Table of contents for 2024-06-20 in Cape Times

STADIO Holdings continues to grow, with student numbers increasing by 8% in the 12 months to end-June 2024, its shareholders learnt at the annual general meeting yesterday. With investments in Stadio Higher Education, Milpark Education and AFDA, the total number of students increased from 42 874 to 46 300, with distance learning students up by 8% from 37 067 to 40 017, and contact learning students by 8% from 5 807 to 6 283. The percentage of students making use of distance learning amounted to 86% and 14% was via contact learning. Speaking in a virtual AGM and business update yesterday, Stadio’s CEO, Chris Vorster, said they were pleased with the overall growth of 8% in student numbers, given the difficult environment in which…

from page 1 into the by-elections,” said Simmers. ANC Western Cape spokesperson Khalid Sayed said they were confident that their presence was felt in the by-elections in the metro. “We understand that these were DA-dominated wards but we are confident that our support base will be retained because during the general elections we saw a lot of positive feeling towards the ANC in these areas. This is the same with Beaufort West, particularly the areas that were under the PA,” said Sayed. PMC’s Sammy Claassen said they only contested in ward 6 in Beaufort West. “The ward was highly contested, this was under the PA and we saw the DA coming out guns blazing, fully resourced and manpower on the ground. This will be only our second by-elections because the…

I REFER to the letter by Ettie Flax headed “Hamas debate misses pertinent questions” in Monday’s Cape Times. I have one question for Ms Flax: Do you really believe over 2.5 million people - men, women, children, the elderly, sick and infirm - could all fit into the so-called hundreds of tunnels running underneath Gaza, and live there? Human beings, like you and me? All the while as the Israel Defense Forces pound the city above them - hospitals, schools, houses, apartments - and blow all signs of habitation to smithereens? Do you really credibly believe this is possible? As we know, Hamas was elected in 2006 as an alternative to the Palestinian Authority which was lazy and corrupt (as are most governments of the world).…

The MOU will focus on the areas of training and research; community engagement; capacity building; and exchange of information and expertise. Following a successful Gender and Corruption Symposium last week, the MOU was signed by the head of the SIU, advocate Andy Mothibi, and SU Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Study, Professor Sibusiso Moyo. Speaking at the gala dinner before the signing, Mothibi said: “As leaders in the fight against corruption we should recognise the importance of addressing gender dynamics within the country, in particular, as we strengthen our fight against corruption. This means incorporating a gender perspective into all aspects of our anti-corruption efforts from prevention to investigation and to prosecution. “We are pleased … that we have reached a stage where we have signed a memorandum…

TWO suspicious medical certificates from a doctor issued to an employee of Woolworths formed the subject of an appeal before the Johannesburg Labour Appeal Court, after Woolworths was unhappy with a finding that it had to reinstate the worker. After being fired, the worker, a Mrs Maseko, referred an unfair dismissal dispute to the CCMA, which found her dismissal to be substantially unfair. Woolworths unsuccessfully turned to the Labour Court to review this finding. It now turned to the Appeal Division of the Labour Court, but yet again lost its legal bid. In June 2019, Maseko handed a medical certificate to her employer, which was issued by a Dr Frempong. Fortuitously, some Woolworths stores, including the one in which Maseko worked, had received an email warning them about suspicious medical…

POLICE are investigating the robbery of a man who was allegedly lured through a dating app to a building in the CBD where he was attacked. The 45-year-old went to Shortmarket Street on June 11 to meet someone he had met on the app. Police spokesperson Joseph Swartbooi said police registered a case of robbery for investigation. “According to reports the complainant met an unknown male at identified premises in Shortmarket Street, Bo Kaap. They were joined by two unknown armed males who assaulted the complainant and robbed him of an undisclosed amount of cash. “The suspects tied up the victim and fled the scene. The victim managed to untie himself and reported the matter to the police,” said Swartbooi. In December last year, 13 people from Durban were…

