Table of contents for 2024-09-05 in Cape Times

AFRICAN Rainbow Minerals (ARM), which is expecting headline earnings for the full year to June 2024 to plunge by at least 40%, has effected board changes that will see Alexander Komope Maditsi and Wilson Mangisi Gule stepping down from different positions while David Collen Noko and Bongani Nqwababa have been roped in as new appointments to the board. Maditsi will be stepping down from the position of lead independent non-executive director of ARM while Mangisi Gule will cease to be a director for the company. ARM said in a statement yesterday that although Maditsi was also stepping down from the positions of chairperson of the nomination and non-executive directors’ committee with effect from September 3, he was continuing to serve as independent non-executive director for the board of ARM. Noko,…

ITHALA’s FSP licence was suspended due to non-compliance issues which included a consistent deficit (liabilities exceeding assets) in the last four years. This was revealed by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FCSA) and the Prudential Authority (PA) during their presentation to the Standing Committee on Finance held in Durban yesterday. The FCSA said it is actively engaging with Ithala Bank to explore possible options for a remedial plan. The Standing Committee on Finance chairperson, Dr Joe Maswanganyi, said he believes that Ithala’s compliance issues can be resolved. Last week, KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs Reverend Musa Zondi and KZN Premier Thami Ntuli said they would be taking the matter of Ithala Bank to the office of the Presidency. The FCSA said given Ithala’s previous bank-like status…

AFTER being saved from life-long abuse for human entertainment in a circus and zoo, elephant Charley who was released into a new enclosure at Shambala Private Reserve in Limpopo, is rapidly adapting to his newly won liberties, according to animal welfare organisation Four Paws. Born in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, Charley was captured as a youngster along with nine other elephants and was imported by the Boswell Circus in 1984. For 16 years Charley performed in the circus before being transferred to the Natal Lion Park in May 2000. He arrived at the zoo on July 30, 2001. Over the past 23 years, Charley has witnessed the deaths of his four elephant companions and has shown signs of distress, including repetitive head-swaying, a behaviour commonly found in captivity. His captivity…

The State conceded that its case against a child rape accused was questionable. This emerged in court documents when the man, a father of two, employed as a nurse at a private hospital in Mitchells Plain, was granted R3 000 bail during an appeal before the Western Cape High Court. He was accused of raping an 8-year-old girl on August 9 in Delft South. The man turned to the Western Cape High Court after his bail bid failed at the lower court. But the high court recently found that the lower court had erred in its decision to deny bail to the accused, who lives at the same premises (a block of flats) of his alleged rape victim. According to the court documents, the man allegedly called the girl to…

THEATRE lovers are in for a treat this September as the Artscape Theatre will roll out the red carpet for an array of productions under the official theme “Celebrating our cultural diversity in a democratic South Africa”. “The array on offer emphasises the need for South Africans to celebrate unity in diversity, through promoting social cohesion and inclusivity of our unique, colourful cultural heritage. We seek to encourage our culturally diverse Cape Town, the Western Cape, as well as South Africans at large with a dialogue about our values, our aspirations and visions as we work together towards a united, inclusive and dignified nation. “Through indigenous, contemporary and international artistic works in dance, music and jazz, our aim is to celebrate our diverse cultures and identities equally,” said Artscape chief…

The passage of the Affirmative Action (Gender Equality) Bill by the country’s parliament on August 9, 2024 marked a victory for women’s rights in Ghana. The bill, which has been years in the making, is the result of several actors, allies and activists lobbying and protesting for more than a decade. The bill makes it compulsory to have women either elected or appointed to major decision-making organs of public life. What are the key aspects of the new law? The bill attempts to ensure the achievement of gender equality in the political, social, economic, educational and cultural spheres of Ghanaian society. Major decision-making sectors covered by the current version of the bill are public offices such as ministerial positions and the Council of State (the advisory body of the president).…

The UK’s Grenfell Tower fire disaster that killed 72 people was the result of “decades of failure” by government and construction industry bodies and the “systematic dishonesty” of building material firms, a damning final report said yesterday. Unveiling the damning findings of an independent probe into the 2017 tragedy, inquiry chairperson Martin Moore-Bick said the deaths were “all avoidable” and the victims had been “badly failed”. Some of those who played a part in sowing the seeds of the disaster had shown “incompetence”, as well as “dishonesty and greed”, he said. The fire in the early hours of June 14, 2017 spread rapidly through the 24-storey block in west London due to highly combustible cladding fixed to the exterior. Starting in a faulty freezer on the fourth floor, the blaze…

