Table of contents for NM-2021-04-21 in Mercury

Sechaba KA’Nkosi sechaba.nkosi@inl.co.za OUTGOING Absa chief executive Daniel Mminele was forced out of his position after he disagreed with the board, chairperson Wendy Lucas-Bull in particular. Business Report can today reveal that Mminele was not given an option but had to leave over the differences on the strategic direction that he wanted the bank to take. Insiders claim that Mminele and Lucas-Bull clashed over the strategy that was already there when he joined in January last year. One claimed that the former SA Reserve Bank deputy governor wanted to adopt a more cautious and phased approach, given the impact of Covid-19 on its bottom line. He is also said to have preferred the consolidation of the bank’s market share in South Africa after it took a hit following a 5-year…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za HARD-PRESSED Durban residents who depend on the city’s buses to commute to work, are expected to pay more for bus fare next month, after the eThekwini Municipality approved a 7.7% increase. The bus-fare increase, which comes hard on the heels of a steep petrol price hike, and an anticipated rates and electricity increase later in the year, had been planned for April 1 but was pushed back to May. City officials said they were compelled to approve the increase, as failure to do so could trigger legal action from the bus operator, Tansnat. Tansnat manages the buses on behalf of the municipality. The two parties have a fraught relationship, littered with legal action and claims against each other. There have been calls and council resolutions, that the…

I AM almost always on the lookout for helpful ways to improve my emotional health and wellness. This helps me with my own life and empowers me to assist my clients. There is a very useful concept in a very helpful book titled The Road Back to You by Ian Cron. It is his SNAP approach to daily living. Here is the concept in a nutshell but the whole book is worthy of purchase. Stop what you are doing, stop and assess, take a deep breath. Are you where you want to be, doing what you have planned to do? Notice what’s going on within you and around you. Are you thinking clearly about who you are and the reasons you are doing what you are doing? Ask questions of…

JEAN MICHEL BOUVIER | Bryanston IT’S been announced by President Biden last week that the US will quit Afghanistan by September, by pulling out the last of their troops and leaving another country in ruins and on its own with another failed war by the US as was done in Vietnam. I cannot believe the US, who spent 20 years there and have lost 2 488 soldiers (as of today) and over 20 000 wounded and many more dead and wounded from the coalition forces, with minimum results even when they have spent over $2 trillion; has now let it all go to waste. The government they put in place will cave in once the US pulls out, because they have been supported all this time by them.…

MUHAMMAD OMAR | Durban IT IS with a sense of sadness that the damage and destruction during the recent veld fires in the Mother City caused the loss of the library building and inconvenienced many people as well as strained the city’s resources. The blaze at the library reminds me of the fire at the Notre Dame in Paris and maybe after the reconstruction, new state-of-the-art facilities relevant to today’s age, can be rebuilt. An impressive pandemic friendly library can be created. Credit goes to the quick-thinking individuals and those firemen and women who risked a lot. About four are still in hospital with serious burns, but thankfully are recovering. We give a big thank you to the medical teams and wish such individuals a speedy recovery.…

Rhodes University honoured “the people’s advocate”, Dumisa Buhle Ntsebeza SC, at its virtual graduation. Ntsebeza will be awarded with an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws (LLD) (honoris causa) at the university's 72nd graduation which will be held virtually on April 28. The advocate has held many positions which include African Court for Human Rights and People’s Rights judge and Cricket South Africa’s social justice ombudsman. Vice-chancellor Dr Sizwe Mabizela said the honorary doctorate was recognition and celebration of Ntsebeza’s long, sustained and exceptional contribution as an advocate and activist for political and human rights, human dignity and social justice in our country and beyond. “I am delighted that the Rhodes University community has seen it fit to honour advocate Ntsebeza’s many and significant contributions and warmly congratulate him on…

THE National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said yesterday the 14-year-old Mbilwi Secondary School pupil arrested for allegedly assaulting fellow pupil Lufuno Mavhunga did not apply for bail as expected. “The matter … could not proceed today (yesterday) in the Thohoyandou Children’s Court. The matter should be heard by a neutral chair (presiding officer) to ensure a neutral power balance between the interest of the State and the interests of the child,” said NPA Limpopo spokesperson Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi. She said the current presiding magistrate was privy to the details of the preliminary inquiry conducted with the Grade 10 pupil and a new magistrate had to be appointed to the case. “The case has been rolled over to April 22 in order to have a new presiding officer.” She said the pupil would…

