Table of contents for 2021-12-23 in Mercury

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za SANLAM’S share price rose by 1.03 percent to R57.96 a share yesterday after it announced talks with German insurer Allianz SE about a deal that could potentially see the local assurance and financial services group exiting its African businesses. Sanlam said it was exploring “various strategic alternatives” with Allianz, Europe’s leading insurer, in relation to their respective African business units. Allianz is a leading global corporate insurance carrier providing risk consultancy, property-casualty insurance solutions and alternative risk transfer for a wide spectrum of commercial, corporate and speciality risks across 10 dedicated lines of business. It has a small operation in Africa, including in countries such as Nigeria and Senegal. Although Sanlam did not go into details, the deal will exclude Sanlam’s home operations in South Africa.…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za MAS, THROUGH its subsidiaries, is selling its hotel property and adjacent public square in Edinburgh, Scotland, which is likely to result in proceeds of about €27 million (R482m), the company said yesterday. The purchaser is Pandox Thistle, a special purpose vehicle held by Pandox AB, a leading owner of hotel properties in Northern Europe, with a focus on sizeable hotels in leisure and corporate destinations. MAS, which is some 6.47 percent held by Attacq and 7.9 percent by the Government Employees Pension Fund, has a strategy of disposing of Western European property and redeploying capital to investments in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), which it believes is now more attractive. The transaction is a result of this strategy. In a pre-close statement prior to…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za PIETERMARITZBURG residents who have suffered financial losses as a result of the power failure in the city for the past few days, can claim for them from the municipality. Municipal officials said yesterday that those wanting to claim should make sure their grounds were legitimate. “Don’t expect us to honour your claim if you have not bought electricity for the past three months,” municipal manager Madoda Khathide said. Khathide and mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla held a media briefing at the City Hall yesterday to update the city’s residents on the work being done to restore power. The power outages are as a result of a storm on December 15 which led to a substation fire. By yesterday, thousands of residents were yet to be reconnected to the grid…

My dad, EWG Smith, loved Christmas. If you lived north of the Umgeni River and drove on North Coast Road to Blackburn Road or came the other way and used Broadway and then Northway to get to Blackburn Road, then you probably knew my dad, and he probably knew you. Enie ran his grocery shop by that name – EWG Smith General Dealer – from 6am to 9pm for decades. Those letters sat above the building to the left of the Dutch Reformed church – if you were going up the hill. They announced that you’d arrived at a place of grace, sometimes curmudgeon grace, often impatient grace (if there is such a thing) but almost always kind, generous, amazing grace. Dad taught me – most unintentionally, I am sure…

ALEX RICE | La Lucia Yes, people are dying, and health services are at times overwhelmed. The question of mandatory vaccination is ridiculous, though. There is a far bigger issue at stake, such as where is the line between personal choice as to what goes into your body compared to what the government says? If the government was trying to block freedom of speech or the press, there would be a huge outcry. This topic is just as important, and people deserve the fundamental right to choose whether they want to be vaccinated. Despite the deaths, if you are healthy and younger than 60, you have a 99.99% chance of surviving Covid-19. This is not a figure I have pulled out of thin air but from the statistics…

Dr THABISI HOEANE | Pretoria IT is seriously disturbing, very sad and a pitiful shame that the notion that judges are being used by politicians – especially presidents – to pursue political interests has increasingly taken root in society and appears well on its way to be an accepted truth/reality. One can understand when those who are aggrieved by judicial decisions and their sympathisers become emotional and resort to this kind of reaction. This is because it is human and natural that when things go against anybody personally in life, they may feel hurt, feel unfairly treated and so on. But when the narrative is purveyed by media analysts and political commentators – people who are supposed to be logical and professional when they inform and engage society…

Donning orange bibs, a group of women fan across a Johannesburg township notorious for crime, knocking on doors and stopping anyone they come across on the streets, including teenagers returning from school. They are called gender-based violence brigades and their mission is herculean: to confront the country’s plague of femicide and violence against women and children. The cases are gruesome, and the numbers are dizzying. A law student was murdered, her body chopped into pieces and stuffed into a suitcase. Another university student was raped, bludgeoned to death with an industrial weighing scale inside a post office. An eight-month pregnant woman was hanged from a tree. “We can’t just ignore what we (see) until justice takes its course,” said Juliet Ngonyama, 52, her orange bib hanging from her shoulders. Orange…

​The iSimangaliso Wetland Park Authority said yesterday that it had been shocked by the arrest of two of its officials on allegations of corruption and extortion. In a statement, the park authority said it wanted to clarify some of the information that had been released by the police. The police, in a statement released to the media on Tuesday, had said that three iSimangaliso officials had been arrested, but iSimangaliso said only two of the accused were employed by it. It also said that the amount in connection with the incident was​ R600 000. The police had reported that the amount involved was R100 million. In addition, while the police had stated that the accused faced charges including theft, fraud and racketeering, iSimangaliso said according to information from the charge…

