Table of contents for 2022-06-21 in Mercury

It’s been more than 20 years since the Yamoussoukro Decision was adopted, effectively committing 44 African countries to the deregulation of air services and the promotion of open skies. Since then, though, it’s been more of a case of a lot of talk and no action. During the recent International Air Transport Association (Iata) 78th AGM and World Air Transport Summit in Doha, Qatar, the first moves towards taking this agreement and turning it into something tangible were revealed at the African and Middle East briefing presented by regional vice-president AME Kamil Al-Awadhi. He said that last year he had visited Africa and held discussions with key strategic countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa to discuss, among other things, ways in which the Yamoussoukro Decision, which could provide…

Sick of swiping and tired of Tinder? Old-fashioned love letters may be the answer, says one Japanese city whose unusual matchmaking scheme has been a surprising success. Singles in southern Japan’s Miyazaki are being encouraged to put pen to paper in a low-tech search for their soulmate, as part of municipal efforts to boost the low birth rate. The charm of handwritten correspondence has attracted so many young residents that organisers have decided to expand the programme to people living farther afield. Compared to online dating, “it takes longer, and inspires you to imagine the person you’re in communication with”, said Rie Miyata, head of a local consulting firm commissioned to run the scheme. “It’s less about how good your penmanship is,” she said, “and more the fact that you…

There has been much consternation and disapproval both within the media and universally throughout the engineering profession, regarding the cancellation of some tender awards for major national roads projects by the Sanral board. This has led to major unnecessary costs for the industry players involved, but more so for road users, where excess road user costs as a result of the decision will amount to hundreds of millions of rand. Without discussing in depth the merits or otherwise of the new board requirements for road projects, let me summarise by saying that the RET requirements are unrealistic for the construction of major roads, complex interchanges and very large span bridges crossing large river gorges. The obvious question which arises is “On what reasoning has the decision been made?” As I…

Religious minorities in Asia are stealthily being ethnically cleansed, with the threat of genocide looming ahead as an unconcerned world looks on passively. Since the early decades of the 20th century, minorities have witnessed persecution and prosecution while the International Order remained mute and docile when war crimes and violations of the UN Charter were brazenly enacted. Whenever and wherever intolerance looms, and wherever there is impunity for unspeakable crimes, humanity must be on the lookout for the warning signs of approaching genocide. It is well known that the UN is not the repository of world power, which still resides with major powers that have their own political agendas. It is these selfish and gutless powers that have failed humanity over the past 50 years as genocide took place in…

Eight days ago, Gauteng boy, Khayalethu Magadla was out playing with friends when he slipped and fell down an uncovered manhole in Dlamini Park in Soweto. Last week, emergency teams turned to technology to search for the 6-year-old boy. It was reported that robots were being used to bolster the search. However, there is still no sign of Khayalethu. City of Joburg EMS spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi said they had since discovered four manholes along the pipeline that the child was believed to have fallen into. Mulaudzi said emergency services would continue to explore the area in the hope of finding the boy. He said a floating boat, fitted with an underwater camera and camera on the surface, would also be used in the search. “This will give us a 360-degree…

The Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) says its legal action challenging the minister of home affairs on the Cabinet’s decision to terminate the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) was triggered by the “unfairness” in the process followed by the authorities in Pretoria. “These individuals have been in South Africa lawfully for more than a decade. The permits have been renewed every three to four years, amounting to a decade. The position of the HSF is not that the Zimbabwe exemption permits should be renewed in perpetuity but the decision, when it came from the minister last year that these permits would be terminated, was with very little notice and no consultation with those who would bear the most prejudicial impact of the decision,” Nicole Fritz, chief executive of the Helen Suzman Foundation,…

The KwaDukuza Municipality and dwellers in a Salt Rock informal settlement are in a legal battle over the dwellers’ occupation of land the municipality says is earmarked for a housing project. While an eviction application brought by the municipality is still pending in court, the municipality had applied for an urgent court order to interdict the dwellers from connecting electricity illegally and from harassing, threatening or intimidating municipal staff. However the court ruled that the matter lacked urgency. Sipho Mkhize, KwaDukuza Municipality spokesperson, said the municipality approached the high court on an urgent basis because it was also reported that the illegal connections were causing power outages for those who have legal connections in their homes. Mkhize said the land occupied had been demarcated and earmarked for a housing project…

