Table of contents for 2025-01-27 in Cape Times

Imagine awakening each day burdened by an unseen weight, a fatigue that lingers like a shadow before the day has even begun. This is the reality for many living with anemia, particularly iron-deficiency anaemia, a condition that goes far beyond the occasional tiredness. With an estimated 2 billion people worldwide affected, it manifests as a daily struggle, robbing individuals of energy and joy. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that around 38% of the global population suffers from low iron levels, affecting everyone from newborns to the elderly. Without enough iron, your body struggles to produce healthy red blood cells, leading to reduced oxygen delivery to tissues and organs. This lack of oxygen manifests as fatigue, cognitive impairment and an overall decline in physical and mental health. In severe cases,…

THE Western Cape Education Department (WCED) is facing backlash for circulating its social media policy to staff - a move some interpret as intimidation. The action follows the public’s outrage after Belhar teacher Kelly Manus publicly accused a colleague of alleged sexual harassment and criticised the WCED for alleged inaction. Manus, who taught at Symphony High School for three years, alleged that in November 2023, a male teacher, who is also the principal’s husband, allegedly slapped her on the bottom. Manus shared her experience of alleged sexual harassment on social media. Police confirmed that a case of common assault was under investigation following an incident on November 24, 2023. The WCED has denied Manus’s claims that it failed to support her in addressing the case. Earlier this month, several community…

THE emergency capacities of Goma's hospitals in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where South African National Defence (SANDF) members were killed during a gunfight with rebels, are overwhelmed despite support from humanitarian actors, says Humanitarian Coordinator in the DRC Bruno Lemarquis. The soldiers are part of the Southern African Development Community Mission in the DRC. After two days of fierce fighting with the M23 rebel group in the eastern DRC, the South African contingent and its counterparts were able to halt the advancement of the rebel group towards the provincial capital, Goma. SANDF spokesperson Siphiwe Dlamini stated that the M23 hostile forces had launched a full-scale attack on the troops intending to take over Goma but were unable to advance due to the “heroic” resistance from the SA soldiers.…

FOLLOWING the issuing of the Balfour Declaration in 1917, the British not only armed and trained immigrant Zionist Jews against the Palestinian natives, but also committed war crimes themselves. The attack on the Christian-Muslim hamlet of Al-Bassa is such an example. It had two churches, a mosque, coffeehouses, and the only Christian high school in Galilee. The farmers grew olives, and a variety of other fruits, including bananas, pomegranates, apples and figs. When an army truck drove over a mine nearby in September 1938, the British assumed that people from Al-Bassa were to blame. The soldiers descended on the village, killing four residents. A few more were stripped of their clothes and forced to kneel in prickly pears. Some were beaten until they fainted. The village was then burnt…

LAND Expropriation, a hot-button topic since the dawn of democracy, with the New Expropriation Bill just signed into law, the Bill replaces the outdated Expropriation Act of 1975, aligning expropriation laws with the Constitution. However, its allowance for expropriation without compensation in specific cases demands scrutiny of its potential impact. A legislative Imperative The apartheid-era Expropriation Act of 1975 clashed with the democratic principles enshrined in the 1996 Constitution. Its reliance on a willing-buyer, willing-seller model failed to deliver meaningful land reform. The new Expropriation Bill seeks to establish a uniform framework compliant with Section 25 of the Constitution, which governs property rights and land reform. The Bill permits expropriation in two cases: for public purposes, such as infrastructure projects, and in the public interest, to address historical inequalities. It…

A VICTORY for South Africa’s most vulnerable, is how advocacy groups hailed the judgment by the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, which among others ruled that regulations limiting access to the R370 a month Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant are unconstitutional and invalid. Judge Leonard Twala also declared that regulations relating to the Covid-19 SRD are unconstitutional and invalid to the extent that it provides for these grant applications to be lodged on an electronic platform only - a means which many don’t have. Another regulation he had declared as invalid pertains to the extent that it sets the income threshold for insufficient means at R624 per person per month. It is declared that the Constitution requires the government to devise and implement a plan to address the retrogression in…

WHAT do South Africa’s Presidency of the G20 in 2025, the participation of South Africa Inc. in last week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, the plight of a global management consultancy, the calling out of this consultancy by a British peer after the UK Labour government lifted its suspension on engaging with it, the EU, the Governments of India, UAE and Switzerland, and the intergovernmental Financial Action Taskforce (FATF) have in common? They all have the potential to help turn the year 2025 into what President Cyril Ramaphosa has perhaps prematurely claimed last week in Davos will be a “momentous” year for South Africa. For that potential to be realised, it would require Madiba-like leadership, a political will which supersedes diplomatic niceties, frustrations and the rhetoric of aspirations, and a…

