Table of contents for 2021-06-14 in Mercury

SOUTH African consumer debt surged to R1.9 trillion with R20.4 billion in value defaulted for the first time over the period January to March this year, according to Experian South Africa’s Consumer Default Index. Experian Africa chief decision analytics officer Jaco van Jaarsveldt said on Friday that the rate of people who defaulted on their loans for the first time increased in the first quarter of this year. “This deterioration is primarily due to the increase in business volumes during the latter parts of 2020 when strict lock- down rules were relaxed at the end of the second Covid wave, particularly for credit cards and personal loans over the Black Friday and Festive season period in 2020. The combination of the economy opening up and the extended Black Friday ‘month’…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za THE KwaZulu-Natal government has announced that it will dispatch teams of experts to the KwaHlathi area, outside Ladysmith, following claims that “diamonds” have been discovered there. It said the experts would test exactly what the glass stones were that had caused euphoria in the area and attracted hundreds of people, even from other provinces. However, it warned that the mining activity was illegal and could worsen the impact of the third wave of Covid-19 infections. By yesterday, it was estimated that more than 500 people, including men, women and children, were digging around the clock looking for “diamonds”. Social media was awash with videos and pictures of glass stones that residents believe are diamonds, and there were also videos of people digging for the “diamonds”. This rush…

PJH TITLESTAD Mtunzini THE eNCA interview by Judge Dennis Davis with Eskom chief executive, André de Ruyter, was most revealing for two reasons: for the real information provided and, even more importantly, for what had to remain unsaid. What we were told was that there is cheap international funding to get alternative energy to coal going relatively quickly. In fact, this could have been done already and the need to take on the three gas ships with their quite unnecessary 20-year contracts could have been avoided. What remained unsaid, as the two conversationalists smiled knowingly at one another, was why and by whom the development of these alternative sources had been stifled. Some relief has since suddenly been granted and the ships may not be inevitable, but why was the…

FAROUK ARAIE Durban ANY ATTEMPT to besmirch the character and integrity of Judge Siraj Desai is an exercise in futility and an act of reckless political brinkmanship. Judge Desai is a selfless and dedicated fair-minded jurist. He led his court with strength and humility. A man whose entire life is about his deep commitment to justice. His strong sense of justice and morality is his touchstone. His complete mastery of the law and patent integrity characterise his many years in the legal profession. During his tenure at the high court he showed to the public that the judiciary is truly independent and courageous. There is a sad but common misconception in society that time and energy contributed to others is time and energy lost. Rare is the individual with the…

IJ Saks Tableview MY question to the president is how can the economy grow without power? He is going overseas to try to obtain investment for the country. Surely no one would invest where electricity supply is limited. The ANC cadres are kidding themselves thinking this problem will resolve itself. They need to bring back all the qualified engineers to help repair the damage and allow smaller companies to supply them with renewable energy. Eskom’s load shedding is being felt mostly by the poor; the rich have generators. I hope people realise this when they vote in the municipal elections.…

Sakhiseni Nxumalo sakhiseni.nxumalo@inl.co.za CONSTRUCTION of a more than R560 million Kokstad Interchange and Traffic Control Centre on the N2 highway, is expected to begin in September. This is according to the SA National Road Agency (Sanral), which also announced that the contract to do the work was awarded to H&I Construction last week. The multimillion-rand N2 Kokstad Interchange is about 3km to the south of the town of Kokstad, said Sanral in a statement. Mohamed Parak, Sanral’s Eastern Region project manager said that under this 33-month contract, a new three-span bridge over the N2 and its approach to fill the embankments would be constructed. He said further construction work on the interchange included widening of the existing Koppieskraal River Bridge, the building of six new box culverts, and extension of…

