Table of contents for 2022-01-17 in Mercury

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za THE BLACK Business Council (BBC) has called for the consultancy Bain & Co to be blacklisted from further government contracts for its role in furthering state capture. This is in contrast to Business leadership South Africa’s (BLSA)’s stance last week, where its chief executive Busisiwe Mavuso defended keeping the US management consultancy Bain & Co as a member, saying the firm is not “inherently corrupt”. Meanwhile, Business Unity South Africa (Busa) chief executive Cas Coovadia said on Friday that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) should investigate all institutions and individuals that the Zondo report had recommended be investigated. “The NPA must then prosecute in instances where it finds a prima facie case that pertains. Busa has also expressed a willingness to support the NPA in urgently investigating…

Mwangi Githahu mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za A PIETERMARITZBURG family, whose daughter was killed in 2005, say they finally have closure after two Western Cape High Court judges last week upheld her killer’s 15-year sentence. The sentence, which was handed down in 2016 and has now been confirmed, marks South Africa’s historic first successful private prosecution for murder. The family’s ordeal dates back to June 28, 2005, when their daughter, 27-year-old Rochelle Naidoo, was shot dead by her boyfriend, Faizel Hendricks. The two were the only people in Naidoo’s rented Cape Town flat when she was shot in the mouth. Hendricks told police Naidoo had taken her own life. She had grabbed his firearm, forced it down her throat and shot herself. Her parents did not believe the story. The trial was transferred to…

The next “giant leap” for humans may be a trip to Mars, but having enough oxygen-carrying red blood cells for the journey might present a challenge. Even space tourists lining up for short trips might have to stay home if they are at risk for anaemia, or red blood cell deficiency, researchers said. Astronauts are known to experience “space anaemia” but until now it was thought to be temporary. One Nasa study called it “a 15-day ailment”. Doctors attributed it to destruction of red blood cells, or haemolysis, resulting from fluid shifts as astronauts’ bodies accommodated to weightlessness and again as they re-accommodated to gravity. Dr Guy Trudel of the University of Ottawa, who led a study of 14 astronauts, said: “In space, you are destroying more blood cells than…

BENNY MOODLEY | Durban NOMUSA Dube-Ncube, long-standing PEC (provincial executive committee) member of the ANC and MEC for several terms, has thrown her name into the hat to take over the leadership of the party in KwaZulu-Natal. Those that support her bid do so because of her experience. Dube has occupied government and party leadership positions since 1994. It is disturbing that ANC members are blinded by the fact that these same leaders presided over the destruction of the party. Why do ANC leaders think they can rule till they die? Where is the new leadership? The ANC is on its way out and will soon lose its stronghold in the provincial and national legislatures, and rely on the support of unscrupulous smaller parties in order to cling…

NARENDH GANESH | Durban North EVERY so often, our national discourse is punctuated by players who, given the circumstances, emerge as the carriers of the democratic flag, while challenging the status quo. Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, who directed critique at our judiciary for having done little or nothing for the victims of colonialism, incurred the wrath of Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo. Sisulu, as I recall, never voiced vehemence or outrage at the corruption and thuggery of the pathetic bureaucracy that she represents – that is to say an inept ANC, which took over governance from the colonialists, but could not scale the heights of the lame promises it made to the people when it took control of the people’s purse. In fact, her silence, like countless others’…

Personalised smart guns, which can be fired only by verified users, may finally become available to US consumers after two decades of questions about reliability and concerns they will usher in a new wave of government regulation. LodeStar Works has unveiled its 9mm smart handgun and a Kansas company, SmartGunz LLC, says law enforcement agents are beta testing its product, a similar but simpler model. Both companies hope to have a product commercially available this year. LodeStar co-founder Gareth Glaser said he was inspired after hearing one too many stories about children shot while playing with an unattended gun. Smart guns could stop such tragedies by using technology to authenticate a user’s identity and disable the gun should anyone else try to fire it. They could also reduce suicides, render…