Lorna Charles lorna.charles@inl.co.za AFRICA Unite, together with stakeholders such as faith-based leaders, government departments, civil society organisations, community leaders and migrant representatives, held a round-table discussion yesterday on strengthening social cohesion in KwaZulu-Natal. The event comes after xenophobic attacks on foreign street traders in the past few months. It has been alleged that the attacks were carried out by members of the Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association (MKMVA), however the provincial body has denied any involvement by its members. While MKMVA representatives were invited to the event, they did not attend. The discussions focused on finding peaceful solutions to bring an end to xenophobic attacks and re-evaluating intolerance in the province. Yaa-Ashantewaa Archer-Ngidi, founder and director of the Institute of Afrikology, said: “In strengthening social cohesion, we…

It is tragedy that this year Zimbabwe turns 41 amid growing fear among citizens, repression, human rights abuses and closure of the democratic space. This is a day to celebrate, yet for many Zimbabweans it is just like any other ordinary day as it symbolises a betrayal by the liberation generation who, from liberators, have morphed into oppressors. It is tragic therefore that in independent Zimbabwe, the rulers have continued using the colonial legal system – an instrument upon which officials based their conception of a new social order, to suppress citizens. Independence was a product of a protracted liberation struggle mounted to ensure an equal and just society. A society where fundamental human rights are respected, equal access to economic resources, land, and economic emancipation and an end to…

Jurors met for a second day of deliberations yesterday in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged with murder and manslaughter after kneeling on the neck of a dying George Floyd during an arrest in May last year. The 12 sequestered jurors are considering three weeks of testimony from 45 witnesses, including bystanders, police officials and medical experts, along with hours of video evidence in a case involving accusations of police misconduct. Chauvin has pleaded not guilty to second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree “depraved mind” murder and second-degree manslaughter. The jury began its deliberations on Monday after listening to closing arguments for most of the day. Jurors must reach a unanimous verdict on each charge to convict or acquit. A single hold-out would result in a…

Hong Kong: At least 53 passengers on a flight from New Delhi to Hong Kong have tested positive for coronavirus, authorities said yesterday, as the Chinese financial hub introduced an emergency ban on arrivals from India over a new wave of cases. The passengers flew into Hong Kong on a flight run by Indian operator Vistara on April 4. The positive tests are significant as Hong Kong is regularly recording fewer daily cases since it brought a fourth wave under control in January. Authorities have now imposed a two-week ban on all flights from India, Pakistan and the Philippines, categorising the countries as “extremely high risk”. | AFP…

CAIRO: Egypt is set to complete the world’s largest textile factory by March 2022 in the city of El Mahalla El Kubra in the Nile Delta. According to Fibre2Fashion News, the factory will be over 62 000m² in size and boast a daily production capacity of 30 tons. At a meeting last week, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli called for farmers to be granted incentives to grow high-quality cotton to supply factories. Egypt is also planning to build a textiles city in the Minya region creating 17 000 jobs | ANA…

Ashfak Mohamed ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za DURING the Royal Challengers Bangalore’s IPL opener against Mumbai Indians on April 9, I was surprised to see AB de Villiers donning the wicket-keeper gloves again. “It hurts, just a little bit, when I see AB de Villiers playing as a wicket-keeper” was part of a tweet I posted at the time, with reference to the days when the former Proteas captain was reluctant to stand behind the stumps due to his back issues. We also all know the problems he had with time away from his family, which played a role in him deciding to retire from international cricket in 2018. He has been continuing his great form for RCB in recent seasons, and scored 48 off 27 balls against Mumbai. After missing out with one…

Stuart Hess stuart.hess@inl.co.za Sports Minister Nathi Mthethwa’s legal team is poring over Cricket SA Members Council’s response to his demand as to why he should not ban the organisation from being the governing authority of the sport in the country. “I have not seen the response, but our legal team is busy with it,” Mthethwa told SABC radio yesterday evening. Mthethwa had set the Members Council - the highest decision-making body in the organisation, comprising the 14 provincial presidents - a 5pm deadline yesterday, asking why he should not invoke section 13 of the National Sports and Recreation Act, allowing him to halt government funding and to remove recognition of CSA as the governing authority for the sport. Should he do so, the Proteas would no longer be the representative…

Sechaba KA’Nkosi sechaba.nkosi@inl.co.za In his own words: The group has delivered respectable progress over the last two-and-ahalf years against the strategy journey adopted in 2018, seeing significant traction gains in parts of the business. He explains: As agreed with the board when I joined, and given critical contextual matters, including the amount of time that had elapsed since we launched our strategy, the rapid evolution of our operating environment, and the impact of Covid-19, it was vital that we review our strategy to ensure that it remains relevant; and to make the necessary changes. The strategy review process investigated changes in the market, our performance gaps, and what was needed to thrive post-crisis. This group-wide and collaborative effort leveraged our internal resources and external thought leadership regarding seven specific focus…