Tarryn-Leigh Solomons Tarryn-Leigh.Solomons@iinl.co.za WHILE it is not yet known whether the Ingonyama Trust Board (ITB) will appeal against the Pietermaritzburg High Court’s ruling that the lease agreement between it and residents was unlawful and invalid, independent researcher and violence monitor Mary de Haas believes a decision to appeal would be foolish. On Friday, the court found the lease agreement between the ITB and the residents within its jurisdiction was illegal. The court ruled that the ITB must pay back all the money that had been paid by the people leasing the land. The Ingonyama Trust is the custodian of 3 million hectares of land in KwaZulu-Natal. De Haas said the ruling was welcomed. “This is a welcome ruling, and long overdue. What the ITB did was absolutely disgraceful. People living…

Maritime exchanges go right back to the 15th century Robert Higgs THIS year marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC and 23th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties between China and South Africa. We are happy to see that the Chinese-South African comprehensive strategic partnership has enjoyed profound development and that the pragmatic co-operation between the militaries has grown steadily. In particular, classic naval diplomacy has become the hallmark witness of our friendly relations. China-Africa maritime exchanges have experienced a long history, which can be dated back to the 15th century. During the Ming Dynasty Admiral Zheng was the first Chinese explorer, diplomat and trader to reach the shores of East Africa. The second visit by the PLA (People's Liberation Army) Navy was in August 2000 when…

UK anger with Europe sizzled yesterday after a sausage-themed dispute between the British and French leaders over post-Brexit trading arrangements in Northern Ireland. Brussels is equally angered at London’s refusal to implement checks on goods heading into Northern Ireland from England, Scotland and Wales. Talks broke down earlier this week, and the EU is threatening retaliation if Britain unilaterally extends a grace period for trade in chilled meat, including sausages, next month. The issue was raised again when Prime Minister Boris Johnson met French President Emmanuel Macron for talks on the sidelines of the G7 summit in England on Saturday. Johnson asked the French leader to imagine a situation where Toulouse sausages could not be sold in Paris, which left Macron “astonished”. “He … told him Toulouse is part of…

CARBIS BAY: A G7 plan to donate a billion Covid-19 vaccine doses to poorer countries will have limited impact because it includes some previous pledges, but it still offers a small lifeline to the global vaccine buying system, according to experts. G7 leaders announced the move at a summit in Cornwall at the weekend. Many of the promised doses will flow through Covax and Gavi, the vaccine alliance. The donation is short of the 5 to 6 billion shots needed by poorer nations. The plan also does not address distribution gaps that could make it difficult to deliver doses. But experts said it was still a boost to Covax, which has so far only distributed 83 million shots worldwide. | Reuters…

Novak Djokovic captured his second French Open title as he recovered from being outplayed for two sets by Stefanos Tsitsipas to win 6-7(8/6), 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory yesterday. Djokovic's seismic semi-final win over 13-time champion Rafa Nadal looked like being in vain as an inspired Tsitsipas moved to the brink of becoming Greece's first Grand Slam champion. After failing to convert a set point in an enthralling 72-minute opener full of brutal rallies and then crumbling in surprising fashion in the second set, Djokovic looked drained. His hopes of banking a 19th Grand Slam title were hanging by a thread but he rediscovered his mojo in the nick of time to turn the match around in emphatic fashion. The 34-year-old, who won his first French crown in 2016, rattled…

MURRAY & Roberts (M&R) said Boipelo Mining Contractors, a joint venture between M&R (49 percent) and Amandla (51 percent), has been awarded a R3.2 billion contract to provide underground mining services at Arnot Coal Mine in Mpumalanga. Boipelo Mining Contractors is a B-BBEE Level 1 underground mining contractor. Murray & Roberts Cementation would be the active partner with Amandla on the project. M&R said the group understood the global implications of climate change and was committed to reducing its carbon footprint and growing its service offerings in the cleaner energy sector. “Considering the shortage of electricity in South Africa and Eskom’s dependence on its fleet of coal-fired power stations to generate electricity to meet base-load demand, the group has decided to limit its coal-mining service offering to the…

