Table of contents for 2021-08-23 in Mercury

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za KAP INDUSTRIAL Holdings, which employs about 19 000 people in a range of sectors that includes automotive components, timber and logistics, reinstated its dividend and lifted operating profit 48 percent to R2.1 billion in the year to June 30. “We are extremely pleased with the results in what was an uncertain, unpredictable environment. We emerged with a stronger balance sheet, strong cash generation and a dividend,” chief executive Gary Chaplin said in a telephone interview on Friday. All the companies in the group performed well, although Unitrans, which had among its operations school bus and corporate transport, was facing a tough environment, he said. He said the strong results in the complex environment were a reflection of the value in the business model and…

After half-an-hour’s windswept journey on foot and by boat through a craggy forest estuary to the school he attends in remote southern Chile, Diego Guerrero can finally access the internet. His school is located in the hamlet of Sotomo, around 1 000km south of the capital Santiago and inhabited by just 20 families. A rain-drenched scattering of brightly painted wooden and tin houses, Sotomo stands out against a mist-swathed row of rocky outcrops jutting out into the Pacific Ocean. It can be accessed only by boat. For decades, its inhabitants have survived by catching mussels and fish to sell at market. It is one of two places in Chile to be chosen for a pilot project run by billionaire Elon Musk, chief executive of SpaceX, to receive free internet for…

BOB WATSON | Umdloti LICENCE renewal “crisis” looms (The Mercury, August 20) refers. Licence renewal laws are about the money and government control. This racket is sponsored by businesses supplying cards and other related material. The public is tortured by being forced to stand in never-ending queues at the risk of contracting numerous diseases like TB, besides Covid-19, especially while finger printing and eye testing in sub-standard premises. Driving licence renewals should not be any different to renewing a TV licence; all the authorities want is your money and they are doing it under the pretence of curbing illegal licences.…

PAT MCKRILL | Camperdown KZN I’M NOT sure what caused the foaming diatribe – Charles Thomas (The Mercury, August 19) – but I hope this helps. The overpopulation bit he refers to is easily explained. Most people (no matter what colour) might understand that if they want to feed, clothe, house, educate and nurture large families nowadays, they’d require substantial financial resources. If they don’t have the resources, they’ll certainly become dependent on others (Mr Thomas’s maligned taxpayers, for example) to help them scratch out a life. If we want to live rewarding lives and not become dependent upon others to fund our needs, we must either shelve the big family plans, or lower our expectations and do something productive that will help us to fund our requirements.…

The SANDF has condemned the action of one of its members who appears to be drunk in a video circulating on social media. In a 45-second video posted on Twitter last week, the soldier, who can barely walk, is seen being escorted by officers. He appears to be refusing to go with officers as he tries to break loose from their grip. The SANDF said it was aware of the video portraying one of its members in uniform, in public visibly drunk. “The SANDF unreservedly condemns such disgraceful behaviour from our members. “Although the date and exact location of the video have not yet been established, the SANDF is working in close co-operation with Tshwane Metro Police officials to determine all details surrounding this incident.” The SANDF confirmed it was…

Mercury Reporter The SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) has said investigations into the deaths of 32 people after receiving Covid-19 vaccines found that 28 of them were not related to or linked to vaccination. The four other cases were unclassifiable because there was either no information available about the cases, or the information was inadequate. Sahpra has a mandate to oversee the safety, efficacy and quality of all medicines registered in South Africa, including vaccines. It said suspected adverse events following immunisation (AEFIs) were reported to it and the national Department of Health by health professionals and the public. Sahpra said that certain adverse events had been designated by the World Health Organization as adverse events of special interest (AESI). Since the official national roll-out of Covid-19 vaccines…

Bongani Nkosi bongani.nkosi@inl.co.za A GAUTENG Department of Education official has had his dismissal confirmed after he sent a woman unsolicited pornographic videos. The woman had contacted him on WhatsApp for information. Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) arbitrator Yolisa Ndzuta ruled last week that the department’s decision to dismiss the official was substantively and procedurally fair. He had sought to have the dismissal overturned on the grounds that a finding that he sent two sexual videos to harass the woman was wrong. He maintained that he sent the explicit videos for education-related purposes. The victim testified that she was disgusted and felt violated by the content. She revealed that she had got the official’s number from his colleague and contacted him to establish and maintain professional communication. She said she did…

