Table of contents for NM-2021-04-14 in Mercury

DINEO fAKU dineo.faku@inl.co.za PRECIOUS metals and minerals once gain came through for the beleaguered mining industry as output surged and was expected to lift even further in the medium term. Data from Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) yesterday showed that production improved with export values growing 5.6 percent month-on-month in February to R53.5 billion. Analysts said that the output was 33.6 percent higher than the comparable period last year, suggesting that external conditions had become favourable in line with the global economic growth recovery. StatsSA said production in the sector rose 0.8 percent year-on-year in February, ahead of expectations as iron ore output surged. The statistics agency said that iron ore, the main ingredient in the production of stainless steel, was the largest contributor to the output with 65.7 percent growth,…

Sakhiseni Nxumalo sakhiseni.nxumalo@inl.co.za The Department of Education has gazetted new employment regulations detailing how it will deal with sex pest teachers and those found guilty of other misconduct, including assault, who seek re-entry to the profession. The regulations were gazetted by Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga last Friday. Motshekga said the aim of these new regulations was to regulate the period of prevention of re-employment of former teachers dismissed or deemed dismissed for misconduct or deemed resigned. She said this would also provide for a procedure for the re-employment of former teachers. According to the gazette, any person who has been found guilty of sexual offences committed against children and mentally disabled people and whose names appear on the National Child Protection Register and the National Register of Sex…

Vernon Mchunu vernon.mchunu@inl.co.za THE proposed 2.8% salary hike put on the table by the municipal employer body was a major blow and an insult to low-earning workers, the South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) has charged. Representing the country’s 257 municipalities, the South African Local Government Association (Salga) announced its offer as the wage negotiations were continuing at the SA Local Government Bargaining Council (SALGBC). “Key to the elements of Salga’s proposal is an across-the-board salary increase of 2.8% for Year 1 (2021/ 2022 financial year), which is 1.5% below the projected CPI (Consumer Price Index) and a total freeze of increases on all benefits that are linked to salary increases,” Salga stated. It added that the proposal was made with the consideration that the local government sector had…

SOME fascinating research, some fascinating parallels – a comparison of the interesting years 1981 and 2005. Interesting year 1981: Prince Charles got married. Liverpool were crowned football champions of Europe. Australia lost the Ashes. The pope died. Interesting year 2005: Prince Charles got married. Liverpool were crowned football champions of Europe. Australia lost the Ashes. The pope died. Conclusion: The next time Charles gets married, somebody should warn the pope. Robber ravens SHOPPERS in Alaska are being robbed by ravens as they emerge to go to their cars, according to Associated Press. It’s happening in Anchorage, where a fellow named Matt Ledwallen says he was packing groceries into his car in the parking lot when ravens swooped to steal a short rib out of his cart. “I literally took 10…

FAROUK ARAIE | Benoni THE sadistic murder of disabled Winterton farmer Neil McKay is an act of savagery that defies description. Violent crime continues unabated in South Africa. Murder is a graphic reminder that we live in a morally sick society. This culture of violence brings with it a morbid class of individuals who believe that they are entitled to determine the value of other human lives. We live in a culture that does not recognise the intrinsic distinction of individual worth. There is mounting evidence that our violent society’s disregard for the value of human life has wrought unspeakable tragedy. We are grimly reminded that the absence of a sanctity ethic results in the destruction of human life. Violent crimes and murder are part of the cruellest,…

Lorna Charles lorna.charles@inl.co.za The embattled human rights non-governmental organisation, Pietermaritzburg Agency for Community Social Action (Pacsa), suffered another blow last week after its council members resigned en masse. This after the organisation had to end operations following more than 40 years of service due to the mass misappropriation of funds, allegedly by Pacsa’s former financial manager. Despite the resignation, the organisation held a special general meeting (SGM) on Saturday. The working group of Pacsa Concerned Members released a statement that said there had been a “mixed mood” at the meeting. “Participants expressed anger and hope, uncertainty and faith, sadness and excitement. There was an air of unity, as many voiced their continued support for efforts by concerned Pacsa members and partners following the resignation of the entire council. “The Circle…

The father of a 17-year-old boy who was allegedly kidnapped in February says the family is still waiting for DNA results to confirm whether he is dead. Mmeli Ngcobo, of Castle Hill, has been missing since February 22. KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele said it was alleged that on February 17, Mmeli took a cellphone belonging to his classmate. She said his classmate’s parents came to the school and gave Mmeli until February 22 to return it. Mbele said on that day, after school, Mmeli was apparently approached by two men in a Mercedes-Benz and forced into the vehicle. Prince Ngcobo, Mmeli’s father, said this week that the family was waiting for the DNA results in connection with two bodies found after the boy went missing. One body was…