AUDITOR rotation for entities that are listed on the JSE will become mandatory in South Africa from 2023 – a reform which may have an impact on auditor choice in South Africa. A further reform in the auditing profession which is currently being debated is that of joint audit, which is believed to have a greater impact in improving audit quality. Currently, only major banks are required to appoint joint auditors to perform the audit engagements, soon to be expanded to the major insurance companies. A recent report by Mazars, titled The Future of Audit, has served to refute a common fallacy that companies are adverse to the concept of joint audits and auditor rotation. The report finds to the contrary: “Joint audit is clearly understood and called for. Companies…

❤ LOVE and control cannot coexist in the same relationship. It’s one or the other. Choose. ❤ Forgiveness is not for the other, the offender, the one who has done the hurting. It is for the one who is forgiving. Resentment and bitterness hurt the person offering them hospitality. ❤ All behaviour has meaning. Hurt people hurt people. There are reasons why people are unkind. This does not mean you have to put up with it. It does mean that you can have some understanding and appreciate that the person who goes about hurting others is probably in greater pain than he or she is able to inflict. ❤ Listening to others, hearing their stories is usually a good idea. This is especially so if you regard others as having…

A MODERN-DAY Jonah? A lobster diver in America spent half a minute or so in the mouth of a humpback whale, before it surfaced and spat him out. It happened near Cape Cod, in Massachusetts, according to the BBC. Michael Packard was about 10m underwater when he felt a huge bump and “everything went dark”. At first he thought he’d been attacked by a shark but then realised he could feel no teeth. He was in a whale’s mouth. But his breathing equipment still worked. Scientists say humpbacks are not aggressive and believe this was an accidental encounter while the whale was feeding. We’ll never know what the whale thought of it. “My dear, a human! I positively retched!” US and Russia relations RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin has described…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za UMKHANYAKUDE District Municipality in northern KwaZulu-Natal is in crisis. Key positions are vacant, councillors have all but abandoned their jobs and political interference with the administration is rife. These revelations are contained in a detailed report that municipal manager Mxolisi Nkosi tabled before members of the provincial Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) portfolio committee. The members were visiting the municipality to assess the state of the municipality following numerous reports that it was in a severe state of dysfunction. The municipality is under administration but despite that, the situation has not improved. In his report, Nkosi said, “Umkhanyakude is currently faced with challenges which include the lack of leadership and supervision, some caused by vacancies; inadequate skills on planning, budgeting, financial management, credit control, debt management,…

Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za THE SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) has decided to not release any of the Johnson & Johnson (J& J) vaccines in South Africa that were produced with batches of ingredients deemed unsuitable by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Last week, it was reported that the FDA identified a concern relating to non-compliance with good manufacturing practices (GMP). The concern was related to non-compliance during the manufacturing of drug substances used in the manufacture of the J & J coronavirus vaccine. Sahpra chief executive Dr Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela said yesterday that on June 11 the FDA authorised two batches of drug substance produced from Emergent site and further determined that several other batches were not suitable for use. “Sahpra reviewed the data provided by the…

Makhosi Khoza Failure to deliver basic services at municipal level is the first indication of a negligent government which the electorate should be wary of. Municipal insufficiencies trickle into provincial inadequacies that ultimately breed a dysfunctional government. A quick glance at the health hazard emanating from the dirty residential and business areas in eThekwini is telling. Local government plays a pivotal role in the quality of life of citizens who reside in their municipalities. Ensuring that services such as waste removal, functioning sewerage systems and regularly serviced stormwater pipes are delivered to the people are duties of elected public officers through local government elections. Failure to deliver these services –that are akin to basic human rights – is indicative of having leaders who are not only failing to execute…

ADDRESSING the energy crisis in the country is of critical importance. Erratic power supply is a major obstacle for economic growth and investment in business. South Africa’s dismal unemployment rate will never be addressed if Eskom continues to load shed and the figures will only get worse. President Cyril Ramaphosa speaking to Parliament last week on the amendment to schedule two of the Electricity Regulation Act spoke frankly about the issues plaguing the country with regards to electricity supply. “We are in the midst of the worst economic crisis in our country’s recent history, which has seen a dramatic increase in unemployment and hunger and a decline in economic growth. “Our ability to address the energy crisis swiftly will determine the pace of our economic recovery. Resolving the energy…