As the country celebrates Youth Month, the KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC addressed a number of issues plaguing young people, including teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV. Speaking at a three-day youth conference at the Impaphala area in Nkandla on Saturday, MEC Nomagugu Simelane urged young people to stay healthy, and ensure that the sacrifices made by young people during the Struggle were not made in vain. She said from recent statistics, 1 300 girls were infected with HIV every week in the country, while there were 18 550 reported births by girls aged 10 to 17 in KZN during the 2019/20 financial year alone. The MEC urged people to protect themselves from contracting HIV and said that it was important for those who were HIV positive to remain…

THE AU has declared 2022 as the year of “Strengthening Resilience in Nutrition and Food Security on the African Continent”, but realising this might be harder than anticipated due to climate change’s impact on the continent. Presently, the East African region is experiencing its worst drought spell in four decades, attributed to La Niña – a natural large-scale cooling of ocean surface temperature in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean – causing dry weather and high temperatures. The drought has eroded economic reserves, herd sizes, and human health – a major factor behind the alarming numbers of people without enough to eat daily. Yet, the region is one of the least responsible for the climate crisis, emitting collectively 0.1% of global carbon emissions. Estimates by Oxfam and Save…

Hundreds of people belonging to the Amhara ethnic group were killed by rebels in Ethiopia’s Oromia region over the weekend, survivors said yesterday, but the insurgents denied the claims, blaming government forces for the deaths. Fighting erupted on Saturday in Oromia’s Gimbi district between pro-government forces and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), a rebel group which is branded a terrorist organisation by the Ethiopian government. Amharas and Oromos make up the vast majority of Ethiopia’s 115 million people and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government has previously accused the OLA of ethnic massacres. Witnesses said the attack lasted several hours, with unclaimed bodies still lying on the streets. “I lost my 16-year-old daughter in the attack, shot by a bullet from the (OLA) gunmen,” an Amhara man said. Another man said…

Australia’s prime minister says he will engage “diplomatically” over the US prosecution of Julian Assange, but he is standing by earlier remarks questioning the purpose of further legal action. As domestic pressure mounted on him to intervene in the WikiLeaks founder’s case, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday took a swipe at “people who think that if you put things in capital letters on Twitter and put an exclamation mark, then that somehow makes it more important”. Assange’s wife Stella Assange said she understood the Albanese government was raising her husband’s case with US President Joe Biden’s administration. Assange’s legal saga began in 2010 after WikiLeaks published classified US documents about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has been held in a London jail since 2019 for jumping bail in…

Guwahati: At least 26 more people had died in monsoon flooding and lightning strikes in India, as millions remained marooned in the country and neighbouring Bangladesh, authorities said yesterday. Floods are a regular menace in India and Bangladesh, but experts say climate change is increasing their frequency and unpredictability for the two countries’ 1.6 billion people. India’s state of Assam continued to reel under severe flooding, with 5 140 villages submerged by surging waters. More than 100 000 villagers are taking refuge in relief shelters. Monsoon storms have also unleashed floods in Bangladesh that have left millions stranded and killed dozens so far. | AFP…

Chinese scientists have found signs of water in samples retrieved by China from a lava plain on the moon, bringing them closer to understanding its origin there – a crucial question for future lunar exploration. In a paper published in Nature Communications, the scientists said they had analysed remnants of solidified lava retrieved by an uncrewed Chinese mission from the plain known as the “Ocean of Storms” and found evidence of water in the form of hydroxyl encased in a crystalline mineral known as apatite. Hydroxyl, comprising a single hydrogen atom and an oxygen atom versus two hydrogen to one oxygen in a water molecule, was also found in samples retrieved by Nasa decades ago. It was widely held that most of the water on the moon was the result…

I read somewhere that the comment “doing the same thing over and over will continue to attract the same result” is attributed to Einstein. Whether or not he said it is immaterial, but it could apply to our Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula. By now the whole country knows that he (along with Minister of Police Bheki Cele) loves pontificating at every opportunity, be it over our destroyed railway system, the carnage on the roads or the challenges of the road freight industry. Which is why I am completely puzzled that the Road Freight Association (RFA) chose Mbalula to give the key address at their recent convention in Ballito. He would have enjoyed the bowing and scraping that industry players would have exhibited publicly, meanwhile behind closed doors but under…