MPUMALANGA police yesterday denied claims by the ANC in the province that there was a death during a violent incident at a branch general meeting (BGM) of the party in ward 32 of the Nkomazi sub-region. The party in the province said that at least one person had died due to the violence which took place during a BGM held on Sunday in preparation for the regional and provincial conferences. In a statement, ANC Mpumalanga spokesperson Sasekani Manzini said that the “unfortunate and anti-ANC incident of violence” in Nkomazi had not only disrupted a constitutional gathering of the ANC, but “took away lives of people”. She said that they were aware that those who had caused the incident were not members of the ANC in the said branch. Mpumalanga…

Gert Grobler Although US President Joe Biden announced, before his assumption of office, that he would continue “to be tough” on China, the first encounter between US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi, regrettably resulted in a bitter confrontation. Blinken launched a scathing and inappropriate attack on China from the outset. He highlighted the deep concern of the US with actions by China in regard to Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Uygur ethnic group in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Chinese delegation, determined to safeguard its legitimate interests, promptly retaliated in a comprehensive, hard-hitting manner. It did, however, emphasise it did not seek confrontation with the US, and that it preferred co-operation. A key element of Biden’s China strategy is…

Strasbourg: The European Court of Human Rights yesterday condemned Turkey for the detention of journalist and novelist Ahmet Altan for his alleged involvement in a failed 2016 coup attempt. Altan, who is 71 and has worked for several Turkish newspapers and TV news programmes, wrote articles critical of the government and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2016. He was arrested in a purge of media organisations and accused of supporting the uprising by “disseminating subliminal messages to the public”. He was sentenced to life in jail for trying to overthrow the government. This was later quashed by Turkey’s top court.…

At the quiet suburban intersection in Minneapolis where Daunte Wright was shot dead, mourners expressed despair over the latest police killing of a black person to shake the US. “We hope for change, but realistically our expectations are different,” said Butchy Austin, 37, a corporate sales worker who has become a social activist since the killing of George Floyd in the city last year. A white police officer is currently on trial, accused of murdering Floyd – and Wright’s death on Sunday has further fuelled public anger over black men killed by police. “Frankly, being a person of colour is tiring,” said Austin. “We want to know that we can be safe. It’s a systematic problem, and the fight has to be to completely rebuild the system to get equality…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za ESKOM is set to offload its controversial multimillion-rand residential development project in Mpumalanga before the end of September as part of raising more than R2 billion in capital. The power utility said yesterday that it would finalise the sale of Die Wilge Flats near the Kusile power station during the first half of the current financial year. It would also sell its Lephalale stands near the Medupi power station in Limpopo to raise more money. Meanwhile, Eskom said it would implement stage 2 load shedding yesterday due to a shortage of generation capacity. Yesterday, the struggling power utility said it had raised R76.1 million from the disposal of two high-rise office buildings in Kimberley and Johannesburg as part of its strategy to sell non-core immovable…

SCHRODER European Real Estate Investment Trust (Sere), which is invested in European growth cities, had collected 93 percent of rent due for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, ahead of the 89 percent collected in the previous two quarters. The property portfolio was independently valued at €274 million (about R4.7 billion) as at March 31, a 0.6 percent decrease on its December 31 valuation, the company said in an update yesterday. The valuation fell by €3.2m, or 1.2 percent net of about €1.4m of capital expenditure invested in the refurbishment of Boulogne-Billancourt over the quarter. The like-for-like valuation during the quarter was driven by the improved yield re-rating at the Berlin DIY investment, delivering a valuation increase of €1.1m, or 4 percent. The yield re-rating improved across the industrial portfolio,…

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine roll-out in South Africa has been temporarily suspended. This comes after six women in the US, between the ages of 18 and 48, developed a rare blood-clotting disorder after getting the vaccine. One case was fatal and one remains in critical care. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced last night that the Johnson & Johnson roll-out for the Sisonke implementation study would be halted. His announcement comes after the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended a pause in the issuing of the vaccine. Mkhize said after holding urgent consultations with scientists, the decision was taken to suspend the roll-out until the causal relationship between the development of clots and the vaccine was sufficiently interrogated. He said the…