CANBERRA: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has urged state and territory governments to stick with the pathway out of the coronavirus pandemic amid record case numbers. Australia reported a record 914 new cases of Covid-19 yesterday, a second day in a row with a new record number. Despite widespread outbreaks of the virus, Morrison pushed the states and territories to start easing restrictions when 70% of their adult populations were fully vaccinated. The National Cabinet, in July signed off on a four-phase pathway out of the pandemic that will see lockdowns used more sparingly when 70% of adults were inoculated.…

Tunis: Concern is mounting over freedoms in Tunisia as President Kais Saied presses ahead with a “purge” that has seen politicians, judges and businessmen arrested or banned from travel, activists say. On July 25, Saied sacked the government and suspended parliament for one month citing powers he says were granted by the constitution, but he has yet to reveal a “roadmap” for his decisions despite repeated demands by political parties. Saied’s shock move has sparked uncertainties for Tunisia, where the Arab Spring began a decade ago, setting in motion pro-democracy revolts across the region that unseated autocratic leaders. Tunisia, hailed as a rare democratic success story in the Middle East and North Africa, is mired in a political crisis compounded by dire economic woes and the Covid-19 pandemic. Several politicians,…

Stockholm: Sweden’s beleaguered Social Democratic Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, 64, yesterday said he would step down in November to allow a successor time to prepare for the country’s September 2022 general election. Lofven was reinstated as prime minister by parliament in early July just weeks after being ousted in a historic vote of no confidence. He has served as prime minister since 2014. The announcement of his resignation came as a surprise, as Lofven had previously indicated he wanted to lead the party in the next election campaign.…

Dominant Kaizer Chiefs were held to a 0-0 draw by hosts TS Galaxy in their Premiership opener at the Mbombela Stadium yesterday. Although Chiefs enjoyed the lion's share of possession, they could not convert their good fortune in a scrappy match in which shots on target were far and few between. TS Galaxy forced two corners in the opening 90 seconds after their attackers, making the most of loose marking, ran into spaces in the Chiefs defence. Nothing came of the set-pieces, as the kicks were easily cleared by Amakhosi’s rear-guard. In the opening minutes, Chiefs looked out of synch as a team for at least the opening 20 minutes. They were enjoying around 60% of possession, but seldom took play into the opposition half. Midway through the…

Siphelele Dludla Siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za The GOVERNMENT’S finances will be boosted further with a R65 billion ($4.16bn) injection as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) become effective today. Earlier this month, the IMF board of governors approved the general allocation of SDRs equivalent of $650bn, the largest IMF emergency currency creation in history, to tackle the Covid-19 global pandemic. The newly created SDR is the first tranche, since the $250bn that was issued soon after the global financial crisis in 2009. The SDR is meant to boost global liquidity and will be credited to IMF member countries in proportion to their existing quotas in the Fund. The IMF said the SDR allocation will benefit all members, address the long-term global need for reserves, build confidence, and foster the…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za THE crisis over the position of deputy mayor in eThekwini Municipality has deepened, with some ANC councillors refusing to attend council meetings chaired by the party’s deputy mayoral candidate. It is feared that more ANC councillors could fail to attend council meetings as many have “checked out” after losing in the party’s nomination process to return as councillors after the local government elections. Opposition parties told The Mercury yesterday that internal factional battles in the ANC caucus were threatening the municipality’s stability and its ability to deliver services to the city’s residents. They say these tensions played out again last week, leading to the collapse of committee meetings. On Thursday, ANC councillors failed to attend committee meetings chaired by councillor Diana Hoorzuk. They failed to attend…

DAVID LAWSON | St Lucia GERRY Nelson’s letter “Climate alarmists are spreading fear” (The Mercury, August 20) refers: Yes, the vast majority of actively publishing climate scientists – 97% – have been spreading fear for several decades. Unfortunately, humanity is not listening; ignorance and superstition prevail and we continue to breed, consume, pollute and wipe out other species without considering the terrible consequences. Despite intensive reaction by deniers – Flat-Earthers, Young-Earth Creationists, Anti-vaxxers and Q Anon specialists – there is overwhelming scientific evidence that humans are causing global warming/climate change just as there is evidence to support a round Earth orbiting the sun, theories of gravity, evolution and relativity. Most of the leading science organisations around the world have issued public statements expressing the fact that the greenhouse gases…