THERE we wuz a-waiting. We were at the Hebron Haven in the Midlands, near Lion’s River, for a slap-up lunch. The place was jammed with hearty folk from a polo tournament not far off; also with Father’s Day celebrants. But where the heck were Honky-tonk Honk and his delightful lady? They couldn’t be lost – they were at the same place only last week. ’Twas alarming. It put me in mind of the occasion of Tom Brown’s Detour. But, eventually, a bit of scouting discovered Honk and his lady waiting for us in another part of the same establishment, wondering where the dickens we were. Panic over. A delightful, if belated, lunch lay ahead. It brought back memories. Many years ago, I would bring my family to Hebron Haven. They…

TAXPAYERS have coughed up a whopping R80.6 million for the day-to-day maintenance of 130 ministerial houses in Cape Town and Pretoria, over the past three years. Now, Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille has instructed acting director-general Alec Moemi to do an assessment of whether the department has received value for money for the services rendered. “I have requested the acting director-general to do an assessment of the past three financial years to establish whether the department received value for money,” De Lille said. The maintenance work done at the houses included plumbing, electrical, mechanical, civil and building works. DA MP Samantha Graham wrote to De Lille enquiring about the monthly costs for the facilities’ management for ministerial residences. Graham also wanted to know whether facilities’ management companies…

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has finally proposed to make it a binding policy that all schools built from mud, asbestos, metal and wood be replaced. The Department of Basic Education (DBE) recently published proposed amendments to the minimum norms and standards for public school infrastructure. The comment period closed earlier this month. In addition to poor structures, the document detailed that norms and standards going forward should entail that all public schools should have water and electricity. They should also have enough classrooms to accommodate all enrolled learners and adequate perimeter fencing. Motshekga, or any successive minister, will monitor the implementation of the new norms and standards, the document said. “Each provincial Department of Education must annually … provide the Minister with detailed reports on plans and progress on…

THE criminal trial of former crime intelligence boss Richard Mdluli and his two co-accused has been 11 years in the making – and there is still no clarity on when it will start. To add salt to the wounds, Mdluli now wants to review the decision of the SAPS not to pay for his defence. The prosecution yesterday asked the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, to put its foot down and order that the trial start even if Mdluli is still fighting for the SAPS to fund his legal fees. Prosecutor Arno Rossouw asked Judge Papi Mosopa to postpone the matter to September 20 for a pretrial conference. He also asked that the judge then set a trial date. Mdluli, Heine Barnard and Solomon Lazarus are facing numerous charges of fraud,…

THE multi-disciplinary Economic Infrastructure Task Teams (EITTs), which have been established to tackle infrastructure-related crimes, need to act fast to deal with and eliminate the growing problem of cable theft in the country. Municipalities countrywide are battling to deal with cable theft, which is having a devastating impact on the economy. Big municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Town and Johannesburg are losing millions of rand annually due to this crime. For example, eThekwini has incurred more than R800 million in losses, the metro’s mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda, recently revealed. He acknowledged that the amount could be far higher, as the calculations did not factor in the impact of power outages resulting from the theft. While community members can play a crucial role in helping the police to arrest the culprits, it is…

French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist camp scrambled yesterday to seek support from parliamentary rivals to salvage some of his reform agenda and avoid political paralysis, after voters punished them in a legislative election. While Macron’s “Ensemble” grouping secured the largest number of lawmakers in the 577-seat National Assembly, it fell well short of an absolute majority in a vote on Sunday that saw a left-wing alliance and the far-right perform very strongly. “It’s going to be complicated,” government spokesperson Olivia Gregoire told France Inter radio. “We’re going to have to be creative. What I fear most is that this country be blocked.” One key question is whether Macron will try to strike a coalition deal with the conservative Les Republicains, who have for now rejected that option, or enter into…

MANILA: Philippines’ President-elect Ferdinand Marcos awarded himself the post of agriculture minister yesterday, citing the urgent need to address challenges in the sector and boost production to prevent food shortages and price increases. Ramping up agricultural production in a country known for being one of the world’s biggest importers of rice would be among his priorities, Marcos said. It is unusual for a Philippines president to hold a post in their own cabinet. Marcos, who will be sworn in on June 30, warned of a food shortage that will push prices higher, driven by “outside forces”. | Reuters…

SAO PAULO: The boat used by killed British journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian indigenous expert Bruno Pereira to travel Brazil’s Amazon had been found, authorities said. The speedboat was submerged about 20m deep in the Itacoai River in the Amazon rainforest in northern Brazil with the help of six sandbags, authorities said. They said they were led to the site of the boat’s sinking by the latest suspect in the killings, Jeferson da Silva Lima, who surrendered himself to police. Police have identified five more suspects for the murders. Phillips was doing research for a book on the trip with Pereira. Shock at their fate has echoed around the world. | Reuters…