Congo has severed all diplomatic ties with Rwanda and South Africa said at the weekend that nine of its peacekeepers had been killed amid a surge in fighting with Rwanda-backed rebels in mineral-rich eastern Congo. The three-year M23 insurgency in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has intensified in January with the M23 rebels seizing control of more territory than ever before, prompting the UN to warn of the risk of a broader regional war. Congo and its allies said on Saturday they had pushed back M23 fighters, who were advancing on the provincial capital Goma. The sound of nearby heavy bombardment rocked the city in the early hours of Saturday. Congo, the UN and others accuse neighbouring Rwanda of fuelling the conflict with its own troops and weapons. Rwanda denies…

COLOMBO: At least 29 people were hospitalised after an accident involving three buses in Galle located in the Southern Province in Sri Lanka yesterday, the police said. The incident involved privately owned passenger buses, according to the police. Initial reports indicate the accident happened when one bus was stationary, and another collided with it from behind, followed by a third bus crashing into the second. In response to the increasing number of accidents involving buses, Sri Lankan authorities have been intensifying legal actions against individuals who violate traffic regulations on passenger buses. The Sri Lankan government has authorised the recruitment of an additional 10 000 police officers to bolster efforts aimed at preventing road accidents. | Xinhua…

Washington: The US State Department at the weekend condemned the capture of additional UN staff by Huthi rebels in Yemen, amid the group’s ongoing attacks. In a statement, the department called for the release of all detainees, including seven UN workers captured Thursday, and decried the “campaign of terror” by the rebel group. “This latest Huthi roundup demonstrates the bad faith of the terrorist group’s claims to seek de-escalation and also makes a mockery of their claims to represent the interests of the Yemeni people,” the State Department said. It also highlighted an executive order signed by President Donald Trump this week placing the Huthis back on the US list of foreign terrorist organisations. The Iran-backed Huthis have detained dozens of staff from UN and other humanitarian organisations, most since…

The 'foreign legion' could steal the thunder when Sekhukhune United lock horns with their Betway Premiership rivals Cape Town City in Monday evening's Nedbank Cup clash at the Old Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane. The visiting Capetonians will have Darwin Gonzalez, the Venezuelan attacker, running their attack. He sat out the club's previous match but has regained fitness and was in the tour group that flew out from the Mother City on Sunday. Sekhukhune will have done their research and noticed that Gonzalez was City's destroyer-in-chief, having done a demolition job on Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates by scoring the only goals in those matches. Cape Town City coach Muhsin Ertugral will expect him to spearhead City's hopes of advancing to the round of 16. Andy Boyeli, the DRC forward,…

Adrian Gore, the CEO of Discovery, said in a LinkedIn post on Friday that he had a fascinating few days at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos and wanted to share a few things that stood out to him. The first is the transformation in sentiment around South Africa, both from within the country and from the global business and investment community. Ending loadshedding and the partnership between business and the government has created a completely different dynamic, which we need to capitalise on. South Africa’s leadership of the B20 and G20 will also play a key role in this. There is really a sense of a different emerging South Africa. The big institutional investors see a difference. “So that is very powerful,” he said in a video…

Former Mayco member for Community Services and Health, Patricia van der Ross, says she looks forward to working with the community of Heideveld following her removal. The proportional councillor was moved on Thursday from the committee and has now been deployed in Heideveld. She said Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis informed her before he made a public announcement that she would be replaced by Councillor Francine Higham. Van der Ross said her new role in the community is something that she enjoys. “I had the title for three years but in the 10 years before, I was doing community engagements. “I am a positive person, I think people want me to be angry but I understand how the system works and the structure. “I also understand that it is the mayor’s prerogative…

OPPOSITION parties in the City council continue to pile pressure on Mayor Geodin Hill-Lewis to place safety and security mayco member JP Smith and energy mayco member Xanthea Limberg on suspension pending the outcome of a police investigation, which saw their offices raided. Their continued presence could impede the investigation or at least give the perception of being in a position to impede, according to Good Party secretary general, Brett Herron. “The logical and consistent thing to do is to immediately suspend them.” The duo were thrust into the spotlight on Friday when the police swooped into their offices at the Civic Centre as part of an ongoing forensic investigation stemming from a tender fraud case that is running before the courts. Several municipal officials and business owners are allegedly…