FAROUK ARAIE | Johannesburg THE aggressive Covid-19 fourth wave is sweeping through many parts of the world. We will witness the tentacles of the fourth wave between October and December, which will probably peak during the festive season. According to global media reports, a new strain riding the fourth wave is emerging in Asia. The virus that causes Covid-19 will probably keep changing. It is impossible to predict how those changes might affect what happens. But change is what viruses do. The new strain dubbed “Epsilon”, should be monitored by the World Health Organization, as it could spread to other countries. This strain was first detected in California, in 2020, and was reported to be more resistant to some vaccines. Currently we have gone through about eight variants…

OH DEAR, there was a certain fretfulness in The Pub With No Name last Saturday. What should have been a glorious blast-off to the campaign Down Under was a good enough game by the Boks against the Pumas, but everyone had heard of the Covid kybosh in Kiwiland and Oz, so what was the point of it? | GK Chesterton Will the championship be rescued? Will the Boks play the Aussies and the All Blacks in Queensland? Will they play somewhere in Europe? Will they play in Gauteng? Or will they play on a sandbank in Durban harbour? Who knows? Anything can happen these days. But at least the Currie Cup seems still on course (for the moment anyway). And, oh boy, did the Sharks not give the Lions a…

Sakhiseni Nxumalo sakhiseni.nxumalo@inl.co.za MURDER cases in KwaZulu-Natal increased by a staggering 64% between April and June this year, with 1 404 people killed during this period. The shocking statistics were revealed by Police Minister Bheki Cele when he released the recent crime statistics on Friday. According to the report, an additional 548 people were killed in comparison with the same period last year, in which 856 people were killed. Sexual offences and attempted murder cases also showed a sharp increase, by 68.2% and 71.8% respectively. About 6 258 cases of assault with the intent to inflict grievous bodily harm were reported, an increase of 59.1% and an addition of 2 324 cases compared to the same period last year. Between April and the end of June this year, there were…

Zelda Venter zelda.venter@inl.co.za THE Office of the State Attorney has demanded the return of assets seized from the Transport Department last week. It threatened legal action against Pretoria attorneys K Malao Incorporate if the assets were not returned. In a letter to the firm, the State attorney, represented by a Ms M Moloto, said the seizure of the assets was illegal. But attorney Kabelo Malao said he would not hand back the assets. The attachment of the state’s assets, including computers, were done lawfully, as the Road Accident Fund (RAF) owed his clients millions of rand, he said. “I am not giving anything back. Not even if they bring an urgent application for it to be returned. I will only react to a court order being issued. “No letter from…

ANC must be stopped from weakening Parliament, hence our intervention FROM the Constitutional Court to the Zondo Commission of Inquiry, Parliament has received enough lamentations on dropping the ball when it comes to accountability work. The duty to build a capable state involves the need for a strong Parliament as one of the important democratic institutions. In our constitutional architecture, the doctrine of separation of powers is valuable in its aspiration to foster accountability and constitutional supremacy. There are three arms of the state: the executive, legislature and judiciary. The judiciary’s independence is fairly entrenched and understood by all – even with the latest attacks levelled against the judiciary from some political quarters. The huge contention is on the independence of the legislature, given that ours is a parliamentary…

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia’s new prime minister has called on his colleagues to end a months-long political crisis and come together to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, in his first speech as the country’s fourth premier in as many years. Just days after the previous government collapsed amid political infighting, Ismail Sabri Yaakob, 61, ysterday said: “The political crisis is causing unrest. Let us stem this grab for political power.” Malaysia has been in political crisis for months amid growing public anger over the government’s handling of the pandemic. Thousands have lost their jobs as businesses nationwide were forced to close due to lockdowns.…

Hurricane Henri’s outer bands moved onshore in southern New England and Long Island early yesterday as the storm threatened the region with high winds, a dangerous storm surge and drenching rainfall. By 5am local time, Henri was located about 125km south-southeast of Montauk Point on Long Island in New York state, the US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said. It was carrying top sustained winds of 120km/h and heading north. Henri was expected to make landfall on Long Island or southern New England later yesterday, hitting land at or near hurricane strength, the centre said. More than 42 million people in the region were under a hurricane or tropical storm warning on Saturday. The centre warned that Henri could produce storm surges – when ocean waters are pushed above their…

