Table of contents for 2022-07-08 in Mercury

THE ANC Youth League (ANCYL) in eThekwini Region has called for the immediate axing of Eskom chief executive Andre de Ruyter and the entire board, accusing them of collapsing the power utility. The call was made during a media briefing at the league’s offices in Durban yesterday. As the country continues to experience rolling blackouts, disrupting activity across different sectors, Youth League regional secretary Thulisa Ndlela said it was time that action was taken against the Eskom boss and board. The league said the Eskom leadership had been given plenty of time to demonstrate their capabilities in turning the fortunes of the power utility around. “De Ruyter and the board have done a successful job in collapsing Eskom, causing massive damage to business and households in the process, and we…

Slowly, surely, and with delight I have discovered the joy of acquiring original South African art. I have four works of William Onker (Western Cape) and one Pieter van Heerden (Meyerton, Gauteng). While I have purchased five Mariki van Rensburg (Mbombela, Mpumalanga) originals, only one is placed in my home. The other four were playfully and securely seized by two professional colleagues who saw their beauty. Those beauties are hanging and are admired in their homes. Having discovered these artists on the internet, I made connections with each person and I am impressed with the efficiency and service. It takes five to seven days for a painting to reach my home in the US. I have a question for those familiar with the drive between Durban and Johannesburg or those…

The challenge from Action Society's Ian Cameron to Police Minister Bheki Cele in Cape Town refers. Many of us have watched Cameron’s frustrated but elegant, impassioned and respectful speech to the minister. Few could disagree with his views or his motives. But most of us must surely view the response, from the minister and his SAPS members, as inappropriate, ugly and irresponsible. Being told to “shut up” by the minister is bad enough, but to be roughed up, threatened and frog-marched out of the building by the very SAPS members Cameron was seeking to defend is beyond the pale. No wonder Cameron has had to resort to our courts for protection. This is what the man, long known as The Stuffed Hat, orders his SAPS jackboots to do when a…

DESPITE the proven fact that temperatures have not increased since 1960, zero evidence that carbon dioxide has ever influenced climate change, the green lobby’s frenetic insistence that only “renewable” energy sources can save the planet is the new pandemic called madness. Two articles in The Mercury of July 7 reflect this. One has President Cyril Ramaphosa commenting on his Climate Commission’s report that zero emissions are both an environmental and an economic imperative. The other article has an attorney at the Centre for Environmental Rights routinely ignoring the realities about energy production in a country like South Africa while proclaiming renewable energy sources as the obvious panacea. Citing the rising cost of fossil fuels as proof of the need for renewables has no merit. The current high fuel prices are…

THE City of Tshwane has vowed to recoup a whopping R88.4 million paid to 627 general workers who drew monthly salaries for 12 months despite having been allocated no work. The workers were hired by the city to assist at the waste management department on a fixed 12-month contract between November 2019 and October 2020. This week The Mercury’s sister paper, Pretoria News, reported that millions of rand spent on workers was flagged by Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke in the latest Municipal Finance Management Act report for 2020/2021. The payments were characterised as material irregularities, and the report explained that workers had been taken on board without any work being allocated to them. City spokesperson Selby Bokaba said an investigation into the questionable transactions was initiated in November last year, and…

THE Giving Hope Foundation will be launched next week and to commemorate Nelson Mandela’s birthday it will honour humanitarian Dr Imtiaz Sooliman. Sooliman, the founder of the Gift of the Givers, a non-governmental organisation and disaster relief group, will receive a peace award at the Riverside Hotel next Wednesday. Roy Sukdhev, the co-founder of the foundation, said: “Our newly formed foundation, which is based in Phoenix, saw it fit to recognise Dr Sooliman for his noble humanitarian efforts for victims of disasters and pandemics throughout the world.” | Mercury Correspondent…

IN July last year the Upper Highway community was not spared from the destruction caused by the civil unrest and looting. Pine Crest in Pinetown and Watercrest Mall in Waterfall, outer west Durban, suffered greatly with many stores looted and vandalised. Watercrest Mall spokesperson Liz Roux said a year on, they find themselves filled with gratitude. They are thankful to the community patrols who selflessly protected the community and families during the riots. “We were proud of our brave and resilient tenants as they started cleaning and clearing their stores as soon as it was safe to do so. Checkers and their dedicated staff went above and beyond to ensure they were open again just four days later, to provide much- needed groceries to our community during the shortage. “We…