At least 12 people were killed and nearly 140 others injured when a gas line exploded in a residential compound in central China’s Hubei province yesterday, local officials said. Rescue workers are uncertain how many people may still be trapped under the debris, according to a statement from the disaster management bureau in the city of Shiyan. Videos shot by witnesses and verified by Beijing News showed several buildings reduced to rubble and rescuers carrying away shocked survivors. The blast ripped through a vegetable market that was filled with shoppers and people eating breakfast, an eyewitness told state-run Global Times. “I heard a loud bang and immediately ducked under the table, thinking it was an earthquake,” a man who owns a small restaurant near the explosion site told the newspaper.…

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin laughed off the idea that he could be considered a “killer”, but expressed a willingness to work with US President Joe Biden before the two leaders’ summit on Wednesday in Geneva. Putin described Biden as a “career man” who has “spent virtually his entire adulthood in politics”, making him a very different type of politician to former president Donald Trump. “It is my great hope that, yes, there are some advantages, some disadvantages, but there will not be any impulse-based movements on behalf of the president,” Putin said. In March, Biden was asked whether he thought Putin was a killer, and responded: “I do.” Putin said he was used to facing “attacks from all kinds of angles”. Biden has said that he wants to communicate…

Herman Gibbs herman.gibbs@africannewsagency.com There will be some red faces on the PSL’s executive after the Gauteng Local Division, of the High Court of South Africa ruled that Hilton Epstein’s arbitration award will be applied. This has ensured that Sekhukhune United, based in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, secured automatic promotion to the Premiership next season. NFD club Polokwane City and, bizarrely, the PSL joined forces and applied to the court to have the arbitration overturned. Gauteng deputy judge president Roland Sutherland ruled that the application be dismissed. The PSL graciously accepted the outcome and soon afterwards announced Sekhukhune were indeed the GladAfrica Championship winners. The runners-up, Royal AM, will contest the PSL promotion/relegation play-offs, which will start tomorrow and end on 30 June. This week the action moves from the courtroom to…

Over the last few weeks, our rugby writers have been debating their Springbok choices from No 15 to 1 for the upcoming series against the British & Irish Lions. Today the focus is on the No 1 prop … He had to wait until Tendai Mtawarira retired, but now Steven Kitshoff is firmly entrenched as the best loosehead prop in South Africa. The 29-year-old’s work-rate around the pitch makes him a stand-out front-ranker. He is a powerful ball-carrier, puts in huge tackles around the fringes and is a destructive scrummager. Kitshoff’s mobility means that he is an extra fetcher at the breakdowns, while he has also developed leadership skills since becoming Stormers captain. Having earned 47 Bok caps already, the Western Province star is in line to celebrate his…

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL Fintech Working Group (IFWG) published a position paper on crypto assets on Friday that provides a framework for how the assets will be regulated in future in a “phased and structured manner”. The National Treasury initially issued a statement on crypto assets in 2014 as a joint initiative with the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), the Financial Services Board (now the Financial Sector Conduct Authority), the South African Revenue Service and the Financial Intelligence Centre. The statement warned about the risks associated with the use of crypto assets for the purpose of transacting or investing, and advised users to apply caution in this regard. The cautionary tone was adopted because there was no specific legis- lation for the use of crypto assets, and at the…

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za NASPERS/Prosus management say they will maintain “open dialogue” with shareholders after 36 local asset management firms raised serious reservations about the groups’ plan to swop shares to reduce the discount between their share prices and the value of their investments, “We always maintain an open dialogue with our shareholders and engage with them regularly. We have responded to the signatories of the letter that we received from some of our investors and also confirmed to all of our shareholders, via a Sens announcement, our continued commitment to ensuring management and shareholder interests are aligned,” the group said in response to BR questions. The asset managers wrote in the letter believed the share swop plan will increase complexity in the group and reduce the likelihood of further…