After listening to all sides on why former president Jacob Zuma and the Department of Correctional Services should be allowed to go to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) to try to set aside his earlier ruling that nullified Zuma’s medical parole, Judge Keoagile Matojane of the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria shattered part of the popular and growing myth that judges have become a law unto themselves. Very attentive during the hearing, and giving all sides enough time to argue their points, Judge Matojane later said that it would be a good move to grant the leave to appeal application as another court may look at Zuma’s age and other points raised and rule differently. According to Judge Matojane, the appeal had a realistic chance of succeeding as…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za ANGLO American plc yesterday re- ported a drop in rough diamond sales from De Beers ahead of the Christmas break for southern African polishing factories. De Beers is the world’s biggest diamond producer by volume and is 85 percent owned by globally diversified mining house, Anglo. De Beers expects sales value of rough diamonds for the tenth sales cycle of 2021 sold between December 6 to December 21, 2021, to dip to $332 million (about R5.25 billion) down from $438m in the ninth sales cycle of 2021 and $452m recorded in the tenth sales cycle a year ago. De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver said: “Rough diamond demand and midstream sentiment continued to be positive in the final sales cycle of 2021, although as anticipated we…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za THE SPAR GROUP has set the basic salary of new chief executive Brett Botten at R7.5 million compared with the R8.6m received by predecessor Graham O’Connor, who retired in March this year, according to the group’s integrated 2021 annual report published yesterday. O’Connor moved on to become the board’s non-executive chairperson, following the retirement of Mike Hankinson, who has chaired Spar South Africa since 2004. The group said in determining Botten’s salary package, the remuneration committee considered O’Connor’s salary, the market trends and Botten’s experience. Before taking the reins as chief executive in March 2021, Botten was managing director of the Spar South Rand division from 2010. He joined the company in 1994. Botten, who is a member of the Spar Guild of Southern Africa,…

Mayibongwe Maqhina mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za The Minister of Police, General Bheki Cele, says there has been an increased demand for police clearance certificates, putting a strain on the SAPS’s turnaround time. “The increase has been influenced by different legislative imperatives and expectations, from employers to potential employees. “Noticeably, there is high demand which is influenced by increased applications for expungement of criminal records, employment seekers, sex offenders register clearances and international travel,” Cele said. He revealed this when responding in writing to parliamentary questions posed by DA MP Andrew Whitfield. Whitfield asked about the targeted and current turnaround times for the issuing of police clearance certificates in the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 financial years. He also enquired about the total number of certificates issued and not issued within the targeted turnaround time, as…

MORE from the tornado-stricken regions of America. Katie Posten walked outside last Saturday morning to her car parked in her driveway, in New Albany, Indiana. She saw something stuck to the windscreen, according to Huffington Post. It was a black-and-white photo of a woman in a striped sundress and headscarf holding a little boy in her lap. On the back was written: “Gertie Swatzel & JD Swatzel 1942”. A few hours later, Katie would discover that the photo had made quite a journey – about 200km – on the back of monstrous winds. She figured it must be debris from someone’s damaged home, so she posted an image of the photo on Facebook and Twitter and asked for help in finding its owners. A lot of people shared it…

GLEN CHRISTIE | Durban North The article on the “Democracy in Action” request to the state capture commission about the handing over of the full report to the president on January 1 makes a lot of sense. Why would the chairperson, who at times seemed to be shocked by some of the evidence exposed during the commission’s hearings, want to hand over a detailed report on state capture and corruption of those involved to an individual who has been implicated in it and was also privy to the goings-on at the time? This, in itself, does not make much sense. This report, I am sure, will be a massive disclosure of the degree of involvement of prominent ANC ministers and ex-ministers and ANC- affiliated people who have looted…

Zelda Venter zelda.venter@inl.co.za A former assistant director at the Department of Home Affairs, who comes from the Congo, has once again failed in his legal bid to be regarded as a South African citizen, after the department revoked his citizenship as it was, among others, found that his marriage to a South African woman was a sham. The manner in which Mahinga Mbemba obtained South African citizenship, and his employment by the department, had been under investigation by Home Affairs since 2007. The department claimed that his certificate of naturalisation was fraudulently obtained on the basis of a marriage that was not above board, and that he had concealed other facts. The Gauteng High Court, Pretoria earlier ruled in Mbemba’s favour and found that Home Affairs had unfairly revoked his…

| Mercury Correspodent AN international team of astronomers led by professors Gyula Józsa, Michelle Cluver and Thomas Jarrett from the Department of Astronomy at UCT) have discovered a mysterious chain of hydrogen gas clouds, the size of a massive galaxy. And this is all thanks to the South African MeerKAT telescope, helping spot the accumulation of a lot of elemental hydrogen without associated stellar components – the largest yet discovered. Appearing at the edge of a relatively massive group of galaxies, there is the possibility that the cloud chain is gas stripped from group-member galaxies, but it may also be primordial and gravitationally drawn into the group through a cosmic, filament pathway. UCT said in a statement that MeerKAT was proving to be a ground- breaking telescope, and many…