Lviv: Russia struck the city of Lviv in western Ukraine yesterday, killing seven people and damaging historical buildings in a rare attack hundreds of kilometres from the front line. The strike came as several Ukrainian ministers, including top diplomat Dmytro Kuleba, offered their resignations, part of a major reshuffle President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said would bring “new energy” to government. The missile attack wounded 40 people, damaging schools, medical facilities and buildings in Lviv’s historic centre, Ukraine officials said. The assault on Lviv, which is sheltering thousands displaced by over two years of war, came a day after a Russian strike. | AFP…

Mexico City: Mexico’s lower chamber approved a controversial judicial reform plan yesterday, after a marathon session as protesters blocked access to Congress. The most contentious of the reforms proposed by outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador would have judges selected by popular vote, prompting an outcry from Mexico’s opposition while alarming the US and international investors. The measure was approved by a sufficient supermajority yesterday, after which several of its articles must be further debated before it moves to the Senate. Hundreds of judicial employees have blocked streets in protest. | AFP…

AFRICA is at a pivotal crossroads in harnessing its potential, particularly among its youth and women. While early projections by McKinsey’s Lions on the Move report suggested substantial job creation and economic growth, the continent has struggled to meet these expectations due to slow economic growth, high inequality, and persistent structural barriers. Migration has historically shaped societies, The Bantu migrations, which occurred over several millennia, were one of the most significant population movements in African history. The Bantu-speaking peoples spread from their original homeland in West Africa across much of the continent. They introduced agriculture, iron working and new languages, significantly shaping the cultural and social structures of Central, Eastern, and Southern Africa. However, today’s restrictive policies, the significant gender disparity, compounded by the rising trend of migration among Africa’s…

A victim of land extortion by criminal syndicates in KwaZulu-Natal has revealed the terrifying experiences he and his family have faced at the hands of an extortion syndicate. The beneficiary of a land trust, whose name is known to The Mercury but has requested to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, said despite having obtained several court orders to prevent the land from being illegally sold and developed, a land mafia syndicate has managed to sell about 80% of the property. The man said they have also gone to various government departments and the police but no one has been able to help them. He said on one occasion he had organised a crew to demolish illegally built houses in the presence of police when the “mafia” arrived and threatened…

THE payment trend on medico-legal claims instituted against the Department of Health in the nine provinces grew by a 10% rate between 2017/18 and 2022/23, according to Special Investigating Unit (SIU) head Andy Mothibi. The nine provincial departments paid R265 million in 2012/13, but the amount ballooned to R2.6 billion in 2022/23. Mothibi disclosed the details when briefing the standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) yesterday where he called on the state to make “drastic interventions”. “We say there is a requirement for a drastic intervention, either legislative or administrative, to mitigate and curb the losses,” he said. The SIU was granted a proclamation in 2022 after investigating claims in the Eastern Cape by Nonxuba Incorporated, which is now facing court action, that targeted cerebral palsy. Mothibi said they have…

Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has eventually won his battle against an earlier judgment in which the City was ordered to establish a trust for the benefit of a child whose mother was murdered by her husband. Western Cape High Court Judge Daniel Thulare last year ordered the City to secure the child’s inheritance and assist him in obtaining ownership of the RDP house in which he lived with his mother. The court had also presented particular orders regarding the curator, the premier of the Eastern Cape and the director-general for the National Department of Social Development. The orders included that the mayor “shall, without undue delay, ensure the establishment of a trust for the benefit of the minor child”. The director-general of Social Development was told to provide the necessary resources…

Zazi Mandela, 14, hands over two books to Economic Growth Mayco member James Vos; one titled Utatomkhulu uMandela and the other Oupa Mandela – a multilingual children’s book in which Zazi and her brother, Ziwelene, ask their grandmother, Zindzi, 15 questions about her father, Nelson Mandela. This handover takes place in the middle of the City’s Arbour Week and Heritage Month celebrations that feature the Nelson Mandela in Cape Town Legacy permanent exhibition that opened on Tuesday. Access to the exhibition is free of charge. The first thing that caught my attention was a video of former president FW de Klerk announcing Mandela’s release from prison. What followed on Sunday, February 11, 1990, was Mandela taking his walk to freedom from Victor Verster Prison, being whisked to Cape Town…

“ARE YOU attending the Joburg art fair this year?” asked globally renowned artist, Zanele Muholi, last week at Mmangaliso Nzuza’s exhibition opening at Southern Guild Cape Town. “Yes, I will be there like a bear!” I respond. “Great, I am launching my Somnyama Ngonyama, Hail the Dark Lioness Volume 2 book this Saturday in the Jonathan Ball booth there. 11am sharp.” Knowing full-well that these artist coffee table books do not come cheap, I ask: “How much?” “Around R2500!” is the response. Startled, I quaffed my wine. “…You get to have my work at home for a fraction of my art prices.” I might have to start a crowdfunding site for this book to ensure I do not disappoint Zanele this weekend. It’s FNB Art Joburg fair time. A time,…