BALDWIN NDABA and Mayibongwe Maqhina One South Africa Movement leader Mmusi Maimane has cast doubt on Parliament’s ability to meet the Constitutional Court’s deadline to amend the Electoral Act to allow independent candidates to become MPs. In June 2020, the Conourt handed down a ruling in which it ordered Parliament to amend the act, which currently allows only political parties to contest parliamentary seats. The apex court gave Parliament a period of two years, which ends in June, to effect the amendments to allow independent candidates to contest seats in Parliament and provincial legislatures. At the weekend, Maimane expressed concern that the Department of Home Affairs had made a presentation on two electoral options to Parliament last year, despite the Concourt having given it ample time to address the matter.…

Yasmine Jacobs yasmine.jacobs@inl.co.za THE Moti family has denied securing an interdict to prevent the police from speaking to their sons and confirmed that they have relocated to Dubai. In a statement released yesterday, the Moti family asked South Africans to understand why they had been silent. “Since our four sons were returned to us, we have been living in fear of reprisal, which could be caused by speaking out and drawing any further attention to ourselves. “Our boys came home to us, but have not yet been able to live freely and without fear. We have been forced to make difficult decisions to ensure their safety and well-being, despite the recent and sudden backlash. “We have not issued an interdict against the police. The media reports about the interdict is…

Yogashen Pillay yogashen.pillay@inl.co.za OPPOSITION parties have raised concern that the Ray Nkonyeni Municipality on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast is still without leadership, including a mayor and deputy mayor. The municipality only has elected a speaker since the local government elections last November. DA KZN leader Francois Rodgers said yesterday that he had written to Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Sipho Hlomuka to convene an urgent meeting regarding the municipality. He said despite the council having held three meetings, a mayor and deputy mayor had yet to be elected. “At this stage, only a speaker has been elected, meaning that there is only one person holding an executive position in the municipality. Following the local government elections, the council was due to have met on November 16 to elect…

THE National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa) inability or lack of willpower in addressing the financing of long-standing corruption at Eskom continues to hurt South Africans in their pockets. Eskom continues to be a drain on the fiscus, years after the first signs of corruption were exposed, and it remains the greatest inhibitor to economic growth and the largest obstacle to investment. As long as Eskom continues to flounder, the country’s record-high unemployment figures will continue to rise. It is this vicious cycle that has confounded those trying to find solutions to the woes at the power utility. Last year, the utility asked Nersa for a 15% increase, and this year it wants a 20% increase. If Eskom is granted this increase, then by April this year consumers will…

TRIPOLI: Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush called for international co-operation against illegal migration in the country. Mangoush made her remarks during a visit to an illegal migrants’ reception centre in the capital Tripoli at weekend, as part of the government’s efforts to provide assistance for illegal migrants. “The minister said that the illegal migration issue costs Libya great economic and security resources, adding that this issue requires serious international co-operation in order to control illegal migration and protect the humanitarian and health rights of the migrants,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.…

New Zealand yesterday pledged to provide support for Tonga following a volcanic eruption that sent tsunami waves crashing onto the Pacific Island. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told reporters that her government has made an initial sum of $340 000 (R5.2 million) available to provide assistance to Tonga. The tsunami had a significant impact on part of the foreshore of Tonga, with boats and large boulders washed ashore and shops along the coast damaged, said Ardern. There has been no official report of injuries or deaths yet. However, communications were interrupted. The main undersea communications cable has been impacted, said Ardern. “Damage assessments are under way and New Zealand has formally offered to provide assistance to Tonga. A New Zealand Defence Force P3 Orion is on stand-by to provide aerial surveillance…