FORMER Proteas fast bowler Dale Steyn has backed Temba Bavuma to lead South Africa at the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year. Bavuma was excellent during last year’s T20 World Cup where the Proteas came within a whisker of reaching the semi-finals, while they are also unbeaten in five successive series, including winning 13 of their last 16 T20 internationals. After shuffling Bavuma around the batting line-up in the United Arab Emirates, the Proteas committed to opening the innings with the captain in the drawn series with India. It unfortunately did not yield the expected results with Bavuma managing just 61 runs at an average of 20.33. Even more alarmingly his strike-rate of 103.38 saw the Proteas fail to take advantage of the powerplay overs. Steyn,…

Experts have warned consumers to be prepared for another interest rate hike at the next Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting taking place in July. The news follows the announcement by the US Federal Reserve Bank that the interest rate in that country would be increased by 75 basis points to a range of 1.5% – 1.75%, a hike not seen in almost 30 years. Experts have cited inflation and the crisis in Ukraine as reasons for the US interest rate hike and expect the South African Reserve Bank to follow suit. Professor Irrshad Kaseeram, of the University of Zululand’s Economics Department, said that the inflation rate had got out of control in America, and with lower economic growth, it was a serious problem. “It was necessary and 75 basis points…

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa could face fresh pressure, if, as expected, he reshuffles his Cabinet in October, in line with recommendations in part six of Chief Justice Raymond Zondo’s State Capture Inquiry report. Ramaphosa could at that stage very well be facing charges after former spy boss Arthur Fraser’s affidavit to police which alleges that the president did not report the theft of “large undisclosed sums of foreign currency in the form of US dollars concealed in his furniture at his Phala Phala residence”. Fraser has also alleged that Ramaphosa tried to cover up the February 2020 crime using state resources. ANC insiders say any reshuffle would see scrutiny placed on how Ramaphosa deals with ANC chairperson and Mineral and Energy Affairs Minister Gwede Mantashe and Deputy Minister of State Security…

Sadly, the youth in Zimbabwe are at higher risk of mental health problems, including depression, personality disorders, suicidal thoughts, attempted suicide and suicide. Many young people in Zimbabwe are dying due to drug abuse, poverty and unemployment. Half of Zimbabwe's population, around eight million people, live in extreme poverty. We have lots of talented youth in Zimbabwe, but all that talent is going to waste due to drug abuse. Children as young as 14 and going to school, are taking drugs. Doing drugs is a way of healing the pain and stress of being unproductive at school. Teachers have resigned because they are not earning enough. It’s frustrating as most young people spend their time on bridges smoking drugs because there are are no jobs in the country. KUDZAI CHIKOWORE…

EVER since George Stephenson invented the first locomotive, the Rocket, rail transport, has grown phenomenally. All over the world, trains play a crucial role in transporting people and goods. There’s not a country in the world without a rail network. They can be found connecting towns and villages in some of the most mountainous and difficult terrains on Earth. Gone are the days of the old steam trains, puffing and chugging along, belching out black, ugly smoke. Now trains are fast, efficient and reliable and can whisk you from one place to another in a matter of minutes. First World countries see trains as symbols of progress in the modern world. In the urban jungles of the world, trains are the answer to streets choking with traffic, congestion and pollution.…

Go counter. Do the unexpected. Engage in paradox. Be playful. Allow your actions and responses to familiar circumstances, repeated challenges, to take your family and all who know you, by surprise. Do this even in small ways, and, even if you annoy people who are close to you, you will probably discover new strengths, strengths you didn't know you had. Going counter unlocks possibilities and joy even if at first it confuses and annoys others. It may even return laughter to you and to your family. So, forgive when you formerly would have held on to resentments. Be generous and share when you would formerly have held on to resources. Be kind when you would have formerly offered a cold shoulder. I’d suggest in doing the unexpected you will discover…

Unisa is due to host the institution’s first batch of physical graduations since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. The university recently announced that this year the ceremonies would take place at its campuses from June 27 to August 5. The first ceremonies will take place in Polokwane on June 27 and 28, followed by ceremonies at Muckleneuk campus, Pretoria, from July 1 to 8. The third series of ceremonies is planned for Cape Town from July 11 to 13, and Durban from July 18 to 22. July 27 and 28 is reserved for East London graduations. The last graduations will be held in Durban again from August 1 to 5. Despite the university announcing its intentions to host its first live graduation in March this year, it was forced…