Sandile Mchunu sandile.mchunu@inl.co.za PSG GROUP said yesterday that its investee companies produced a resilient performance as they weathered the Covid-19 storm in the year to end February. The group’s sum-of-the-parts (SOTP) a share marginally declined by 0.2 percent to R94.24 a share, and net asset value per share increased by 4.9 percent to R91.76 during the period. However, by April 16 and after the reporting period, its SOTP had risen to R102.39. PSG is an investment holding company that consists of underlying investments in industries such as financial services, banking, education and food, as well as early-stage investments in select growth sectors. Its shareholders approved the unbundling of 30.5 million shares, or 26.4 percent, in Capitec Bank, which unlocked more than R12 billion in value for its…

Sakhiseni Nxumalo sakhiseni.nxumalo@inl.co.za Motorists can expect yet another petrol price increase for May, with a slight decrease in diesel. This was revealed by the Automobile Association (AA), which was commenting on unaudited mid-month fuel price data released by the Central Energy Fund. According to the AA, data shows the prospect of a welcome 32 cents-a-litre drop in the price of diesel and 27c for illuminating paraffin. AA spokesperson Layton Beard said the petrol price, however, would see a possible slight increase of 6c a litre. Beard said stability on international petroleum markets and a stronger exchange rate had given fuel prices a breather. “However, the exchange rate’s performance is coming very close to nudging petrol into a decline, and if the current trends continue, there may be across-the-board…

What do you do with a $69 million (about R988m) artwork that doesn’t physically exist? That’s the question faced by the Singapore-based investor calling himself Metakovan, who made headlines last month when he bought the digital artwork Everydays: The First 5 000 Days by American artist Beeple at Christie's. The work is a non-fungible token (NFT) – a new type of virtual asset that has its ownership status and authenticity verified by blockchain. NFTs have exploded in popularity in 2021, with prices rocketing. Metakovan, real name Vignesh Sundaresan, plans to put the artwork on display in four virtual world environments. He is working with architects to design gallery complexes that the public can enter via web browsers or virtual reality technology. But art is just one part of a new…

STARKERS in the House of Commons … this was the Canadian House of Commons, not the one in London. But even in the colonies they have their standards. And the MP was stark naked. Yet nobody could doubt his patriotism. He was flanked by the provincial flag of Quebec and the national flag of Canada, according to Associated Press. It happened during a virtual meeting of the House of Commons, occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic. Suddenly William Amos, who has represented the Quebec district of Pontiac since 2015, appeared on the screens of his fellow legislators completely naked, his modesty only partially maintained by a cellphone in one hand. “This was an unfortunate error,”″ Amos says. “My video was accidentally turned on as I was changing into my work clothes…

I READ the letter in The Mercury (April 19) from Saber Ahmed Jazbhay, and I am compelled to respond. Yes, apartheid was a crime against humanity. Yes, many thousands of people suffered under the regime. Yes, reparation is certainly needed to assuage the immeasurable hurt caused. But, Mr Jazbhay, such reparation has long since been delivered. It was in the form of the entire entity known as South Africa being handed on a silver platter to the ANC in 1994. Unconditional. And then what happened? The ANC, over the years since then, has systematically wrecked, broken, and ruined everything that was given to it. So, as far as I care, payment has been made in full. DAVID CARTWRIGHT | Hillcrest…

Se-Anne Rall se-anne.koopman@inl.co.za Management at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) have confirmed that about 98% of all students have been registered. DUT announced the closure of all five of its Durban campuses after a hoax message sent hordes of students descending on the Steve Biko campus, which were followed by violent clashes between students and police. DUT’s senior director of corporate affairs, Alan Khan, said all five campuses remain closed but they have recognised the need for on-campus practical and laboratory sessions for students as integral parts of their specific programmes. He said this would be done in a phased manner. “To this end, a re-prioritised list of practical and lab sessions will be produced by faculties as part of this phased approach. The re-prioritisation will focus mainly on…

THE National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) should take the public into their confidence – by releasing all documentation related to the alleged billions which ANC veteran Tokyo Sexwale claimed had been stolen from the central bank – rather than place the burden of proof on him. In an interview with eNCA on Sunday, Sexwale claimed that billions of rand in donor funds raised by himself and others to fund students have been stolen from the SARB even before they circulated into the economy. “We have just offered even for Covid a few billions. Even the universities, a few billion to clean up all this debt of students. There is money. “I have worked with a lot of money, big money. We have found some resistance, and…