Zelda Venter zelda.venter@inl.co.za A MAN who got tired of his partner and wanted to evict her from his home got more than he had bargained for after the court ruled that as he was married to her, he could only kick her out of the house if he offered her alternative accommodation – the same as that to which she is now accustomed. The High Court sitting in Johannesburg turned down the man’s eviction application and found that he was married to the woman by customary law as per the provisions of the Recognition of Customary Marriages Act. The parties are not identified, as it’s a marriage dispute. The court had harsh words for the man, who claimed the woman had moved in with him as they were still “developing”…

Repurposing employment and labour activation programmes to fight unemployment The latest figures by Statistics South Africa show that the unemployment rate is continuously climbing, leaving a trail of misery and shattered dreams in its wake. The uptick from 34.4% to 34.9% in the third quarter of 2021, with young people particularly hardest hit, with figures climbing to 66.5% from 64.40%, is a serious cause for concern. In simple words, almost half of the economically active population do not have jobs. It is an untenable situation that enjoins all of us – government, the private sector and educational institutions – to come together and find lasting solutions. We can ill-afford a recurrence of the deadly and costly unrest that occurred in July this year. The next episode may prove to be…

Badhoevedorp: Dutch prosecutors have called for life in prison for four suspects on trial in absentia who are accused of downing Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 with a surface-to-air missile, killing 298 people. The ill-fated flight heading for Kuala Lumpur took off from Amsterdam’s Schipol airport in July 2014, and prosecutors this week launched closing arguments in the closely watched trial. A verdict is not expected until late next year, at the earliest. The four suspects on trial are Russian nationals Igor Girkin, Sergei Dubinsky and Oleg Pulatov, and Ukrainian citizen Leonid Kharchenko, who are accused of launching the BUK missile that hit the plane over war-torn eastern Ukraine. “We are asking that the suspects Girkin, Dubinsky, Pulatov and Kharchenko, each for their responsibility of crashing a plane leading to the…

In one of the most well-preserved dinosaur embryos ever found, a baby dinosaur curled its back and tucked its head in a position that is similar to birds before they hatch, a discovery that scientists say could shed new light on how dinosaurs developed in their early stages. A peer-reviewed article, published on Tuesday by iScience, said the dinosaur had its head placed between its legs and under its body, with its back bent along the eggshell. The research team said this position, previously not found in any non-avian dinosaurs, is comparable to pre-tucking in a bird embryo like that of a chicken. Tucking their heads under their wings in the days before hatching can stabilise and give them a better chance of surviving the birthing process, the paper said,…

ALEX TEDDER THERE are clear risks to global equities next year, especially since valuations are relatively extended, particularly in the US, and pricing power will be key from an investment perspective. Supply chain disruption should di- minish in most industries in 2022 The significant disruption to supply chains in 2021, largely linked to Covid-19-related capacity shutdowns and transportation bottlenecks, is likely to diminish as we move into 2022. Supply chain backlogs historically adjust rapidly after periods of stress, as the market responds to higher demand and re-builds inventory. We see no reason to assume this won’t be the case in 2022, and indeed freight shipping rates have started to fall. Global shipping indices signal easing supply pressures However, energy prices are likely to remain elevated. The economic recovery…

Nomonde Zondi nomonde.zondi@inl.co.za TRANSPORT Minister Fikile Mbalula said the country recorded a big spike in road crashes with multiple fatalities from the start of the festive season, which has resulted in 17 crashes this year compared with seven over the same period last year. The number of fatalities from major crashes between December 1 to 20 has also increased, from 34 last year to 111 this year. Addressing the media yesterday, when he released the 2021 preliminary festive season road statistics, Mbalula said some motorists did not value life. “One death on the road is one too many. We are concerned about the high number of major crashes where five or more people perish in a single incident.” On the road accident statistics for the year to date, Mbalula said…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za POLITICAL parties in eThekwini Municipality have spoken out about the type of new city manager needed to lead the province’s only metro, saying the person must be a principled individual who will not bow to political demands. Opposition parties were sharing their views after the municipality advertised the post. They said they had seen first-hand the negative outcomes when city officials were dominated by politicians. The post is for a five-year term. The term of the previous incumbent, Sipho Nzuza, ended abruptly after he was charged in connection with a tender corruption case related to the awarding of work to contractors for a 2016 Durban Solid Waste tender. Nzuza, along with former mayor Zandile Gumede, councillors and several city officials were arrested and appeared in court after…