INSTEAD of trying to undo the signing of the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill (Bela Bill) into law, Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube must surely be preoccupied with finding a solution to a looming crisis that threatens the future of thousands of children. More than 2 400 teacher posts only in the Western Cape are under threat of not being renewed when the contracts expire at the end of the year. This means there will be fewer teachers for already overcrowded classes when our children return to school in the new year. The consequences of cutting teacher posts because there is not enough money to fund these vacancies will be dire, especially for a public education system that has long been saddled with a mountain of challenges. The Western Cape…

Good progress was being made in rolling out a polio vaccine to children in Gaza, but a permanent ceasefire in the 11-month war was needed to ease humanitarian suffering, the main UN agency for Palestinians said yesterday. UNRWA said that three days into the campaign in areas of central Gaza, around 187 000 children had received the vaccine. The campaign will move to other areas of the Palestinian enclave for the second stage. Israel and Hamas militants have agreed to daily pauses of eight hours in the fighting in pre-specified areas to allow the vaccination programme. No violations have been reported. Palestinians say a big reason for the return of polio is the collapse of Gaza’s health system and destruction of most of its hospitals during the war. Israel accuses…

KINSHASA: The Democratic Republic of Congo expected to receive its first delivery of mpox vaccine doses yesterday and a second delivery on Saturday, the head of the country’s mpox outbreak response said. Congo is the epicentre of an mpox outbreak that the World Health Organization declared a global public health emergency last month, but efforts to curb the spread of the disease have been hampered by a lack of vaccines. Washington and Brussels have pledged thousands of doses of a vaccine made by Bavarian Nordic. Health authorities face a challenge launching the campaign in the tropical country; the doses must be kept at -90°C. | Reuters…

WOLFSBURG: Volkswagen has “one, maybe two” years to turn its main car brand around, its finance chief said yesterday, as the auto giant weighs its first plant closures in Germany and its powerful unions threaten a fight. Arno Antlitz told a gathering of 25 000 workers at Volkswagen’s Wolfsburg headquarters that they needed to work with management in cutting spending to help the brand survive the shift to electric cars. He said Europe’s car market had shrunk after the pandemic and the company was facing a shortfall in demand of about 500 000 cars, equivalent to about two plants. There are mounting challenges for Europe’s car giants amid high labour and energy costs and rising Asian competition. | Reuters…

Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi has referred the forensic report by audit firm KPMG into the governance and financial breaches at Postbank to the Hawks. The report was presented to the communications and digital technologies portfolio committee meeting on Tuesday. The KPMG investigation was instituted following confirmation by Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke in her 2021 report detailing fraudulent activities at Postbank that included multiple incidents of cash theft. Some of this money was stolen from vulnerable social grant beneficiaries and ordinary South Africans who were saving for a better future. Four employees were dismissed and one received a written warning. In a statement, Malatsi said he referred the report to the Hawks in a bid to ensure that those responsible for the crimes were brought to book. He said…

Distraught mother details moments before 4-year-old daughter was shot in suspected extortion-related shooting WHAT was supposed to be a fun day with friends turned out to be Sinovuyo Baliso’s worst nightmare when her 4-year-old daughter Liyolatha was killed in a suspected extortion-related shooting in Phoenix, Milnerton. She was rushed to hospital with a gunshot wound to her stomach. She succumbed to her injuries a few days after the incident on August 24. “It is still very sore and traumatic. As a family we are all still trying to process what happened. She was ripped from us in such a brutal manner. “When it happened, Liyolatha was playing with her group of about five friends, when we heard gunshots. She was shot. It hurts very much. I think I am still…

200g Chinese noodles 45 ml canola oil 500g ostrich steak, sliced into thin strips 150g broccoli, sliced 2 sticks celery, cut into julienne strips 1 red pepper, seeded and sliced into strips Handful of fresh basil leaves, to serve Sauce: 60 ml soya sauce 30 ml honey 125 ml prepared beef stock 5 ml cornflour 2 cloves garlic, crushed 5 ml grated ginger Put the noodles in a pot. Cover with boiling water. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to soak until tender, then drain. Mix the sauce ingredients together in a jug. Heat a wok or large frying pan over high heat. Add some of the oil and then brown the ostrich meat in 2 batches. Remove from the pan and set aside. Heat the remaining oil and…