LONDON: Daniel Craig, 53, has decided to stop playing James Bond due to injuries. The actor makes his fifth and final appearance as 007 in the delayed No Time To Die, and has now overtaken the late Sir Roger Moore’s record as the longest-serving Bond with 15 years in the tuxedo. Craig has been injured shooting stunt scenes on every Bond blockbuster since he first appeared in 2006’s Casino Royale – on which he lost two teeth – and it’s “time for somebody else to have a go now”. “I still do as many stunts as I can because I enjoy the physicality of it. But I’ve grown older and don’t bounce back as well as I did. I’ve hurt myself on every single Bond movie since I started,” he…

Alongside a grinding seven-year military conflict, Yemen’s government and the Huthi rebels are locked in battle on another front – a currency war that has opened up a gulf in riyal values. Both the government and the Iran-backed Huthis used the same notes until late 2019 when the rebels banned new banknotes printed in government-run Aden, due to concerns about inflation. The resulting difference in money supply has since seen the riyal’s value plummet to around 1,000 to the dollar in government areas, while the value in Huthi-controlled zones has held relatively stable at 600. Citizens and businesses in both government and rebel-controlled zones have been left out of pocket by the divergence, but especially those in the former, given rampant inflation there. This internal exchange rate has also complicated…

Last WEEK a friend of mine, an astute investor, pointed me to gold and silver price graphs and it is evident that both metals are at major points of resolve. His question was what major move lies ahead – up or down? As a mining analyst many moons ago and investment strategist and fund manager later on, I focused on supply and demand in forecasting metal prices, especially gold. Although I got a somewhat better idea than some economists whose numbers are just thumbsuck, I continued to be perplexed about the relationship between the supply/demand equation and the gold price in terms of US dollars. I experienced a lightbulb moment a few months ago when I discovered that gold was nothing else than a 10-year US Treasury Inflation-linked Security or…

Sakhiseni Nxumalo and Sihle Mavuso KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala and eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda have moved to allay fears amid rumours of another shutdown today. A poster, which has been shared widely, proclaimed there would be a national shutdown as well as a march through Durban today. Zikalala called for calm and said as far as the government was concerned, today would be a normal working day. “We call for calm as we are not aware of anyone who is authorised to carry out a shutdown of businesses tomorrow (today), or any other time. We advise employers and society, in general, to conduct their business as normal but exercise extra vigilance,” said Zikalala. He added that the rumours were being taken very seriously and law-enforcement agencies were fully prepared to…

DUNCAN DU BOIS | Bluff THE Mercury is to be commended for publishing Gerry Nelson’s letter (August 20) concerning climate alarmists’ agenda of fear. This is so because 460 news and media partners worldwide control the narrative that climate change is anthropogenic. Earlier this month Twitter signed an agreement with Associated Press and Reuters to manage the narrative on this subject to prevent “misinformation”. Bankrolling the narrative are billionaires George Soros and Bill Gates whose influence extends to an army of academics, scientists and institutions. Thus, the indictment that climate change is man-made enjoys “overwhelming consensus” while dissent is branded as “counterfactual”. But the core of the consensus narrative is false. Contrary to the claim that global warming has reached “unprecedented highs”, temperatures were actually higher 1 000…

GLEN CHRISTIE | Durban North THERE are some things that fail logic, and action by the ANC at times really confuses the minds of normal people. It also signals just how this cabal operates in protecting those involved in corruption. How can the ANC – its workings recently exposed by (Cyril) Ramaphosa at the Zondo Commission – move someone who was ineffective as a minister of defence to Speaker of the National Assembly when this woman is still under investigation for corruption? Is this the type of person the ANC is proud of? One would assume that the task team appointed by Parliament’s joint standing committee on defence is now going to slide this docket of investigation of corruption into oblivion. How can Ramaphosa allow the nomination of…

READERS told me my observations about teachers were appreciated and that they spread all over the teaching world. This is music to my ears. The thing about teachers is they end up living in your head, well, at least in mine. When I share something and offer the larger portion to whomever, it’s not my goodness you are witnessing. Mrs Davies (her family-owned the dairy) at Red Hill Primary taught me that. Mr Lendrum was my soccer coach at Northlands Primary. He was a quietly spoken very kind man who loved encouraging his teams. It’s over 50 years later and if I am watching an unkind coach I find myself saying: “We need a little more Brian Lendrum here.” Richard Morey at Northlands Boys’ High took an essay of mine…