MOHAMED SAEED Pietermaritzburg I JOIN the multitude of concerned people and organisations who have raised their serious objections to the way in which the amendments to the Promotion of Equality and the Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, otherwise known as “Pepuda” or “the Equality Act”, is being mooted. Although unfair discrimination is unacceptable and equality is an important human right, the amendments to Pepuda holds serious threats for citizens if adopted in its current form. Due to our painful history, the Equality Act is needed and the act is imperative for the protection of each individual’s rights as far as equality is concerned. The current Equality Act itself is not problematic, is needed and is a very good piece of legislation and works well with the equality courts. However, the…

COLIN MARKS Durban North IN HIS letter, (The Mercury, June 11) Mr du Bois stated: “... that is a medical fact that none of the (Covid-19) vaccines being administered [have] been properly tested and that they are all in a trial period”. With that one statement, Mr Du Bois casually brushes aside the opinion of the World Health Organization. He ignores the opinions of the world’s leading medical research companies such as Pfizer, BioNTech, Moderna, J&J, Sinopharm and countless more. He ignores the extensive quantitative and qualitative research by the world’s leading epidemiologists. He ignores the fact that the previous US president himself spearheaded the initiative to get the vaccine developed in record time. Ironically, and sadly, Mr Du Bois has no other problems with other “facts”, casually dropping that…

A seat on a spaceship ride with billionaire Jeff Bezos went for $28 million (about R384m) during a live auction on Saturday, concluding the month-long bidding process for the sightseeing trip on the Blue Origin’s maiden voyage next month. Within four minutes of the opening of Saturday’s live phone auction, bids reached beyond $20m. The bidding closed seven minutes after the auction began. The identity of the winner – presumably an ultra-wealthy space aficionado – was not immediately disclosed. The July 20 launch of Blue Origin’s New Shepard booster from West Texas would be a landmark moment as US firms strive toward a new era of private commercial space travel. Blue Origin’s founder and Amazon.com Inc chief executive Bezos, the world’s wealthiest man and a lifelong space enthusiast, has been…

AS South Korean President Moon Jae-in joined the Group of Seven (G7) summit as a guest this weekend, the country’s ambassador to South Africa, Chull-joo Park answered some questions posed by Independent Media SOUTH Korea’s ambassador to South Africa, Chull-joo Park has welcomed the inclusion of his country, along with South Africa, as a guest nation to the G7 Summit, and believes the meeting can contribute to finding a common solution to global challenges, including the unprecedented economic and health crisis caused by the global pandemic and climate change. “The Republic of Korea will play a contributing role at the G7 Summit in ensuring equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines, supporting climate response and girls’ education in developing countries, and promoting our shared values which underpin open societies,” Park told…

A motley alliance of Israeli parties yesterday ousted Benjamin Netanyahu, the country’s longest-serving prime minister, and formed a new government in a seismic shift in the country’s turbulent politics. Naftali Bennett, a right-wing Jewish nationalist and former tech millionaire, was to take over at the helm of the eight-party bloc, united only by their shared disdain for the hawkish right-wing leader known as Bibi. Netanyahu, 71, in typically combative style, vowed shortly before his defeat that “if it’s our destiny to be in the opposition, we’ll do so with our heads high until we take down this bad government and return to lead the country our way”. Beloved as “King Bibi” by his right-wing supporters and condemned as the “crime minister” by his critics, Netanyahu has long been the dominant,…

Yangon: Anti-junta protesters flooded Myanmar’s social media with pictures of themselves wearing black yesterday in a show of solidarity for the Rohingya, a minority group that is among the most persecuted in the country. Since the military ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi from power in a coup on February 1, an anti-junta movement demanding a return to democracy has grown to include fighting for ethnic minority rights. The mostly Muslim Rohingya have for decades been denied citizenship and their rights. The #Black4Rohingya hashtag was trending on Twitter in Myanmar, with more than 180 000 mentions. | AFP…