FED-UP Khayelitsha residents want their magistrate’s court to intervene and place an immediate moratorium on evictions relating to two specific housing projects where issues remain unresolved. They marched to the Khayelitsha Magistrate’s Court yesterday to hand over a memorandum. The Alex La Guma sub-district of the SACP in Khayelitsha with the households of a section called “X-houses” and the Thubelitsha project in Makhaza and Mandela Park say these households were not the occupiers described in the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Property Act, hence a different approach was necessary. Their memorandum, received by court manager Velile Yayi, read: “If the question of being an occupant for less than six months and the consideration of the elderly, women, children and the disabled is not the issue here,…

PHYSICAL and virtual audiences throughout South Africa and the world will come together for the first mixed-reality Afrotech Festival Experience, themed The Road to Amapiano, at the Old Fort, Constitution Hill, this weekend. The Road to Amapiano is a celebration event in Heritage month, of 30 years of the Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) – South Africa’s premier independent arts development and investment organisation – founded in 1994 with president Nelson Mandela as its patron-in-chief. ACT CEO Jessica Denyschen said: “We’ll be celebrating the history and global impact of South African music through an unforgettable mixed-reality journey through 30 years of South African music.” The festival’s organisers say the event has a line-up of South Africa’s top musicians from the 1990s to today, including genres like Kwaito, Afro-house, Gqom, Hip…

Ramaphosa’s state visit to China and the 2024 Focac Summit On SEPTEMBER 2, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was warmly welcomed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, marking the beginning of a State visit that underscores the deepening ties between China and South Africa. This visit is a testament to the deep and growing ties between South Africa and China, a relationship that has evolved into one of the most crucial partnerships on the African continent. The timing of Ramaphosa’s State visit is particularly noteworthy, coinciding with the 2024 Forum on China- Africa Co-operation (Focac) Summit, a landmark event which started yesterday and runs until tomorrow. This summit is expected to further solidify the relationship between China and its African partners, with South Africa playing a pivotal role. In…

A China-Africa summit in Beijing this week takes place as a continent slowly emerging from a series of defaults seeks to define its future co-operation with the Asian nation that partly fuelled its debt binge and now faces its own economic headwinds. Africa and its ample mineral and oil resources and population of more than 1 billion people have become the focus of intense geopolitical competition between global powers like China, Europe and the US. With China now Africa’s top bilateral lender, the visiting heads of state bring expectations of a major concession on debt restructuring, said Yunnan Chen, research fellow at the UK-based think tank Overseas Development Institute. “I suspect it will end up being a bit more low key,” she said. China has been “recalcitrant” on the debt…

Dozens of viruses have been detected mixing in animals at fur farms in China, some of which are new and have the potential to spill over into humans, researchers said yesterday. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, scientists have been warning that farming mammals such as minks for their fur could make it easier for new viruses to cross over from the wild and spark fresh outbreaks. Virologist Edward Holmes, who has led research into Covid-19, said the global fur farming industry “is one most likely ways by which a new pandemic will start”. Holmes is a co-author of a new study looking at the potential danger posed by viruses in fur farms in the country where the first Covid cases emerged in late 2019. The Chinese-led team of researchers sequenced the…

The Hague: A Dutchman who claims to have fathered 550 children via sperm donations said this week that he was suing Netflix over The Man With 1 000 Kids. Jonathan Meijer, 43, said he was taking legal action against the documentary that he said slandered him and the families he helped to create. The number of children the documentary said he could have fathered, up to 3 000, was incorrect, he said. “It’s 550 … Anything above that is just speculation,” he said. Last year a court ordered him to stop donating after he had helped produce 550 to 600 children since 2007. | AFP…

Madrid: Colombian pop star Shakira accused Spain’s tax office of confiscating all the income she earned when she lived there, comparing the institution to “the Inquisition” in a letter published yesterday in Spanish daily El Mundo. “For me, the Spanish decade was a lost decade financially, and not because I worked little, as everybody knows,” she said. Shakira settled with prosecutors on the opening day of her trial in Barcelona in November 2023 over charges that she had defrauded tax authorities of €14.5 million (R286m) earned between 2012 and 2014. Shakira denied that she lived in Spain for more than 183 days a year between 2012 and 2014, the threshold above which a person is considered a taxable resident. | AFP…

Cricket South Africa (CSA) director of cricket Enoch Nkwe believes the Proteas Women’s campaign at the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates will not be derailed due to the side not having a full-time head coach. CSA has yet to replace Hilton Moreeng, who guided the team to a first T20 World Cup final last year, after the long-serving coach vacated his post back in April to take on a new role in the US. At the time Nkwe indicated that “the process of recruiting for a new coach is already under way” with former bowling coach Dillon du Preez appointed on a temporary basis. Du Preez oversaw the tour to India, where the Proteas were swept 3-0 in the ODI series and lost the one-off Test, but…