MANILA: Deposed Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi is “indispensable” in restoring democracy to the military-ruled country and must be included in any peace talks, regardless of her conviction, the Philippines’ foreign minister said yesterday. In a strong rebuke of the Myanmar junta that overthrew Suu Kyi’s elected government last year, Teodoro Locsin condemned last week’s sentencing of the Nobel laureate and accused the military of using the judicial system to crush its opponents. Locsin said he would “adopt” verbatim the remarks of Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt in demanding the junta free political prisoners, halt violence and respect human rights. “I am deeply concerned about the suffering of the civilian population,” Locsin said in a statement. “We also call on the military leadership to participate in an inclusive dialogue…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za ANTI NUCLEAR activists have expressed concern that Eskom will cut corners on its R49 billion maintenance programme to extend the life of the Koeberg nuclear power station by some 20 years. Eskom confirmed that after more than 450 days of uninterrupted operation, Unit 2 of the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station will today be taken offline for a regular refuelling and maintenance outage, that is scheduled to last for five months. This will be the 25th refuelling outage on Unit 2 since commissioning and will also see the replacement of the unit’s three steam generators. The reactor pressure vessel head, which houses the nuclear fuel while the station is in operation, will also be replaced. “There are several components that Eskom has confirmed it will not work…

Corrie Kruger SOME YEARS ago, a senior broker at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), informed me that his company had very strict moral and ethical rules of engagement with clients, however, if the client did not like them … they had others too. From the revelations made at the Zondo commission, could it be that one of South Africa’s big five banking institutions, Nedbank, have a similar philosophy? Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, chairperson of the commission, in his report into state capture, states: “The support of the people of South Africa has kept all of us going in the commission.” Having witnessed the hearing over a period, and having a full realisation of the consequences of the theft from the poor that State capture engendered, the people of…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za GOVERNMENT departments are among the biggest defaulters, contributing the lion’s share to the spiralling eThekwini Municipality’s debt crisis. They owe the metro more than R1 billion for rates and services. This is according to a report on municipal debt for the period between July and September 2021. It shows that the total government debt equates to R1 097 523 097, of which R106.3m is for the national government. However, a government official has criticised this and other similar reports, saying they were misleading because they had been simplified and did not reveal the extent of what was owed, and why it was owed. Officials said some debts were listed not because the department was late in paying, but because there were questions about the debt. The municipality…

DAVID CARTWRIGHT | Hillcrest I DON’T believe I’m alone in a well-founded belief that it’s way past time for Duncan du Bois to pipe down. In The Mercury (January 14), he babbles on ad nauseam about the “non-approval of vaccines” being invalid in the Australian authorities’ treatment of “Novax” Djokovic’s so-called non-compliance. So what? Mr Du Bois, just who are you, to pontificate to the authorities of a sovereign state about their policies, rules and protocols vis-a-vis immigration procedures? So wind your neck in, just for once!…

ROSS STRACHAN | DA Msunduzi caucus leader I WRITE in response to the letter by Mr Venolin Govender (The Mercury, January 14) where he is accusing DA councillors of not doing their job during a crisis in Msunduzi. This is rather surprising as Mr Govender has been working hand-in-hand with DA councillors in the northern areas, who have been working tirelessly, assisting communities during a crisis after the elections last year. Govender is very much aware that it was the DA councillors on the ground during the crisis. We all camped outside the substation with our residents to show support. We updated regularly when the municipality failed to do so. He was also around when Msunduzi mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla was attending an ANC event instead of being on…

THE fingerprints, handprints, voiceprints and footprints of really good friends: Friends are gentle and kind. They are people who listen to you without judgement or assumption. They respect and honour you just as you respect and honour them when the tables are turned. Friends are generous and kind. They often intuitively know exactly what you need, be it a good laugh, a welcoming shoulder for support or tears. You have learnt to hear each other even if no one is talking. Similarly, you are so in tune with your friends, you can usually hear what they are saying and not saying. You can read between the lines, and yet you are careful to not jump to easy conclusions. Your good friends will go the extra mile with you and for…

South Africa will start production of a Covid-19 vaccine in the third quarter of this year, and the first clinical trial is set to start in November. This is according to the Biovac Institute and its partners, which said they would immediately commence technical transfer activities, that includes on-site development and equipment installation activities. Biovac CEO Dr Morena Makhoana said the company would obtain drug substances from facilities in Europe, and manufacturing of finished doses would commence this year. At full operational capacity, the annual Covid-19 vaccine production would exceed 100 million finished doses annually. All doses would exclusively be distributed within the 55 member states that make up the AU. “We are thrilled to collaborate with Pfizer and BioNTech to produce and distribute the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine within Africa.…