HEINZ DE BOER | DA KZN spokesperson on Edtea LOFTY proclamations by KwaZulu-Natal’s Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (Edtea) MEC, Ravi Pillay, regarding local government empowerment and its critical link to economic development must be acted on – and swiftly. Years of oversight inspections by the DA have proved that KZN’s basic societal structure has failed. The predominantly rural areas of our province will never benefit from significant investment as municipalities cannot provide basic services – neither to residents nor potential investors. As one of the largest portfolios in KZN, the Economic Development cluster’s attempts at throwing money at so-called catalytic projects to drive job creation is marginally effective. The focus is also on eThekwini and Richards Bay – while meaningful rural development seems to be an…

THYAGARAJ MARKANDAN | Kloof TWO posts that I deem to be highly irresponsible and dangerous are doing the rounds on social media. The first one is about the origin of the virus. In a long-winded, intricate web of conspiracy theory, some faceless genius unravels an elaborate plot by the pharmaceutical giants GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer, including German and French companies and the billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates of Microsoft and Dr Fauci; to unleash the deadly virus on humanity and profit enormously from it. The post claims that the virus was started in the Chinese biological laboratory owned by GlaxoSmithKline, which manufactures the Pfizer vaccine. It claims that the Wuhan Biological Laboratory is funded by Dr Fauci and Bill Gates is a shareholder of Pfizer. The post claims that the…

Zelda Venter zelda.venter@inl.co.za The Road Accident Fund (RAF) has been granted a reprieve by the Gauteng High Court regarding the payment of claims. In terms of the order granted by a full Bench of the court, the fund is to pay all claims based on court orders already granted or settlements reached which are older than 180 days. This must be done before the end of this month, provided that the RAF has been notified by the attorneys involved that they have outstanding claims which are older than 180 days. Judge PA Meyer, with two judges concurring, also ordered that all writs of execution and warrants of attachment against the fund based on court orders already granted or settlements already reached, which were not older than 180 days, be suspended…

Two teenage boys were allegedly assaulted by an eThekwini Metro Police officer who accused them of stealing from his house in Savannah Park. Both boys attend the Ningizimu Special School in Montclair. The KZN Social Development Department said it was alleged that the officer pointed his service pistol at the boys and forced them to admit they had broken into his home on Saturday, before forcing them to drink petrol. One of the boys was taken to hospital after he sustained injuries. KZN Social Development MEC Nonhlanhla Khoza condemned the incident. “We will not tolerate behaviour that threatens the safety and well-being of children. Nothing (stolen) was found on these vulnerable children. We are really taken aback by these allegations involving police officers who are supposed to be custodians of…

Sihle Mavuso sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za THERE was deafening silence from former president Jacob Zuma, his foundation, his supporters and legal team after he suffered another setback at the Supreme Court of Appeal. Yesterday, the court upheld a North Gauteng High Court ruling that stripped him of state funding for his upcoming corruption trial that emanates from the late 1990s arms deal. The ruling came a day before the deadline issued by the Constitutional Court which had called for Zuma to make a submission on what sentence he should receive for defying the apex court’s ruling that he should appear before the Zondo Commission. Just like on Monday, Zuma’s lawyer, Eric Mabuza; and spokesperson, Vukile Mathabela; were not forthcoming, when asked whether Zuma will change his mind and participate in the legal process,…

Bill Constantine | B/Gen USAF (Ret.) | Oranjezicht I NOTE that Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Republic of South Africa and the Kingdom of Lesotho, Ilya Rogachev, has again, strayed from his ambassadorial duties to engage in another spate of “America-bashing”, via the printed media; “Promoting democracy” is a US smokescreen to interfere (The Mercury, April 1). In his latest, “Alternative Viewpoint” piece – the third in as many months – the ambassador levels another broadside of criticism against America, this time, aimed directly at US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s recent foreign policy address. It seems the secretary of state can’t get a break from ambassador Rogachev despite, in his address, offering an honest admission of past mistakes in US foreign policy, saying: “We…

BRUSSELS: The EU has rejected any attempts to derail diplomatic efforts to revive the Iran nuclear deal currently under way in Vienna. EU Foreign Affairs spokesperson Peter Stano said the reported incident in Natanz, Iran, “could have been an act of sabotage”, but insisted there was no official attribution over who was responsible. The Natanz uranium enrichment site near Tehran was hit by a power outage on Sunday as negotiators in Vienna were seeking to re-admit the US to the 2015 pact, officially known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions, after former president Donald Trump withdrew in 2018.…