Sales of a red wine that shares its name with the Cumbre Vieja volcano on Spain’s La Palma have soared since the eruption began three months ago, providing an unexpected windfall for the Bodegas Teneguia vineyard. “Since the volcano hit, the name Cumbre Vieja has been all over the news ... and that’s given a serious boom to sales,” said head winemaker Carlos Lozano. “In fact we’re totally sold out.” A blend of seven different grapes, Cumbre Vieja – named for the spiny volcanic ridge that extends from the centre of the island to its southernmost point – was created in 2019 and bottled last February for sale to restaurants. It sold slowly at first, with around half the 10 000 bottles going to customers in the Canary Islands until…

KUDZAI CHIKOWORE | London It is sad to note that Zimbabwean migrants are scattered across the globe from South Africa, Egypt and Canada to Australia, the UK, US and the Bahamas. In every corner or inch of the globe, you are likely to bump into a Zimbabwean migrant. The mass movement of Zimbabweans from their beloved home country has mainly hinged on poor leadership, corruption, misgovernance and instabilities in economic spheres. Today there is nothing in Zimbabwe which shows that Zimbabwe is a prosperous country. Extreme poverty and unemployment are both endemic in Zimbabwe, driven by the shrinking economy and hyper-inflation. Widespread poverty and violence, including government violence to stifle political opposition, have massively diluted investor confidence. Countries with the biggest diaspora populations include South Africa, the UK,…

| Mercury Correspondent The spirit of ubuntu thrives in South Africa, as a recent study found most South Africans are still willing to give. The research, conducted by the Charity Aids Foundation South Africa (Cafsa) as part of its annual giving index, has shown most South Africans are willing to give to those in need. Cafsa CEO Gill Bates said: “The findings of this dedicated South Africa Giving 2021 research clearly indicate that our fellow citizens’ willingness to assist others in need has not diminished. “In spite of the hardships incurred during the various lockdown levels, South Africans continued to give what they could during this period.” The report showed that the majority of people reported undertaking at least one of charitable activity; but levels of activity are down…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za THE national government has to deploy seasoned experts that will implement an “intense” turnaround plan to fix some of the embattled municipalities in the province that continue to struggle despite being under administration for years. That is the view of members of the Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) portfolio committee in the province who said experts coming from outside are the last hope for some of the municipalities. They spoke to The Mercury about what other avenues were available to fix municipalities like Msunduzi, which is struggling to function despite being under administration. They said there were not many steps to right a struggling municipality. The available remedies included placing the municipality under administration, deploying experts from the national government or, as a last resort, dissolving…

Loyiso Sidimba loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za NATIONAL Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi has frozen more than R3.2 million held in bank accounts of a man accused of stealing over R8.2m in Lotto winnings. Qongani Moyo is accused of stealing the millions from a Zimbabwean national, in the country illegally, who struck the jackpot but could not claim without proper documentation. According to papers filed at the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg, Emmanuel Mundiya played and won the national lottery in November 2019 and won over R8.2m. As a foreign national, Mundiya did not have a South African bank account to receive the funds and requested his friend, Moyo, to receive and deposit the winnings in his bank account. The agreement was that Moyo would ask Standard Bank, his acount holder,…

Over the past few weeks, informal chats with colleagues at the year-end retreats I attended have been dominated by anecdotal comments about municipal staff members who abused the regulations regarding the participation of municipal staff members in elections under the Municipal Systems Act that allow them to retain their jobs while contesting elections. According to my back-of-the- envelope analysis, about 248 municipal staff members contested in the last local government elections and spent considerable time on election campaigns in the period from August to October. Such is the time dedicated to these roles that it could be argued that being municipal staff members was their second job, or in some instances, the third or fourth. To its credit, Parliament made efforts back in 2011 to give effect to the constitutional…

The EU and Britain have agreed post-Brexit quotas for shared fish stocks, overcoming disagreement that simmered against a separate UK-France feud over fishing boat licences. “We have an agreement with Britain on fishing opportunities for 2022,” EU fishing commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius tweeted yesterday. The deal, struck on Tuesday, “covers all shared and jointly managed fisheries in EU-British waters and is based on (the) best available scientific advice,” he said. Just last week, Sinkevicius had said that no agreement had been reached with Britain “despite our best efforts” and therefore the EU was forced to provisionally apply catch limits based on 2021 hauls in shared waters. It was Britain’s first post-Brexit fishing deal with the EU since most of the bloc’s rules ceased to apply to it in January this year.…