Two suspects who dressed in police uniform as they broke into an alleged loan shark’s house in East London and kidnapped two people have been arrested by the Hawks. More arrests are expected soon, the Hawks said. Hawks spokesperson Captain Yolisa Mgolodela said the Eastern Cape Kidnapping Task Team, headed by the East London Serious Organised Crime Investigation team of the Hawks, apprehended the suspects, aged 35 and 37, on charges of house robbery, kidnapping and hijacking on Wednesday. It’s been alleged that three suspects broke into the house of an alleged loan shark and robbed her of 98 bank cards, cash to the value of R22 000, and stole her vehicle. The suspects then kidnapped her two brothers, while she managed to escape. The vehicle and two brothers were…

Boris Johnson resigned yesterday as leader of Britain’s Conservative party, paving the way for the selection of a new prime minister after dozens of ministers quit his government over 48 hours of frenzied political drama. “It is clearly the will of the parliamentary Conservative party that there should be a new leader of that party, and therefore a new prime minister,” Johnson said outside 10 Downing Street. The timetable for a Tory leadership race will be announced next week, he said, after three tumultuous years in office defined by Brexit, the Covid pandemic and non-stop controversy over his reputation for mendacity. Johnson, 58, said he would stay on as prime minister until a replacement is found. He had fought hard against a cabinet revolt and said he was “sad to…

Fresh clashes between M23 rebels and soldiers erupted in eastern Democratic Republic Congo (DRC) yesterday, officials said, as the militia declared that it was not bound by a ceasefire agreement. M23 spokesperson Willy Ngomasaid that the deal brokered between the Congolese and Rwandan presidents in Angola this week was irrelevant. “If there’s a ceasefire, it can only be between us and the Congolese government,” he said. Talks between the DRC’s leader Felix Tshisekedi and Rwanda’s Paul Kagame in Angola initially raised the prospect of a ceasefire between the M23 and the Congolese government. Violence between the mostly Congolese Tutsi rebels and the DRC’s army has flared in recent weeks. The DRC has accused Rwanda of backing the M23, a charge the small central African country has always denied. The M23’s…

Sydney: The UN Security Council has failed in its response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said yesterday describing Moscow’s role as “morally bankrupt”. Ardern, who has long argued against the Security Council veto powers held by the five permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia and the US, reiterated her call for reform of the body. The UN’s “failure” in Ukraine was caused by Russia’s position with a veto in the Security Council, she said. Russia had used its place on the council to take a “morally bankrupt position in the wake of a morally bankrupt and illegal war”, she said. “We must reform the UN so that we don’t have to rely on individual countries imposing their own autonomous sanctions. Russia must be held…

BATON ROUGE: A new study on the global impact of a nuclear war has concluded that any conflict would plunge the world into darkness and wipe out much of the world’s sea life. Researchers at Louisiana State University ran multiple computer simulations to assess the impact of nuclear conflicts on the oceans. They found that in all scenarios, firestorms would release soot and smoke into the atmosphere, blocking out the sun and forcing temperatures to fall by an average -10.5°C in the first month. Sea ice would expand blocking major ports. Changes to Arctic sea ice would likely last thousands of years, describing the event as a “nuclear little ice age”. | Washington Post…

THE sixth month has come and gone and now it’s downhill to 2023 … The fishing has been pretty good across all facets with the sardines adding some flare to the reports. A lost art in the modern fisherman’s arsenal is the art of sharpening your own hooks. With the addition of chemically sharpened hooks and modern materials, it has not been necessary. However, getting that Kendal Round to a sharp point with a file or hone is something which gives one great satisfaction. It is always important to have a sharp hook in all facets, from carp to marlin. A blunt hook will not set as deep or strongly into the fish’s jaw and can result in lost catches. The offshore fishing has been very good this past week.…

IN A twist of events, acting Public Protector (PP) Kholeka Gcaleka has denied claims that she is biased towards President Cyril Ramaphosa, saying her office will fund suspended Public Protector Busi Mkhwebane’s legal challenges. This followed allegations on social media accusing Gcaleka of being biased against Mkhwebane after she decided to withdraw her office’s support for the suspended public protector’s application for leave to challenge her suspension. Through her spokesperson, Oupa Segalwe, Gcaleka stated in a media statement that the PP’s office would fund Mkhwebane’s ongoing court challenge against her suspension by Ramaphosa. Segalwe said: “The leadership of the Public Protector South Africa (PPSA) has, in the best interests of the institution and the public it serves, taken a decision to withdraw the institution’s participation in all pending litigation instituted…