Nearly 300 works and events are on offer at the National Arts Festival which will mark 50 years of creative freedom and definitive South African work from today. The festival’s home, in the small town of Makhanda in the Eastern Cape, has become the annual destination for established artists, new and emerging talent and the network of producers, writers and creators who make and present works on South Africa’s stages. “It’s an honour to be staging this festival 50 years after its first curtain was raised. Despite an always changeable, and often precarious, environment for the arts, the National Arts Festival has prevailed and evolved. “This is testament to those who have steered the ship and our steadfast partners over the decades, but also reflects the extraordinary tenacity artists have…

If you followed critical discourse in the lead-up to the elections on May 29 this year, you will likely not have heard much discussion on the superficial unity that transcends internal divisions that are supposedly tearing the soul of the ANC apart. Instead, “amadela kufa”, that is, die-hard ANC members, have self-galvanised to promote a positive image and profile of the organisation. Frankly, the die-hard ANC members can be carved into two groups. The first group are Haves, that is, former presidents, Cabinet members, premiers, MECs and other members who have been co-opted into the capitalist economic system. This group have gone out of its way to campaign and mobilise support for the ANC. They have much to lose if the ANC loses. The second group are the Want-Mores, that…

From Algeria, Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan, citizens of distant, Muslim countries wait for US asylum at a shelter in the Mexican border city of Tijuana – more used to seeing migrants from Latin America than the Middle East. At the Assabil Inn, Mexico’s first shelter catering for US-bound Muslim migrants, the backstories of the guests are as varied as the languages they speak. “People get kidnapped. Sometimes, when you leave home, there’s a very high chance that you don’t come back,” said Maitham Alojaili, 26, who fled civil war-wrecked Sudan. Data released this week by Mexico’s National Migration Institute said some 1.39 million people from 177 countries have travelled through the country so far this year, trying to reach the US without entry papers. The figure represents almost the whole…

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday that Moscow and Pyongyang were fighting “US hegemony”, while North Korea’s Kim Jong Un said their partnership furthered “peace and stability” in the Asia-Pacific region. Putin was in North Korea for a rare state visit, where the two leaders signed a “comprehensive strategic partnership” to further deepen military, economic and political ties. Kim said the treaty would put the “security situation of both countries on a more reliable foundation”. The US and its allies have accused North Korea of providing weapons to Russia to fire on Ukraine, and Kyiv said it has found fragments of North Korean munitions on the battlefield. | AFP…

BEIJING: Chinese police are investigating a case of illegal foreign exchange activity and money laundering after tip-offs from the US, state media said yesterday, in a rare instance of collaboration on narcotics between the two superpowers. The news appeared to corroborate information released by the US Justice Department this week, alleging that Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel conspired with groups based in California and tied to Chinese underground banking to launder drug-trafficking proceeds of over $50 million (about R890m). The Justice Department said it closely co-ordinated with law enforcement in Mexico and China. | Reuters…

REMEMBER last October, when South Africans were having major heart palpitations because of Springbok things and one of the biggest debates in the nation was who to pick at flyhalf between Manie Libbok and Handré Pollard? It seems strange now to think that those were the only two viable options at No 10 then, for truth be told, the recent United Rugby Championship has helped expose a bevvy of pivots ready to elect themselves to the position, with Rassie Erasmus’ vote of confidence blessing them. On Saturday, Jordan Hendrikse will don the famous Green and Gold No 10 jumper on debut against Wales at Twickenham (3pm SA time start), but it could just as easily have been Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who will play off the bench, also on debut. Siya Masuku,…

SURYAKUMAR Yadav has proved time and again the kind of havoc he can wreak with the bat, but India’s lynchpin believes being able to control that aggression is equally important on the slow pitches in the ongoing T20 World Cup. The group stage of the 20-team tournament, especially its US leg, proved a low-scoring affair with no batter managing to score a century. Suryakumar needed 49 balls for his half-century against the United States, which is slow by the high standards of the world’s top-ranked T20 batter. While team totals are expected to rise from the Super Eight stage onward with the tournament shifting completely to the Caribbean, Suryakumar said adaptability was as important as aggression for him. “If you have been the world’s number one batsman for the past…