Russia will soon have more than 120 000 troops on Ukraine’s border, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said yesterday, calling for new Western economic sanctions to deter Moscow from “further escalation”. Washington and Nato have been alarmed by the large build-up of Russian troops near Ukraine and in Crimea, the peninsula that Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Western officials say the concentration of forces is now larger than during that annexation. The figure given by Kuleba is higher than Ukraine’s previous estimate of 80 000 Russian troops, of which 50 000 were new deployments. Kuleba also called for Moscow to re-commit to a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, where Russian-backed forces have fought Ukrainian troops in a conflict that Kyiv says has killed 14 000 people since 2014. Kyiv and…

WASHINGTON: The Biden administration plans to set aside 6 000 seasonal guest worker visas for people from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, a small step toward establishing more legal pathways to the US from the region. The visa allotment would be part of an additional 22 000 H-2B visas made available to employers in the current fiscal year, which ends on September 30, two sources said. It has been sought by business groups but opposed by labour unions amid a high unemployment related to Covid-19. President Joe Biden has grappled with a rising number of migrants arriving at the US-Mexico border, including families and unaccompanied children. | Reuters…

Jerusalem: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called yesterday for direct polls to choose Israel’s next leader, as he struggles to form a coalition following four general elections in less than two years. Netanyahu’s rightwing Likud won 30 seats in elections held in March, making his party the largest in Israel’s 120-seat parliament. He has support from ultra-Orthodox parties and an alliance of hardline nationalist factions, but has not been able to cobble a 61-seat majority. The Israel Democracy Institute think-tank said direct elections could create a new impasse. | AFP…

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za FINANCIAL institutions with a culture so unique that senior black professions are unable to transition into it suffer from a lack of commitment to change, rather than being “stuck” with a culture that cannot adapt, Association of Black Securities and Investment Professionals (Absip) president Polo Radebe said yesterday. “When institutions fail to adapt, it creates a corporate cliff for black executives that, sadly, accelerates their exits,” she said. Radebe was responding to questions about the growing number of senior black executives in financial services who have stepped down early, sometimes not amicably, such as Peter Moyo at Old Mutual, the resignation of Basani Maluleke as chief executive of African Bank, and yesterday’s shock step-down of Absa chief executive Daniel Mminele, of which he said there had been…

Sakhiseni Nxumalo and Zodidi Dano THE Department of Basic Education’s announcement that it is in talks about primary school pupils possibly resuming full-time attendance has sparked debate about the health risk to children and teachers as opposed to the loss of valuable teaching time. While some schools have been allowed to have 100% attendance after they made submissions to the department, others, particularly disadvantaged schools, still have pupils attending on a rotational basis. The rotational model, where children attend school only a few days a week, was implemented to ensure that physical distancing takes place in schools in line with Covid-19 regulations. There have been concerns that the model was not working and was to the detriment of pupils. Department spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga has confirmed that there was a meeting…

In dense tropical forests in Sierra Leone, scientists have rediscovered a coffee species not seen in the wild in decades – a plant they say may help secure the future of this valuable commodity that has been imperiled by climate change. The researchers said that the species, called Coffea stenophylla, possesses greater tolerance for higher temperatures than the Arabica coffee that makes up 56% of global production and the robusta coffee that makes up 43%. The stenophylla coffee, they added, was demonstrated to have a superior flavour, similar to Arabica. Botanist Aaron Davis, who led the study published in the journal Nature Plants, said stenophylla was farmed in parts of West Africa and exported to Europe until the early 20th century before being abandoned after robusta's introduction. Many farmers throughout…

CHOPO TELEKI | Durban OUR universities are fast becoming glorified high schools. There is a glaring laissez-faire attitude prevailing at all our universities. Students do as they please without any fear. This type of attitude was exacerbated subsequent to the demolition of statues by the #FeesMustFall movement. Today students do not apply for admission at the universities. At the beginning of each academic year, they go to the universities to demand to be registered. Due to the fact that they have not been admitted at the universities, they sleep in the libraries. Sadly, the Student Representative Council (SRC), South African Students Congress (Sasco), Pan Africanist Student Movement of Azania (Pasma), and EFF Student Command (EFFSC) instruct the universities to register students who did not apply for registration, without…

EBRAHIM ‘EBKOYBIE’ ESSA | Durban MR Govender presents a glowing report of our motherland’s striving towards reaching the pinnacle of economic perfection and independence of loans from outside India (The Mercury, April 19). Mr Modi has been given most of the credit for this tremendous upsurge. Like Mr Govender, I have travelled the length and breadth of our motherland, first as a college student in the 1960s and then with my family almost every alternate December holidays, from 1993 to 2016. My father, born in Gujarat in 1910, living most of his life here in South Africa after immigrating here in the late 1920s, passed away in 1974, after a mishap in Mumbai, and is buried there at the Marines Lines cemetery. His dream was for our family…