As we approach the anniversary of one of our darkest days in the short history of a new-found democracy, what has changed since July last year? This month will bring back sad memories for more than 300 families whose loved ones perished in an uncalled-for mayhem when all hell broke loose, when madness and insanity reigned, when lawlessness and thuggery became the driving force and when the government sat and watched while the country burnt. July 2021, like other tragic times in South Africa, will be remembered, not for the cold nights of the winter month, but for our fellow citizens transforming into greedy opportunists and wreaking havoc that was instigated by political power-mongers who put party before country. The visuals of the looting and destruction to property, as screened…

IT’S the Westminster Follies. At time of writing, 50 of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s cabinet – or MPs holding other senior positions in government – had resigned as he is engulfed in one scandal after the other. The resignations include his Chancellor of the Exchequer (ie, minister of finance) and other hitherto steadfastly loyal colleagues. In response, Johnson has fired cabinet minister Michael Gove, who apparently led a deputation telling him it was time he stepped down for the good of party and country. And in this, Gove himself sets up a new record, having now been fired three times as a cabinet minister by different prime ministers. You couldn’t make it up. It presented Leader of the Opposition Sir Keir Starmer with the opportunity for a quote of…

MEMBERS of non-profit organisation Equal Education (EE) will today protest at the Department of Basic Education (DBE) in Pretoria against the changes Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga wants to make to the school infrastructure law. Yesterday, EE Gauteng members picketed at the DBE offices in Pretoria against the “drastic and unacceptable” changes that Motshekga wants to make to the Norms and Standards for Public School Infrastructure. The minister signed the Norms and Standards into law in 2013. “Never before did South Africa have a law saying what basic infrastructure a school must have, and by when it must be provided. We went to court in 2018 to get Minister Motshekga to fix gaps in the law, not to water it down!” the organisation said. The EE said the scariest change…

KWAZULU-NATAL business owners, who saw their businesses go up in smoke during the July unrest are still trying to come to terms with their losses a year after the chaos that gripped the province. Two Pietermaritzburg entrepreneurs have spoken of their anguish after seeing their hard work destroyed during the mayhem last year. Busi Nodada, the owner of Lady Love Design, a fashion shop at the Greater Edendale Mall, said it was still hard to come to terms with what happened to her business last year. She recalled that she had started operating at the mall in February 2019 and started seeing the impact of trading at a big shopping centre. “When I arrived in February that year, I was using somebody’s office, and later in the year got my…

ECO-JUSTICE organisation The Green Connection said they would continue to oppose government’s “worrying offshore oil and gas aspirations” and have called on TotalEnergies Exploration & Production South Africa (Teepsa) to withdraw their Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) application for exploration well drilling off the West Coast. The organisation, on behalf of coastal communities affected by exploration well drilling, said they are against plans to pursue more offshore oil and gas because of the threats to the ocean, their livelihoods and way of life. The Green Connection said they had made comments on the Draft Scoping Report (DSR), as part of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment process being undertaken in respect of an application for authorisation to undertake exploration well drilling in Block 5/6/7 off the West Coast of South Africa.…

The South African Satanic Church has wished co-founder Riaan Swiegelaar well on his future endeavours. Swiegelaar announced his resignation from the organisation on June 29. It confirmed Swiegelaar’s resignation. Swiegelaar said in May, he had been interviewed on a Cape Town radio station, where he proclaimed that he did not believe in the existence of Jesus Christ. He said that after the interview, a staffer from the radio station walked up to him and hugged him in a way that he had never been hugged before. Swiegelaar said later, he had to perform a ritual to see “how to get more power and influence”, and Jesus appeared to him. “I said, if you are Jesus, you need to prove it. And he flooded me with the most beautiful love and…