I WAS hoping to avoid getting into a tit-for-tat exchange with correspondents such as Neil Veitch, but his letter on 22 January begs a response. He cites his Scottish grandfather’s immigration to SA in the early 1900s, and how the latter had achieved personal success here through “hard work.” What Veitch doesn’t say is that his grandfather was a beneficiary of white settler privilege (apartheid/segregation did not begin in 1948). The mere fact of “race” ensured that his grandfather was not discriminated against under the job segregation and other laws. On the contrary, white workers were an aristocracy of labour. The mass of South Africans were pre-ordained by white domination to second-class citizenship. Not so Veitch’s grandfather. A key point I was trying to make was that it is on…

DONALD J Trump, the new world's wannabe Genghis Khan is a mixed bag of tricks. He is a typical yin and yang with two sides to his persona. On the plus side his determination to stamp out the mini wars raging all over the world, putting a halt to the insane open door immigration policy introduced by the Biden administration and his determination to return the USA to its rightful place as the leader of the free world are to be commended. On the downside his attitude towards the LBGTQ community with suggestions that only two sexes exist ….male and female, resigning from the World Health Organisation, climate change issues on the back burner, threats to take back the Panama Canal and the possible annexation of Greenland are chapters straight…

“I have learned that if you want to go far, growth is important, and so is taking risks and opportunities that help me improve.” So said Ahlumile Bashman from Gugulethu, who at just 13-years-old has achieved remarkable success in soccer. Ahlumile was named Player of the Year at Cape Town Spurs Youth Academy Awards and scored a brace to secure his first silverware for Sundowns at the under-13 Iber Cup in Gauteng last December. His journey to one of South Africa’s top football clubs began when Sundowns scouts noticed his exceptional talent at the Kapstadt Cup. Ahlumile’s rise to success is not without challenges. Moving to Pretoria officially for football and school earlier this month and away from his family at such a young age was daunting, but he said…

FOR millions of South Africans, the start of the Seventh Administration’s second year in office is a time of great promise, including when the 10 political parties represented in our executive prepare for a Cabinet Lekgotla to craft the 2025 programme to build a better, more equal and more just South Africa. Even some of those who still do not support the current composition of the coalition national and provincial governments wish the Seventh Administration the best. I expect this year’s start-of-the-year Cabinet Lekgotla – which brings together ministers, deputy ministers, premiers, local government representatives, directors-general and other key government officials – to focus primarily on implementing an augmented “Minimum Programme”, which forms the foundation of the work of the Seventh Administration the president announced last year in his July…

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said yesterday that some of his political opponents had “chosen” to go to prison as he cast his vote in a election that was set to extend his 31-year rule. Lukashenko, 70, held a long press conference at which he was asked how the vote could be free and fair, given that all the main opposition figures are in jail or have fled the country. “Some chose prison, some chose ‘exile’, as you say. We didn’t kick anyone out of the country,” he said. Lukashenko said no one was prevented from speaking out in Belarus, but prison was “for people who opened their mouths too wide, to put it bluntly, those who broke the law”. The US and the EU have both described yesterday’s election as…

OMDURMAN: Sudan’s army chief yesterday visited his headquarters in the capital Khartoum, two days after forces recaptured the building which had been encircled by paramilitary fighters since the war erupted in April 2023. “Our forces are in their best condition,” Abdel Fattah al-Burhan told army commanders at the reclaimed headquarters. The army’s recapture of the General Command building is its biggest victory in the capital since reclaiming Omdurman, Khartoum’s twin city on the Nile’s west bank, nearly a year ago. In a statement, the army said it had merged troops stationed in Khartoum North (Bahri) and Omdurman with forces at the headquarters. Since war with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began, RSF had encircled both the Signal Corps in Khartoum North and the General Command of the Armed Forces…

Residents of Hammanskraal's ward 75 have slammed the government's recently celebrated "300 days without blackouts" milestone as disingenuous, saying it rang hollow to townships residents like them who continue to endure persistent load reduction. They expressed their grievances during a march to Eskom’s Temba offices on Friday to demand the suspension of load reduction with immediate effect. According to them, load reduction puts the lives of individuals with chronic illnesses at risk, including those reliant on oxygen machines that require a constant power supply to facilitate breathing. Although load-shedding remains on hold, Eskom has introduced load reduction measures from 5am to 9am and 5pm to 10pm to alleviate pressure on transformers and mini-substations. Eskom said on its website that load reduction is necessary to prevent equipment damage caused by illegal…

THE DA’s 'factually inaccurate and misleading' media statements that only four provinces voted in favour of the Expropriation Bill when the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) considered the Bill seeks to undermine the commitment of that legislative arm to carry out its constitutional obligations, says Parliament. “According to our records, seven provinces voted in favour of the Expropriation Bill, far exceeding the required majority required by the Constitution. In terms of section 65 of the Constitution, the majority that is required to pass an ordinary bill affecting provinces – a section 76 bill – of which the Expropriation Bill is one, is at least five provinces. It is, therefore, disingenuous to attempt to attack the constitutionality of the Expropriation Bill on the grounds that the NCOP failed to comply with…