SOUTH Africa is still pushing ahead with its plans to donate humanitarian aid and health items to Cuba. This emerged when International Relations and Co-operation Minister Naledi Pandor was responding to parliamentary questions from DA leader John Steenhuisen. In April, President Cyril Ramaphosa said South Africa would donate humanitarian aid and health items – not money – to Cuba after a request for humanitarian assistance. This prompted Steenhuisen to ask Pandor the details of the humanitarian aid and health items to be donated; the names of companies contracted to provide the aid to Cuba and whether steps will be taken to ensure the companies would not pay kickbacks to any persons or political organisations for access to the contracts. In her written response, Pandor said amid food shortages Cuba had…

ETHEKWINI Municipality deputy mayor Philani Mavundla says the city should, in light of the slow progress to resettle people displaced by the floods, brace itself for protest action. He said the progress to build temporary housing structures for the thousands who were displaced was slow and leading to frustration building up among angry residents stuck in shelters. MEC for Human Settlements in KwaZulu-Natal Jomo Sibiya said the department was working hard across the province to relocate people from halls and shelters to temporary residential units, and had taken over some tasks which were supposed to be implemented by municipalities, in order to fast-track the process. Mavundla said about 70 of these temporary structures had been completed in eThekwini, but close to 4 000 structures were needed. Two weeks ago, nearly…

Gun violence and the killing of teachers has got out of hand AS SOUTH Africans watched yet another series of deadly school shootings unfold on the Cape Flats, Rustenburg, Gqeberha, Newlands West and elsewhere in the country, we were again left to reflect on what to point the finger at for a seemingly unstoppable problem. At the same time, President Cyril Ramaphosa welcomed the World Bank’s approval of a loan of about R7.6 billion to help South Africa fund Covid-19 vaccine purchases as he braced the country for a possible winter surge of cases, leaving us all pondering what we could do to put an end to this horrible pandemic. It seems that we, as a nation, are uniquely hopeless at attending to things that end in “-emic”, be…

Moscow’s blockade of Ukrainian grain exports and a rail transit row sparked fresh tensions between Russia and the EU yesterday, as Kyiv warned that Russian troops were intensifying their battle for control of eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Russia of holding Africa “hostage” by blocking wheat deliveries, which has spurred food shortages and fears of famines in vulnerable areas. Nearly four months after Russia launched its bloody invasion, Zelenskiy said Ukraine was headed into a “fateful” week with EU leaders set to discuss Kyiv’s bid to become a candidate for bloc membership on Thursday and Friday. Zelenskiy warned to expect heavier fighting in the days to come in strategic areas in eastern Ukraine already under relentless Russian bombardment. Ukraine said Russian troops appeared to be making small gains,…

AN International Monetary Fund (IMF) team began bailout talks in Sri Lanka yesterday, with police called to escort a top government official to the negotiations after protesters angry about the economic crisis blockaded the finance ministry. Economic mismanagement and the Covid-19 pandemic have left Sri Lanka battling its worst financial problems in seven decades, and a lack of foreign exchange has stalled imports of essentials including fuel, food and medicines. The nation of 22 million people is scrambling to get fuel shipments in the next three days, the energy minister said, as public disaffection grows because of a persistent shortage of diesel and petrol. He asked consumers not to queue for petrol for the next three days to conserve supplies. Sri Lanka suspended payment on $12 billion of foreign debt…

LONDON: Prince William evoked his late mother Princess Diana’s work for charity as he described as “eye-opening”, his stint selling copies on a London street of a magazine that helps to combat homelessness, saying he was committed to highlighting the problem. William, second in line to the British throne, was seen in early June standing on a Westminster Street as a vendor for the Big Issue, which is sold by homeless people in Britain as a way of earning money. “I was 11 when I first visited a homeless shelter with my mother, who in her own inimitable style was determined to shine a light on an overlooked, misunderstood problem,” William wrote in the magazine’s latest issue. Charity Crisis estimated that 227 000 British households experienced homelessness last year.…

HARARE: Zimbabwean health workers went on strike yesterday after rejecting a 100% wage hike offer last week, pressing their demand for payment in US dollars as the local currency slumps. Zimbabwe’s main nurses’ union urged the government to negotiate and warned that lives would be lost if the dispute was not resolved quickly. The government and health workers are at an impasse after inflation jumped to 131.7% in May, a grim echo of the hyperinflation that wiped out people’s savings a decade ago. Government workers rejected the below-inflation 100% wage hike offer last week. | Reuters…