira drawing on powerful visual strategies, known as joyful resistance, for processing this past in the present and for unshackling from its bind,” the curators said. Featured artists also have prominent international moments happening around the world: Kapwani Kiwanga has just opened a major solo exhibition at the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg and is soon to represent Canada at the forthcoming Venice Biennale; Sedira’s Dreams Have No Titles is currently on view on New York’s High Line and she has a survey exhibition…

UNISA has chosen to remain mum on findings of “serious governance and maladministration” made in an independent assessor’s report earlier this year. In May, the Unisa council admitted the institution had “serious governance” issues, but maintained there was no chaos. During a media briefing yesterday on the general state of the university, the institution said the assessor’s report will not be discussed in the public domain, adding that it “differed” with the findings. “Management reiterated the university’s stance on the independent assessor’s report and its predecessor, the ministerial task team (MTT) report. “While the university co-operated with both processes and respected the reports, it differed with the findings of both reports that the institution was collapsing. “However, due to the issues pertaining to the independent assessor’s report and minister’s…

‘They are failing to deliver services to students and (this) will lead to mental issues and stress’ THE National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) board has been threatened with legal summons should it again snub the National Assembly committee on higher education next week. Members of Parliament were fuming yesterday after the embattled entity failed to account over the new direct-payment system, student appeals, IT system and accreditation of student accommodation. The committee gave NSFAS two weeks to share a management turn-around strategy to deal with leadership and operation issues. However, on the eve of the briefing, Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande sent a letter, seen by the Cape Times, to the committee, in which he said both the department and NSFAS were not ready for the briefing. “This is…

THE Women on Farms Project has called for the consultation of landless women and farmworkers to take place before the Preservation and Development of Agricultural Land (PDAL) Bill is passed. This comes after the portfolio committee on agriculture, land reform and rural development held public hearings on the bill at the Van Huyssteem Avenue Indoor Sports Centre, in Worcester, on Tuesday. Women on Farms Project co-director Carmen Louw said the bill was unclear over who or what it was intended for. “I think the bill missed the plot, totally. “The minister cannot draft and develop a bill without dealing with the issue of land reform and agricultural transformation. “The provisions here for eco clusters are not sufficient to provide a real sustainable model of agriculture. “In order to bring about…

THE Supreme Court of Appeal has struck off its roll a “pawn your car and still drive it” matter. It cited a lack of jurisdiction over an investigation while the former credit provider was currently before the National Consumer Tribunal. The National Credit Regulator (NCR) initiated an investigation into the business practices of the CMR Group in 2017, which looked into agreements relating to CMR’s core business, known as the ‘pawn your car and still drive it’ scheme. The investigation showed that CMR advanced funds to consumers against their fully paid motor vehicles, subject to a pawn agreement. The scheme allowed the consumers to borrow between 30% and 50% of their motor vehicle’s market value, and consumers then transferred their vehicles into CMR’s name. The consumers remained in possession of…

REVERSING economic and racial spatial segregation in Cape Town should top the City’s list of priorities in its revised urban design policy, recently published for public comment. This is the view of the Greater Cape Town Civic Alliance and the GOOD Party. Residents, interested and affected parties, as well as urban design professionals, have until October 30 to submit their own comments. According to the City, the objectives of the draft policy include establishing a clear spatial structure that incorporates urban, natural and green infrastructure. It aims to create quality open spaces that encourage social interaction and well-being. The policy also advocates for streets and squares designed for multiple functions, prioritising pedestrians, and emphasises the importance of respecting and enhancing the natural environment, heritage structures and cultural practices. Greater…

Ban on religious or political symbols may constitute indirect discrimination THE right of Muslim women to wear headscarves and of men to keep moustaches and beards in workplaces has, once again, come under greater scrutiny. This time, following a new dress policy issued by the Department of Health director-general, Dr Sandile Buthelezi, prohibiting nurses from wearing headscarves while on duty. It is a right that many people have long been contesting, the government departments and institutions whose policies and subcultures the conservatives trump as guarding a strict divide between the state and religion. Until the January 2021 court decision in favour of Major Fatima Isaacs, the SANDF restricted the right of women to wear scarves. But the rise of populism and polarisation nationwide is fanning the debate elsewhere. As immigration…

Haiti’s most powerful gang leader called for the armed overthrow of Prime Minister Ariel Henry, urging Haitians to take to the streets against the unelected government in the latest escalation of a country undergoing humanitarian crisis. Jimmy “Barbecue” Cherizier, a former police officer who now heads a powerful coalition of gangs that controls large parts of Port-au-Prince, led his group of armed men on a march through the capital yesterday, blocking roads and banging drums. Haitian gangs, which frequently engage police in gunbattles and profit from activities such as extortion and drug trafficking, have grown in strength since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise. The assassination created a power vacuum, with Prime Minister Ariel Henry governing on an interim basis since. Henry has pledged to hold elections once security…

Brussels: Mahsa Amini, the Iranian Kurdish woman who died in custody a year ago, and billionaire Elon Musk were among a field of nominations put forward yesterday for the EU’s top rights prize. The European Parliament’s three biggest political groups each backed Amini as the recipient for this year’s Sakharov Prize, which will be presented in December. Amini died while being held by Iran’s religious police for allegedly breaching the Islamic republic’s strict dress code for women. The legislature’s small far-right bloc was the only one to nominate Musk, the tech titan behind X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, as well as electric car company Tesla and space rocket firm SpaceX. Other parliamentary groupings put forward activists from Afghanistan, Georgia, Nicaragua, Poland, El Salvador and the US as their…

NAIROBI: Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame said this week that he will stand for re-election next year, hoping to extend nearly a quarter of a century in power. Kagame, who became president in 2000, is eligible to continue in office for another decade after a constitutional amendment in 2015 changed term limits that would have forced him to step down two years later. Kagame won the last election in August 2017 for a seven-year term with 98.63% of the vote. He has won international acclaim for presiding over peace and economic growth since the end of the 1994 genocide, in which 800 000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed. | Reuters…

THE Proteas’ 50-over World Cup preparations have been rocked, with fast bowling duo Anrich Nortjé and Sisanda Magala set to withdraw due to injury. Nortjé bowled only five overs during the recent one-day international series against Australia, before leaving the field during the second match at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein. The 29-year-old speedster – who also missed the last ODI World Cup in the United Kingdom after being hit on the hand in the nets during the build-up – went for scans on his lower back last week, and Independent Media now understands that it is serious enough to rule him out of a second consecutive World Cup. Nortjé’s absence is massive for the Proteas as he is not only the fastest bowler in the South African attack, but…