Siyabonga Mkhwanazi siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has indicated that the procurement of renewable energy from independent power producers is urgent, because of load shedding. The department told MPs yesterday the process to select eight companies to produce renewable energy in March was an open, fair, transparent process. Deputy director-general in the department, Jacob Mbele, said Eskom’s capacity constraints had forced them to source additional energy supply from independent power producers. Businesses have been complaining about the impact power cuts have on their operations, with billions of rand reported to have been lost over the years due to load shedding. Mbele said the government took a decision to pursue an energy mix policy, and this was the response by the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) to the energy…

A court interpreter, who has been charged with corruption, will appear in the Bushbuckridge Magistrate’s Court in Mpumalanga tomorrow for a possible bail application. Busizwe Zizwe Zitha, based in Mkhuhlu, made his first court appearance on Monday and was remanded in custody. Hawks Mpumalanga spokesperson Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi said yesterday that Zitha, 40, was arrested by members of the Hawks’ serious corruption investigation unit in Mpumalanga last week. “The arrest followed a complaint from the victim who alleged that between January and March he was approached by (Zitha) after he was released on bail for two cases of violation of a protection order and assault (domestic violence-related cases) demanding cash, claiming he will withdraw his two cases,” said Sekgotodi. The man, who was…

Country’s turbulent racial history provides no middle ground Lizo Zosiwe and Zuko Mndayi AT THE core of the DA's political life is the preoccupation with proving to the electorate – the majority of which is black, that it is not a whites-only party. This became an integral part of its strategy to increase electoral support and culminated in its self-confessed "experimental" practice of electing black leaders in senior positions in the party. Though this electioneering and hypocritical strategy paid dividends for the party, immensely contributing to its growth over the years, it has sharpened intra-party-political contradictions. It placed the party in the dilemma of whether to maintain its core liberal and pro-white political trajectory or continue with the hypocritical projection of a racially inclusive political home. The country's racial history,…

Chad’s President Idriss Déby, who ruled his country for more than 30 years and was an important Western ally in the fight against Islamist militants in Africa, has been killed on the front line in a battle against rebels in the north. Déby’s son, Mahamat Kaka, was named interim president by a transitional council of military officers, spokesperson Azem Bermendao Agouna said on state television. Déby, 68, came to power in a rebellion in 1990 and was one of Africa’s longest-ruling leaders, surviving numerous coup attempts and rebellions. His death could potentially deepen Chad’s problems and those of its allies. On the domestic front, the military is divided and the opposition bridling against years of repressive rule. Internationally, France and the US will be hoping that their counter- terrorism efforts…

A new rule banning food companies from comparing plant-based products to dairy in their marketing could be agreed by EU negotiators this week, despite protests from firms including Danone, Nestle and Unilever. Products like Nestle’s Nescafe Almond Latte, described on the package as a “delicious alternative to dairy”, or Danone’s Alpro “plant-based alternative to Greek-style yoghurt” would need new slogans, lawyers said. Even the package design of a soy drink resembling a milk carton could be construed as an “evocation” of milk products and thus banned, they said. “It would be almost impossible to communicate about plant-based products,” said Siska Pottie, head of the European Alliance for Plant-Based Foods. “Saying a product had half the carbon emission of butter could be forbidden. Even ‘lactose-free’ might not be allowed... it’s madness.”…

BRUSSELS: Europe’s drug regulator has found a possible link between Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine and rare blood clotting issues in adults who received doses in the US, but backed its overall benefits against any risks. The European Medicines Agency said yesterday that its safety committee had concluded that a warning about unusual blood clots with low platelets must be added to the vaccine’s labels, just as it has also required of makers of rival vaccine AstraZeneca. The review of the cases prompted a pause in the roll-out of the vaccine in Europe and the US last week and in South Africa. | Reuters…

Eshlin Vedan AmaZulu can prove that they are truly now among the elite clubs in South Africa by recording a home victory over runaway league leaders Mamelodi Sundowns at Kings Park today. Second place Usuthu head into the top-of-the-table contest against the Brazilians in terrific form, having recorded six straight victories in the Premiership. Augustine Mulenga, one of AmaZulu’s star attackers this season has emphasised that his teammates are working hard ahead of today’s match. “I can see that everyone has been pushing and looking forward to this game against Sundowns. I’m also looking forward to the game as it’s a big game. If we get three points, it will get us closer to them as they are the league leaders,” said Mulenga. Sundowns who lead AmaZulu by six points…