Land should be in people’s hands, not colonised or allotted according to spatial planning MINISTER Lindiwe Sisulu became the first South African minister to be invited to address the House of Lords. This address took place last week at the invitation of the Parliamentary Committee on South Africa in Britain. The lords acknowledged the historic nature of the moment. The meeting took place at the end of last month, a month now also stained by the tragic death of teenagers in a tavern at Scenery Park, an event that exposes how the nation has yet to learn how to protect her young. June, however, is still a month that reminds us of youth agency, where young people grabbed hold of their tomorrows. Young bodies were broken as they broke apartheid…

UkrainiaN forces raised their national flag on a recaptured Black Sea island yesterday in a symbol of defiance against Moscow, but Russian forces consolidated gains in eastern Ukraine and probed the defences of potential new targets. Moscow responded to the flag-raising ceremony fast. It said one of its warplanes had struck Snake Island shortly afterwards and destroyed part of the Ukrainian detachment there. The tiny island, about 140km south of the Ukrainian port of Odessa, is strategically important as it guards sea lanes. Russia abandoned it at the end of June in what it said was a gesture of goodwill – a victory for Ukraine that Kyiv hoped could loosen Moscow’s blockade of Ukrainian ports. Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, suggested the moment was one that would…

Soaring global food and energy prices have forced 71 million people into poverty in the world’s poorest countries, according to a UN Development Programme report published yesterday. The rise in the developing world’s poverty rates over the past three months “is drastically faster than the shock of the Covid-19 pandemic”, said the UN, blaming the price surges in part on the war in Ukraine. It also warned that as central banks raise interest rates to tackle inflation, “there is a risk of triggering further recession-induced poverty worldwide”. The report examined 159 countries, and found the situation most critical in the Balkans, the Caspian Sea region and sub-Saharan Africa. | AFP…

JERUSALEM: Israel’s regional co-operation ministry said yesterday that it had asked Saudi Arabia to admit direct flights from Tel Aviv for Muslim pilgrims, pointing to a possible new accommodation by Riyadh before next week’s visit by US President Joe Biden. Israel has also been seeking expanded permission for its airlines to fly over Saudi soil to Asian destinations. Saudi Arabia does not recognise Israel and has said nothing of possible bilateral developments. Saudi Arabia has admitted Muslim pilgrims from Israel, but they must travel through third countries at a cost of about $11 500 (R193 000)for a week-long stay. Pilgrims from nearby Arab countries pay around half that. | Reuters.…

Springbok head coach Jacques Nienaber’s matchday 23 for the second Test against Wales took everyone by surprise, there can be no doubt about it. There had been rumours and whispers that changes were coming, but it is fair to say that 19 new selections would never have been predicted. Since the announcement on Tuesday, much has been said regarding the team that will take to the field tomorrow at Free State Stadium. Many see it as an exciting prospect, others a dangerous gamble. For a group of Welshmen, it is a move that devalues the game and an unparalleled opportunity to finally beat the Boks in South Africa after nearly 60 years of trying. Those are the words of Sir Gareth Edwards – the British & Irish Lions and Wales…

As the province marks a year since the July unrest which brought about destruction for businesses across KwaZulu-Natal, the business sector has expressed both optimism and anxiety. KZN businesses, particularly in Durban and Pietermaritzburg, have been reeling from the challenges brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, unrest and most recently the April floods. Despite the setbacks, the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) said it believed businesses were committed to rebuilding. Nigel Ward, president of the DCCI, said it was now evident that the extent of the damage the city suffered and the financial economic loss as a result of the unrest was truly shattering, with close to R12.8 billion worth of damage caused. He said a survey conducted by the city of eThekwini with the Durban Chamber’s…

Police in India have traced the 300-year-old, world’s first printed Bible translation in Tamil, which was stolen from the Tamil Nadu city of Thanjavur, to the King George III museum in London, officials said. The translation was printed in Tharangambadi in the 17th century. Sources in the police’s unit called the Idol Wing told IANS that the department has commenced the process to bring the Bible back to India. An officer said that the Bible was stolen from Saraswathi Mahal Library in Thanjavur in 2005 and the theft was suspected to be the work of a group of foreigners who had visited the library. After years of no progress, a study of the library’s registry revealed that on October 7, 2005, the library had hosted a group of foreigners.…

We now read of another eight initiation deaths in the Eastern Cape. It is horrific that, in this day and age, traditional ceremonies that have every possibility of resulting in the deaths of young men are still allowed to continue. Surely, if these practices are known to result in death, they should be banned outright? These young men can surely decide if they want to be circumcised or not. If parents want their sons to be circumcised, they can have it done when the child is an infant, in a hospital. Is it not time that the lives of these men, who are just starting out in the world, become more important than a traditional ceremony?…