Thousands of supporters of a Pakistan Islamist party who blocked major roads to protest against the arrest of their leader also disrupted critical oxygen supplies for Covid-19 patients, health officials said yesterday. Major intersections remained closed in Lahore after the arrest on Monday of Saad Rizvi, leader of Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP). The party has led calls for the expulsion of the French ambassador, after President Emmanuel Macron’s government expressed support for a magazine’s right to republish cartoons depicting Prophet Muhammad – an act deemed blasphemous by many Muslims. A Punjab health official said the disruption of oxygen supplies during protests on Monday night had been a “crisis”, but another Punjab health offical said the situation had stabilised after roads were cleared by authorities. Pakistan is in the grip of…

MIHLALI BALEKA AT BIDVEST STADIUM SOUTH AFRICA (0)(2) Kgatlana 51’, Salgado 57’ BOTSWANA (0)(0) Banyana Banyana reminded their counterparts why they have been crowned “the Queens of Southern Africa” for the past four years. They beat neighbours Zambia and Botswana to seal a perfect record in their international friendlies during the Fifa break. On Saturday, they beat Zambia 3-1 at Bidvest Stadium, before returning to the same venue yesterday afternoon to beat Botswana 2-0 – thanks to second-half goals from Spanish-based strike Thembi Kgatlana and Gabriela Salgado. The South Africans, who will miss…

AUDITOR-General Tsakani Maluleke has officially declared the SA Post Office to be commercially insolvent. Reports emerged yesterday that Maluleke conferred the struggling post office to a growing list of collapsing parastatals with irregular expenditure of over R200 million, as well as fruitless and wasteful expenditure exceeding R26m. Maluleke allegedly said that there was no evidence that officials behind the irregularities had been held to account. She was said to have been constrained by the post office’s “poor status of the accounting record” and grossly inadequate internal controls with no proper record keeping to ensure that complete, relevant, and accurate information was accessible and available. In January, former chief executive Mark Barnes accused the government of interfering with the institutions’ turnaround strategy, which had led to financial difficulties at the…

RENERGEN said yesterday it had signed a 10-year sales agreement for the supply of helium with iSi Automotive, which was the company’s first direct-to-customer helium deal. The domestic producer of natural gas and helium did not name iSi Automotive as its customer on Monday when it announced the sales agreement, citing confidentiality, but the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) informed the company that it was not technically complying with ASX guidance note 8 section 4.15. ASX advised the company to halt trading on the stock market as a result. The group said yesterday that its first helium sales agreement for the Phase 2 plant for the Virginia Gas Project was with iSi Automotive. “The 10-year sales agreement commences on the completion of construction of our plant for Phase 2 of Virginia…

Angry people often blame circumstances for their rage. The circumstances trigger what’s within. Recently, I was in line at a cellphone outlet. The customer ahead of me began viciously screaming at the salesperson. Encouraged to calm down, the angry man pointed at the salesperson as if he himself was powerless over his own behaviour. The man apparently sincerely believes his angry outbursts are the responsibility of others. Backed up in traffic, I saw another vivid illustration: On my left, a driver is pounding fists, waving arms and yelling into a phone. On my right, the driver was apparently listening to something really funny and was apparently enjoying the wait. It would be easy to suggest the driver on the left was in a hurry and the other was not. Truth…

COLIN BURGER | Assagay IT IS flabbergasting that the Constitutional Court is asking Jacob Zuma what sentence he would prefer. Zuma is an ordinary citizen, just like anyone else. Do alleged wrongdoers get asked by a judge or magistrate what sentence they would prefer, should they be found guilty of a crime? The fact that Zuma is a former president is immaterial, he has been summonsed to appear in front of the court for an alleged wrongdoing. Simple. He has not been asked (yet) what sort of punishment he would like, should he be found guilty of the dozens of fraud, corruption and money-laundering cases being brought against him in the Arms Deal trial. What has the judicial system come to in this country? Perhaps, in time, our…

JOHN GARDENER | Howick IS IT just me, or have others noticed the indifference with which many shop assistants treat customers these days? Only the other day I was investigating the merits of a particular type of dog food, the cost of which might have justified the serving of champagne and caviar, followed by a chauffeur-driven limousine for the trip home in the event of a purchase being made. The experience was robbed of any element of effervescence, however, when another customer entered and my saleslady promptly, and without excusing herself, went off to assist the newcomer, leaving me at a loose end and feigning deep interest in the sacks of dog pellets on display. The two ladies had a most jolly time, exchanging witty remarks and laughing…