I SEE the Expropriation Bill has been signed by President Ramaphosa. Now the ANC views this law as a progressive and transformative tool to advance land reform. What I would like to ask is how far back is one to go to give restitution? The land has probably changed hands many times. This is going to tie up courts for years and cost us tax payers millions. I am not sure how one can help all of the people all of the time? If one looks to the north of us, Zimbabwe was the breadbasket of Africa feeding not only its own people but millions across the continent. Look at what happened when the land invasions started. Millions moved onto the farms but didn’t farm the land and it went…

I REFER to your January 21 edition “law firm accused of blocking transformation”. I am a practising attorney with a small legal firm. I do not in any way hold any mandate from law firm Norton Rose Fulbright. I am following the challenge set up against the legal sector code. Their reasons for the challenge appear to be cogent and well put. However, the challenge to the application by the non-profit organisation, Basadi Ba MOLAO is disingenuous to say the least. It is an old ruse that when you don’t have a defence to an application, you attack the applicant. The attack on Norton Rose is spurious and the non-profit organisation is well advised to tackle the application as opposed to the Applicant.…

As we step into a new academic year, the ongoing plight of the KwaZulu- Natal Department of Education’s management of the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) raises pressing concerns. Last year, this vital initiative suffered significant setbacks as service providers found themselves waiting for weeks on end to be paid for the nutritious meals they were contractually obliged to deliver. It is disheartening to see that as we embark on another year, the programme is once again beset with similar challenges. The NSNP, a multimillion-rand initiative, is crucial for ensuring that thousands of learners from disadvantaged backgrounds receive at least one healthy meal a day. This support is essential for their physical well-being and academic performance, helping to shield vulnerable families from the scourge of hunger. However, the ongoing issues…

US President Donald Trump floated a plan to “just clean out” Gaza, and said he wants Egypt and Jordan to take Palestinians from the territory, as a fragile truce between Israel and Hamas aimed at permanently ending the war entered its second week yesterday. The truce deal that came into effect on January 19 saw four Israeli hostages and around 200 Palestinian prisoners released to joyful scenes on Saturday, in the second such exchange so far. But after 15 months of war, Trump called Gaza a “demolition site” and said he had spoken to Jordan’s King Abdullah II about moving Palestinians out of the territory. “I’d like Egypt to take people. And I’d like Jordan to take people,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, adding that he expected to…

Tens of thousands of Australians protested over the treatment of Indigenous people yesterday as the country celebrated a national holiday marking the 1788 arrival of British colonisers. Crowds rallied in Melbourne and other cities on Australia Day, decrying the high incarceration rates, poor health and historic persecution of the continent’s first inhabitants, whose ancestry stretches back 60 000 years. The January 26 national day commemorates the arrival of a British fleet in Sydney Harbour to establish a penal colony. For many Australians, it is a day to celebrate with friends and family at beaches and backyard barbecues. But for rights activists “Invasion Day” marks a period of oppression of Indigenous peoples, including the dispossession of their lands, massacres, and the removal of children from their families. In Melbourne, thousands of…

ABUJA: A fuel tanker truck explosion killed 18 people in Nigeria’s south-eastern Enugu state at the weekend, the national road safety agency said, a week after another incident left about a 100 residents dead in the north of the country. The truck suffered brake failure and the driver lost control, crashing into more than a dozen vehicles on an expressway, Olusegun Ogungbemide, spokesperson of the Federal Road Safety Corps said. He said 10 people were rescued with different degrees of injuries and another three were unharmed. “Unfortunately, the remaining 18 victims were burnt beyond recognition,” said Ogungbemide. Accidents involving fuel tanker trucks have become common in Africa’s largest oil producer, which authorities blame on bad roads and reckless driving, often with dozens of fatalities. | Reuters…

Bjorn Fortuin says now that the Paarl Royals have top spot in SA20, they aim to keep it for the rest of the tournament. The Royals will next face bottom-of-the-log Durban’s Super Giants at Boland Park today (starts 5.30pm). As the DSG have had a season to forget, the Royals have accelerated past all challengers with power and precision, and they deservedly became the first team to book their spot in the next round. It is a stage of the competition they have struggled with in the past. A 29-run play-off loss against the Pretoria Capitals in the first edition, was followed by a heavy nine-wicket play-off loss against the Joburg Super Kings in the last edition. With the Royals now having raised the bar, the pressure is on the…