ITUMELENG MAFISA and NHLANHLA MBATHA A 28-YEAR-old male nurse from a Joburg public clinic will appear in court today on charges related to the sale of fake Covid-19 negative certificates. It is alleged that the suspect, who works at the Parkhurst Clinic, sold the fake Covid-19 negative test certificates for R500 to people wishing to travel to other countries without conducting the test and taking blood samples. The city was trying to track all those who may have bought certificates from the suspect. It is understood that the health official had been working for the clinic for two years, having joined in July 2019. All that his patients had to do was send him an ID number and after a day or two they would receive a message…

Karen Singh karen.singh@inl.co.za THOUSANDS of homeless people are expected to receive the Covid-19 vaccine this week, as the roll-out kicks off today at the city’s safe open spaces. This according to Raymond Perrier, director of the Denis Hurley Centre (DHC). The sites include the Jewish Hall on August 23, the Strollers Building on August 24, the Denis Hurley Centre on August 25, and Block AK on Stamford Hill Road on August 26. Perrier said it was great that Safer Cities, which is part of eThekwini Municipality, and the Department of Health, were working together to ensure the homeless were vaccinated. “Unfortunately, at the moment, vaccinations are only available to people who have IDs or can remember their ID numbers, so they can be registered in the Electronic Vaccination Data System…

Zelda Venter zelda.venter@inl.co.za A PRETORIA man who is the complainant in a R1 million theft case had to turn to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, in a bid to ensure that the case against the alleged culprit is investigated and is ready for trial. Jacobus Kleinhans told Judge Elizabeth Kubushi that he had no alternative but to turn to the courts to enforce his rights as a citizen. The trial of the alleged thief was due to start in May this year. However, it had to be postponed as the prosecution was not ready to proceed. This followed the National Prosecuting Authority in December giving several instructions to the police to further investigate certain aspects of the case. The prosecution authority said it needed additional information in order to…

THE scourge of gender-based violence (GBV) and femicide remains a terror in the hearts and minds of South Africans despite promises to address policy and tighten the laws that protect women. The murder of 23-year-old Fort Hare law student Nosicelo Mtebeni, is just the latest horrific killing to take place as the country struggles to come to grips with these crimes. The Commission for Gender Equality says crimes against women at educational institutions is of particular concern. Commission chairperson Tamara Mathebula said the grim developments have darkened the meaning of Women’s Month and they view the continued killings of women as an act of confrontation to the law by GBV perpetrators. Mathebula said the commission spent three years assessing gender transformation and GBV at universities and colleges, and subsequently recommended…

JERUSALEM: A state inquiry into a stampede in April at a Jewish pilgrimage site that killed 45 people, among them US and Canadian citizens, began hearing testimonies yesterday to determine what led to Israel’s worst civilian disaster. Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews thronged the Galilee hillside tomb of second-century sage Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai on April 30 for the annual Lag B’Omer festival that includes all-night prayer, mystical songs and dance. During the ceremony, part of the crowd surged into a narrow tunnel and 45 men and boys were asphyxiated or trampled.…

The Taliban yesterday blamed the United States for the chaotic evacuation of tens of thousands of Afghans and foreigners from the capital, one week after the hardline Islamist group returned to power in a rapid victory that stunned the world. The US has warned of security threats and the European Union admitted it was “impossible” to evacuate everyone at risk from the Taliban, who have vowed a softer version of their brutal rule from 1996-2001. But terrified Afghans continue to try to flee, deepening a tragedy at Kabul airport where the US and its allies have been unable to cope with the huge numbers of people trying to get on evacuation flights. “America, with all its power and facilities... has failed to bring order to the airport. There is peace…

Haitian President Jovenel Moise began this year by warning that his country was a land of coups, conspiracy and murder. In the days before he was shot dead in a murky international plot last month, he was telling friends that enemies were out to get him. “He said a lot of people were spending a lot of money to murder him,” said a former Haitian senator and close friend of the late president, of a conversation with Moise the evening of his death. “I told him to stop thinking like that.” “He said: ‘This is reality’.” Revealing his final text messages with Moise, the politician, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of his safety, said Moise did not identify the plotters. The assassination decapitated a fragile government in a…