Vernon Mchunu vernon.mchunu@inl.co.za KWAZULU-Natal Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTEA) MEC Ravi Pillay has blamed the application criteria for the poor roll-out of the Loan Guaranteed Scheme (LGS). The LGS was aimed at bringing relief to the small business sector. Pillay was reacting to the announcement that the scheme – first introduced in April last year as part of an Economic Stimulus package to keep struggling businesses afloat in the wake of the Covid-19 economic crunch – would remain available for another three months. The businesses whose resilience depended on securing a bank loan would continue to be guaranteed approval under favourable conditions until July 11, according to a joint statement issued by the National Treasury, the Reserve Bank and the Banking Association of South Africa (Basa). At the…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education spent R1.2 million on an “accommodation facility” to house Grade 12 pupils at a boot camp last year that has been found to have been unsuitable for human habitation. Three officials have been accused of violating tender processes, turning a blind eye to cheaper accommodation and engaging in fraudulent behaviour to ensure that Boniwe Rehabilitation Centre, under the Harry Gwala District, was the preferred bidder. An investigation uncovered a litany of irregularities leading to the appointment of Boniwe as a service provider. Education MEC Kwazi Mshengu tabled an investigation report into the matter yesterday. He said based on the findings, the report recommended that disciplinary processes be instituted against the district director, the acting subject adviser and the assistant director for…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za AN investigation into the Covid-19 expenditure by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education has found that it saved millions of rand by negotiating with suppliers. The department revealed that an investigation by the provincial treasury on the spending on personal protective equipment (PPE) found that it had saved more than R300 million. The savings claim has been met with scepticism by some opposition parties, who said this was not in line with what they had been told before. Education MEC Kwazi Mshengu said the findings provided relief for many of the department's workers who had been under a cloud of allegations that they had “stolen” the department’s money. The department had spent about R478m on Covid-19 supplies, when it could have spent more than R800m if it…

Siseko Maposa and Philile Dlamini THE politics of appeasement does an extraordinarily good job, in the short term, of mystifying deep-hidden quandaries. The appeaser rests on the laurels that more of the same will deliver similar results. But as times change, so do demands and the minimum satisfaction requirements of the appeased. Eventually, the tensions become vividly seen in the public theatre, always threatening to reach explosive levels. Since 1994, the ANC has been on a huge drive to appease and appraise traditional leaders. The transaction is simple enough – the ANC, through national public policy, funds and secures the rights of traditional leadership. In return, traditional leadership champions the ANC government to the rural people it holds cultural authority over. In a constitutional democracy, however, one does not…

IN RESPONSE to the stand-off between the police and residents of Rabie Ridge near Midrand over the occupation of land, Gauteng Human Settlements, Urban Planning and Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Lebogang Maile boasted that his department would continue its fight against “land invasion”. He welcomed the swift response by the police in pushing back against desperate residents who tried to move onto a privately owned piece of land. “Our anti-land invasions strategy we unveiled a few months ago is starting to bear fruits. We will continue to intensify our fights against land invasions,” Maile said. He made his remarks as Nyalas escorted by heavily armed police rolled into Rabie Ridge before officers fought running battles with protesting residents. Similar scenes have played themselves out in other parts of…

Beijing: China yesterday hit out at Japan’s plan to release more than one million tonnes of treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean as “extremely irresponsible”. The Japanese government insists the release from the stricken plant which has stored the large volume of water for years is safe because it has been processed to remove almost all radioactive elements and will be diluted. But the process - not likely to begin for several years - has already prompted concern from neighbouring countries and anger from fishing communities.…

Ten people have been killed and 34 injured in fighting between rival ethnic communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern city of Goma, a spokesperson for the provincial government said yester- day. The clashes broke out when protests against the UN’s Monusco peacekeeping mission, which some blame for failing to end the worsening insecurity and militia attacks, descended into violence between the two communities. Attacks by armed militias and inter-communal violence in Congo’s restive eastern region have killed over 300 people since the start of the year as government troops and UN peacekeepers struggle to bring stability in the mineral-rich region. The governor of North Kivu province, Carly Nzanzu Kasivita, banned all public protests from Monday and called for calm. “From now on we no longer want public…