A 20-year-old woman who allegedly orchestrated a hit on her parents and siblings – who were killed in their home in December 2016 – will undergo psychiatric evaluation. Onthatile Sebati and alleged hitmen Kagiso Mokone, 23, and Tumelo Mokone, 23, appeared in the Brits Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. Their case was postponed to tomorrow. North Gauteng regional spokesperson for the director of public prosecutions Lumka Mahanjana said the accused had applied for bail. “The three accused face schedule 6 offences, however, they asked the court to be released on R1 000 bail each.” A Social Development department report recommended Sebati be sent for psychiatric assessment, she said. The accused were remanded in custody. The trio face four counts of murder, and robbery. Onthatile, then aged 16, allegedly hired hitmen to…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za KEY infrastructure, including roads and stormwater drains, has been damaged by the persistent rains and the cost of the damage in uMngeni Municipality has been estimated at around R272 million. The figure could rise when the damage to people’s homes is calculated. UMngeni mayor Chris Pappas revealed that his office had written to the provincial government requesting assistance. He said roads had been “washed away” and poor maintenance was causing key flood infrastructure to fail. Aid to the storm victims was a source of political conflict last week between Pappas and MEC for Human Settlements Jomo Sibiya. Sibiya was accused of snubbing Pappas when he toured the areas in Howick that had been affected by storms. It was alleged that by not informing Pappas about the visit,…

THE Department of Correctional Services said one of its officials and a private citizen were arrested after they were caught attempting to smuggle drugs into Westville prison. Department spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said a vehicle with two occupants was stopped by patrolling officials after 1am on Saturday while trying to enter the Westville facility. Nxumalo said one of the occupants fled. He said the driver of the vehicle was apprehended. The man identified his accomplice as a Department of Correctional Services (DCS) official, he said. Nxumalo said that when the vehicle was searched, a cellphone, charger, three parcels of dagga, 924 white and blue capsules of whoonga and 50 white round tablets were found. “At around 7.50am, DCS officials were alerted to screams for help inside the stormwater drainage at the…

SPARE a thought for the world’s 1.9 billion children aged from 0 to 14, who currently make up 25.5% of the total global population of 7.92 billion, according to UN data. Spare a thought, too, for South Africa’s 16.32 million children aged from 0 to 24, who constituted 27.2% of its 60.14 million population in mid-2021. New evidence suggests the pandemic divide is not only confined to vaccine inequality and access. It is also showing an emerging divide in levels and trends in child mortality between high income and middle and low-income countries. Three years after Nelson Mandela became president of democratic South Africa in 1994, he acknowledged that the future of the new republic depended on the country’s children. Fast forward to the onset of…

LONDON: The British Conservative Party chairman has rejected calls for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to resign but said he must address the culture within his government that resulted in multiple staff gatherings at his Downing Street residence during coronavirus lockdowns. Johnson has apologised for socialising amid a public backlash at the perception that the government did not follow its own rules during the pandemic. An internal investigation is under way. “We need to find out the facts and then the Prime Minister needs to respond and address the culture in Downing Street,” Conservative Party Chairman Oliver Dowden said.…

Computer systems of several Ukrainian government agencies and non-profit organisations have been infected with malware disguised as ransomware, Microsoft said. “Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) has identified evidence of a destructive malware operation in Ukraine. This malware first appeared on victim systems in Ukraine on January 13,” it said. The malware was supposed to resemble a hijacking program but did not have a ransom recovery mechanism. Instead of securing a ransom, the program was designed to incapacitate target devices, the company said. “Given the scale of the intrusions, MSTIC is not able to assess the intent of the identified destructive actions,” the company said, urging all organisations to “immediately build up their defences. On Friday, Ukraine said several government agencies were down and claimed Russia was behind the hacking…