KAIZER Chiefs legend Siphiwe Tshabalala has revealed what he thinks is the reason behind Orlando Pirates’ failure to match the all-conquering Mamelodi Sundowns. The 39-year-old was part of the last Amakhosi side to have won the league title back in 2015, and since then he has watched his former side as well as their arch-rivals Pirates clap for the Brazilians every season. Tshabalala was involved in numerous titanic Soweto Derby battles against the Sea Robbers and is one of the most-capped former Chiefs players in the fierce rivalry, having made 31 appearances in the match. Pirates have finished runners-up to Sundowns for two consecutive seasons and recently concluded the 2023/24 campaign 23 points behind the champions. Buccaneers head coach Jose Riveiro has admitted that despite his side’s success in…

THE education sector is one of the most susceptible to the effects of climate change because of the direct impact on the destruction of school infrastructure caused by extreme weather events like floods. This is according to a report launched yesterday by Section27 titled “Climate Change as a Human Rights Risk: A Resource for Health and Education Rights Activists in South Africa”. The report focuses on the impact of climate change on children’s access to healthcare and basic education in light of recent extreme weather events like the tornado which hit KwaZulu-Natal this month as well the storms in the Eastern Cape, resulting in the loss of life and damage to property and infrastructure. The organisation explained that the most vulnerable in society, like children, were the hardest hit by…

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa vowed to work with every political party and sector that was willing to contribute to finding solutions to the challenges facing the country. “Today, I make a solemn commitment to be a president for all South Africans; to defend our Constitution and protect our democracy; to work with all those who share the dream of a better life for all; to care for the poor and the vulnerable, and to support all those who are in need; and to make our country stronger, more resilient, more equal and united,” Ramaphosa said. Delivering his inaugural address at the Union Buildings, he said the inauguration was a moment of fundamental consequence in the life of the nation. “It is a moment when we must choose to either move forward…

DEMOCRACY is a system which is a double-edged sword. On the one hand it gives everyone the right to vote as an expression of the egalitarian ideal that we are all equal. Therefore, the vote of the privileged class is worth the same as the vote of ordinary individuals. This is the nature of democracy which we all support principally. It also creates situations where the leading party does not have the majority threshold and therefore can be outvoted democratically through parties with smaller vote support who get together and obtain the 51%. As we accept the one principle, so too should we accept the second one. Hence, please allow me to remind the Government of National Unity (GNU) that this will be the second time South Africans will be…

OUSTED following a motion of no confidence, former DA Cape Agulhas mayor Paul Swart is among the many new faces who will serve on the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). Swart was booted from his position of mayor last month following the motion, and as of June 1 remained a councillor. A disciplinary committee had found him guilty of misconduct on two charges, including failure to disclose interests in contravention of section 6 of the Code of Conduct for Councillors (Schedule 7, Municipal Structures Amendment Act, 3 of 2021). However, on Friday he tendered his resignation as a councillor with effect as the DA appointed him as a delegate of the Western Cape to the NCOP. Municipal manager Eben Phillips confirmed the resignation saying Swart had served as a councillor…

GNU thinking perpetuates a problematic ‘saviour-victim’ dynamic In public discourse, there is a tendency to incorrectly equate fundamentally dissimilar entities in nature and purpose. The governments of national unity (GNU) established in 1910, the 1990s and 2024 share a name but are vastly different in context and outcome. Some commentators’ insistence on justifying this ‘sameness’ is intellectually dishonest and misleading, akin to comparing Newcastle in Natal with Newcastle in the UK; they share a name but are distinctly separate places. In mainstream political literature, GNUs are supposed to serve a critical purpose: to forge unity, peace, and stability during political or economic turmoil. The question that needs a response is: What crisis is facing South Africa today that was not in 1887 in terms of poverty, unemployment and other suffering…

Torrential rains in Bangladesh have triggered landslides burying alive at least 10 people and forcing thousands to flee to higher ground, police and government officials in the low- lying nation said yesterday. Schools have been turned into shelters for those abandoning their homes to rising river waters, while more than a million people have been stranded in northern areas. Bangladesh, a nation of around 170 million people, is among the countries most vulnerable to disasters and to climate change, according to the Global Climate Risk Index. The annual monsoon rains cause widespread destruction every year, but experts say climate change is shifting weather patterns and increasing the number of extreme weather events. “At least 700 000 people have been stranded by flash floods and heavy rains in Sylhet district, and…