US law enforcement rescued a rabbi and others being held hostage by a man armed with a gun and explosives inside a Colleyville, Texas, synagogue on Saturday. The hours-long standoff in the suburb of FortWorth and Dallas, which ended with the suspect confirmed dead and all hostages “out alive and safe”, sent shockwaves through the local community and rippled far beyond the US. “The synagogue hostages are out and alive. I’m crying tears of joy,” tweeted Hen Mazzig, a senior fellow at the Tel Aviv Institute, a non-profit dedicated to research and tackling anti-semitic hate speech online. Being Jewish and alive shouldn’t be a miracle. But it is.” Mazzig, who is Israeli, said he was at home in Britain when he first heard of the attack late Saturday. “I felt…

Loyiso Sidimba loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za TOURISM Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has hit back at her Cabinet colleague Ronald Lamola for questioning her critique of the country’s Constitution and judges. Lamola, Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, in an opinion piece published on Friday, said while it may be an opportune moment to further debate our constitutional democracy, “we should be unequivocal about what passes as debate and what does not”. “Attacking the very institution that is to uphold the Constitution goes against the grain of everything that we wanted to change from before 1994,” Lamola said. In response Sisulu said the debates concerning the efficacy, practicality, and functionalities of the Constitution as measurable in its service to the majority had been raging in intellectual circles and public discussions for some time. She said…

DUNCAN DU BOIS | Bluff BY ITS handling of Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic’s visa status, the Australian government has managed to eclipse the international scorn which the Vorster government’s apartheid policies reaped for its handling of a visa for top Japanese jockey, Sueo Masuzawa, in February 1970. The Vorster government initially refused to grant Masuzawa a visa to enable him to ride in races at the Scottsville and Germiston turf clubs. But after appeals were made by trade organisations and the racing clubs, the government promptly relented and granted Masuzawa a visa. However, the Japanese racing authority rejected the visa and Masuzawa himself said he would never go to South Africa, even if he was invited again. Whereas the apartheid narrative displayed a degree of ideological flexibility on…

MALCOLM MITCHELL | Hillcrest WHEN the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) and Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) system were first conceived in about 1996, it was an attempt by the then director-general of the Department of Transport, Ketso Gordhan, to arrest the shocking road safety record in South Africa. The “system” in its totality was based on Australian practice. At the time, Australia was one of the leading countries in the world in addressing road traffic carnage. The system, as conceived, embraced a National Road Traffic Force which would in a unified approach address our poor traffic record through inter alia a “driver demerit” system. Appropriate legislation, including the necessary constitutional changes was to be introduced. Unfortunately, at that stage “provincial egos” appeared to take precedence…

Hey, good lookin’, What ya got cookin’? What ya got a-cookin’ up for me? YOU just never know your luck. This Chinese gal in Zengzhou went on a blind date. The date invited her to his home to sample his cooking. Then, according to Agence France Presse, the place went into a sudden and unexpected lockdown because of a Covid-19 surge. She had to stay shacked up at the date’s pad for a full four days. That’s pretty good going on a blind date. We’re not told if and to what extent romance blossomed. But the gal – her name is given only as Wang (we’re also not told the date’s name) – put her experience on Chinese social media, where it went viral. “Besides the fact that he’s as…

Local businessman Lubabalo Nojiwa has taken online shopping up a notch by developing an app that will allow you to buy petrol without even having to get into your car. Launched in October last year, the Fula App has teamed up with Caltex, BP and Engen so users can buy petrol, diesel, engine oil, brake fluid and other products online. For now, the service is available to Gauteng users, but the developers are working on expanding it to other provinces. Gauteng residents can search for their closest filling station, add in the type and quantity of fuel they need, input their card details for payment and the fuel will be delivered to their door. There is also an option for self-pickup. Speaking to eNCA, Nojiwa said the app had about…