MECCA: People searched for missing hajj pilgrims yesterday as the death toll at the annual rituals, carried out in scorching heat, surged past 900. Relatives scoured hospitals and pleaded online for news, fearing the worst after temperatures hit 51.8°C in Mecca, Islam’s holiest city, on Monday. About 1.8 million people from all over the world took part in the pilgrimage. An Arab diplomat said deaths among Egyptians alone had jumped to “at least 600”, mostly due to the heat. Jordanian officials were looking for 20 missing pilgrims; 80 others initially reported missing were located in hospitals. There were “around 68 dead” from India and others missing. | AFP…

NEW DELHI: India’s human rights commission asked the government yesterday to look into allegations of labour law violations at an Amazon warehouse near New Delhi over alleged harsh working conditions during a severe heatwave. Indian media this month reported that workers in the e-commerce giant’s warehouse in Manesar, near New Delhi, complained of a lack of water and toilet breaks as they were under pressure to achieve packaging targets. The National Human Rights Commission said the findings “raise a serious issue of human rights of the workers” and asked the labour ministry to look into the alleged labour law violations. | Reuters…

FORMER Ajax Cape Town prodigy Haashim Domingo is back home after joining Cape Town City on a three-year deal this week. The technically-gifted midfielder left South Africa’s shores while still a teenager to pursue a professional career in Europe with firstly Vitoria Guimaraes in Portugal, before a loan spell in Norway. He returned to South Africa in 2018/19 when he starred for three seasons at the now-defunct Bidvest Wits. It was while at the Students that Domingo caught the attention of multiple DStv Premiership champions Mamelodi Sundowns, where he spent a further three seasons, winning three Premiership titles, the MTN8 and Nedbank Cup with the Brazilians, before moving to Raja Casablanca last season. Unfortunately, Domingo’s time in Morocco was an unhappy period of his career as he made just 10…

from page 1 in a matter of days after having consulted with all other parties in the GNU. “He will proceed and kick off another round of consultations. He does not want a prolonged period of uncertainty without a Cabinet,” he said. DA leader John Steenhuisen said in an interview it was far too premature to speak about positions. “Once the president has been inaugurated today, we will start the discussions around the composition of the Cabinet and how that would look,” Steenhuisen said. He also said the issue was not really about positions but being in areas where they could serve and deliver on their manifesto. “We said in our manifesto how we would rescue South Africa. These are key things that have to be done to get South…

IT’S BECOME crystal clear that the breakaway ANC section, calling itself MK under the spell of arch wizard of odd Jacob Zuma, intends to take over the role of the EFF in disrupting Parliament and the country by destabilising efforts to ensure the growth that’s desperately needed in order to attract foreign investment. Zuma has manipulated the law for more than 20 years in order to stay out of prison for his misdemeanours. The cost of doing so must have cost tens of millions … one wonders who paid for this! What’s apparent with the ANC having been cut in half, thanks to JZ, is that his wings have been clipped and he’s destined to spend the rest of his political life running in circles with the turkeys instead of…

SOUTH Africa’s population is expected to reach 63.1 million people by mid-2024 with Gauteng to remain the most populous province. According to a Bureau of Market Research (BMR) report providing insights into distributional population figures, the provincial breakdown indicates that Gauteng remains the most populous province with an estimated population of 15.4 million people (24.3%). The Northern Cape remains the least populous province with an estimated total population size of 1.4 million people (2.2%), as at mid-2024. Dr Joshua Kembo and Professor Carel van Aardt from the BMR at Unisa, published the report recently on population projections for South Africa by province, district municipality, local municipality, main-place, and sub-place. The percentages of the population group composition are estimated to be 81.8% for Black Africans and 2.7% for Indians/Asians at mid-2024,…

THE Western Cape High Court has granted a final eviction order for various unlawful occupation sites in the CBD, including along Buitengracht Street, FW de Klerk Boulevard, Foregate Square taxi rank and the Foreshore. Other areas are Helen Suzman Boule- vard, Strand Street, Foreshore/N1, Virginia Avenue and Mill Street Bridge. The City said dignified transitional shelter at its Safe Spaces remained avai- lable for those requiring this service. “The sheriff of the court is permitted to evict any remaining unlawful occupants if needed after July 30. “The order includes a standing interdict against any further unlawful occupation of these areas and City-owned public spaces by respondents identified in the application,” the City said. The ruling comes after a protracted court process. Judgment was handed down on Tuesday. “The City welcomes…

Three different documentaries by Palestinians that are deeply intertwined with themes of memory, archive and belonging, offer a profound exploration of identity and historical consciousness at this year’s Encounters South African International Documentary Festival. The festival is on in Cape Town and Johannesburg from today until June 30. The films delve into the collective and personal memories of displacement, loss, resilience, and longing serving as both a documentation and a reclamation of memory. When the Israeli Defence Forces invaded southern Lebanon in the summer of 1982, they took the archive collection of photographs and film from Beirut’s Palestine Research Centre. In a hypnotic and deftly constructed experimental film, Palestinian director and artist Kamal Aljafari reclaims these images, reconstructing them into a narrative of fragmentation that is more reflective of the…

IT MIGHT be early days for what has been termed the Government of National Unity (GNU) but the DA has demonstrated what English historian John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton (1834-1902) meant when he said: “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. It’s with these words in mind that we must examine the party’s sudden change of tune over President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm saga. The party that several months ago, was leading the charge to have Ramaphosa impeached, today tells South Africans that it will not support any such move until evidence suggests that there should be an impeachment. “We have not said in future we will never ever do anything but we will not support a motion of no confidence in the president … that is…

Israeli air strikes and clashes between troops and Palestinian militants rocked Gaza yesterday, as Israel’s army warned it had readied an “offensive” against the Lebanese Hezbollah movement on the country’s northern front. Witnesses and the civil defence agency in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip reported Israeli bombardment in western Rafah, where medics said drone strikes and shelling killed at least seven people. The Israeli military has announced a daily humanitarian “pause” in fighting on a key road in eastern Rafah, but a UN spokesperson said days later that “this has yet to translate into more aid reaching people in need”. More than eight months of war, sparked by Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel, have led to dire humanitarian conditions in the Palestinian territory and repeated UN warnings of famine.…

Egypt has carried out mass arrests and unlawful deportations of thousands of refugees fleeing the war in Sudan, Amnesty International said yesterday. The rights group said it had documented 12 incidents in which Egyptian authorities returned an estimated total of 800 Sudanese nationals between January and March without giving them the chance to claim asylum or challenge deportation decisions. It also said it had documented in detail the cases of 27 Sudanese refugees arrested between October 2023 and March 2024, 26 of whom were among those collectively expelled. Refugees had been held in cruel and inhuman conditions ahead of their deportation, it added. The UN refugee agency said thousands were deported last year, many of them Sudanese. The arrests were part of a campaign starting in September 2023 in which…

Lagos: Nigerian health officials are issuing warnings over a cholera outbreak that has killed at least 30 people, many of them in the commercial capital Lagos, since the start of the year. Lagos State health officials reported 15 deaths so far and 350 suspected cases. Lagos Water Corporation warned against consuming water from unreliable or untreated courses. Last week, the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control and Prevention alerted the public of the increasing trend in cases of the disease across the country as the rainy season intensifies. The agency said 30 people had died since the start of the year. | AFP…

London: Obesity in 10- and 11-year-olds in England has risen 30% since 2006, part of a decline in children’s health since the start of the century, a study by charity the Food Foundation has found. Other findings included a steady fall in the height of 5-year-olds since 2013 and a rise in type 2 diabetes among under 25s, up 22% in the past five years. Potential causes included “shocking levels of poverty, and the “aggressive promotion of cheap junk food by the food industry”, said the report’s authors. The country’s recent cost of living crisis has “intensified” the struggle many families face to put healthy, nutritious food on the table, they added. One in five children was obese by the age of 10/11 when they left primary school, putting them…