Se-Anne Rall se-anne.koopman@inl.co.za Police are searching for four prisoners who who made a dash for freedom during a daring escape in Gauteng on Friday. SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili said on Saturday that two of the prisoners, Zimbabwean national Nkululeko Nkomo and South African Robert Hlatshwayo, were arrested in Olivenhoutbosch. Gauteng provincial police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Elias Mawela commended the swift apprehension of the two fugitives. “The task team established immediately after the escape of six prisoners’ en route to Vosloorus court in Boksburg, has been working around the clock to ensure that the six are recaptured. Yesterday evening (Friday), the team made a breakthrough when they rearrested Nkomo and Hlatshwayo in Pretoria, Olivenhoutbosch, at a filing station. A third suspect was also arrested and he will be charged with…

Zama Ngcoya zama.ngcoya@inl.co.za THE KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Neliswa Peggy Nkonyeni, has called on police to act swiftly in their investigations of the shooting incidents in Inanda and Richmond, in which 14 people died. Both incidents happened on Friday. Nkonyeni expressed her condolences to the families of the deceased. According to police reports, it is alleged that at 2.30pm, a vehicle with three occupants arrived at a tuck shop in Amaoti, Inanda, and opened fire on a group of men sitting behind it. Six men, aged between 17 and 26 years old, were killed in the attack. In the Richmond incident, police received a call from the community about gunshots at eSigcakeni, in Richmond. Police discovered that eight people were killed and two injured during the…

As we grapple with hunger and food insecurity, there is much to learn from China IN LATE December 2021, Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a keynote address at the two-day Annual Central Rural Work Conference. The areas of agriculture and rural development in the People’s Republic of China are fundamentally important in terms of policy. What has been the experience of China in advancing rural revitalisation and consolidation of agricultural outputs? Which lessons can possibly be imparted by this country to South Africa as it grapples, seemingly unendingly, with the “historical injustice” of land deprivation and food insecurity? President Xi is on record, in April 2021, as declaring boldly that “food security is an important foundation for national security”. Linking the two is included in China’s 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025),…

BLANTYRE: Former Malawi President Peter Mutharika rejected claims that a man whom Leader of Opposition Kondwani Nankhumwa visited yesterday is his (the former president’s) brother. On Friday Nankhumwa visited a man identified as Kalani Thom Mutharika who claims to be the former president’s relative. Social media reports indicate that the man is struggling financially and Nankhumwa gave him basic necessities and promised to build a house for him in Chiradzulu. But Mutharika has said he and his clan are dismayed over the claims.…

WASHINGTON: Worker shortages caused by the omicron coronavirus variant and haggling over a new dockworkers contract are likely to aggravate costly supply chain jams over the next several months, clouding prospects for quick relief from the highest inflation in four decades. The White House says the worst supply snarls may be in the past, noting that key Southern California ports are shrinking their cargo backlogs and transpacific shipping costs have plunged by more than one-third from their mid-September peak. But the cost of sending a standard metal container from China to the US West Coast remains more than three times what it was one year ago and is expected to remain elevated through the first half of the year, fueling painful annual inflation readings, according to the Freightos index and…

LAS VEGAS: Celine Dion has cancelled the North American leg of her Courage world tour. The 53-year-old singer, who is reportedly suffering from “severe and persistent muscle spasms”, was due to tour the states in support of her 12th English-language studio album from April last year but pulled the plug as she continues to recover from her health issues. In a statement on her website, she said: “I was really hoping that I’d be good to go by now, but I suppose I just have to be more patient and follow the regimen that my doctors are prescribing.…

Bangladesh police said yesterday they had arrested the brother of a notorious insurgent leader whose organisation has been blamed for murders and drug trafficking in sprawling Rohingya refugee camps. The country is home to around 850 000 members of the stateless Muslim minority, who live in patchwork and overcrowded settlements after fleeing systemic discrimination and violence in neighbouring Myanmar. The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army militant group has been accused of assassinating political opponents, running narcotics and instilling a climate of fear in the camps. Mohammad Shah Ali, arrested late Saturday by the elite Armed Police Battalion, is the half-brother of Arsa’s infamous leader Ataullah Abu Ammar Jununi. He was caught in a camp near the coastal city of Cox’s Bazar with “arms and drugs,” the battalion said. Commanding officer Naimul…