FOR more than two years we were trapped in the concrete jungle – just the four walls, the couch, the television and the shopping malls. But this weekend I had an opportunity to escape into the bush. It was a glorious July day as my wife and I headed to the Ashburton Aloe Festival. The dry, arid thornveld may not be your idea of an ideal weekend getaway. But I love the bush. For hidden among the thorn trees are three sparkling gems which many have yet to discover. My first stop was the breath-taking Hackland Aloe Garden. If you haven’t seen it yet, you are missing one of the most spectacular flower shows in the country. Like me, you would fall in love with this aloe garden, far from…

HOME Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has spent R15 million on advisory committees and a ministerial review panel that looked into issues ranging form elections to permits, and the server crashing at the Government Printing Works. DA MP Adrian Roos wrote to Motsoaledi enquiring about the costs incurred and scope of work by Justice Dikgang Moseneke’s inquiry into free and fair local government elections, the ministerial advisory committee on electoral reform, and the task team reviewing e-permits issued since 2004, as well as an investigation into a loss of data at the Government Printing Works. In his written response, Motsoaledi said the total fees incurred in the Justice Moseneke inquiry were R2 544 169.09. Motsoaledi said R3 771 156.70 was budgeted for the investigation within the Government…

ONE of the opposition parties in the eThekwini Municipality has called on the municipality to consider selling UShaka Marine Theme Park amid concerns that the entity has become a financial drain for the city. DA councillor Nicole Graham warned that over the coming months, the city needed to take a hard look at whether it was wise to continue owning an entity that survives largely on the city’s bailouts. She said the city is in a different state at the moment and cannot afford to spend on the entity. UShaka has struggled financially over the years and has received millions of rand in bailouts from the city. The entity will receive another R160 million in funding from the city in this new financial year. During a council meeting on Thursday…

THE SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) has called for a national shutdown in protest at the rising costs of living and the problems plaguing the working class in South Africa. In a media briefing at the Birchwood Hotel, Johannesburg, yesterday, Saftu announced that it was in consultation with various stakeholders to pull off a massive strike that would be a show of force by leftist forces against a litany of issues that face the country. These issues include the high cost of fuel, food, electricity, the loss of jobs and the growing unemployment figures, which mainly affect young people. The federation’s national office- bearers were reporting back to the media following their national executive committee meeting. The meeting came after a tumultuous national congress which the federation held in…

The DA has written to Acting Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka, asking her to investigate allegations that councillors from Mkhondo Local Municipality in Mpumalanga blew R1 million on a Durban July “workshop”. “Over the last weekend, the municipality spent R200 000 transporting 66 people to Durban from Piet Retief to attend this ‘Strategic Planning Workshop’. They spent a further R670 500 on accommodation. This is nothing more than fruitless and wasteful expenditure,” said the DA caucus leader in the Mkhondo council, Irene Brussow. Brussow said the trip involved relatives and spouses. “It was also revealed by a reliable source that some councillors even took their family members and spouses on this joyride at the expense of the taxpayer. The DA condemns this act of wasting taxpayers’ money. Not a single DA…

Hospitals across the country are increasing theatre times and even providing theatre services during weekends to wipe out a surgery backlog of 107 818 operations emanating from the delays caused by Covid-19 pandemic. In a response to a parliamentary question, Health Minister Joe Phaahla said among provinces the Western Cape has the biggest surgical backlog at 77 139 operations, followed by Gauteng with 13 433. The backlog in the Eastern Cape stood at 5 373; North West at 5 531; Limpopo at 4 229; Free State at 1 923; and Mpumalanga, 190. Those of KwaZulu-Natal and Northern Cape were not given because the department was “waiting for response”. Phaahla was responding to parliamentary questions from EFF MP Susan Thembekwayo, who asked for the total number of outstanding surgeries at hospitals…

Chinese president Xi Jinping addressed the opening of the 19th General Assembly of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the 14th General Assembly of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in Beijing on May 28, 2018. That address set the theme for most of the scientific development China has experienced lately. Xi said as China strives for prosperity and rejuvenation, it needs to devote a huge amount of resources to promoting science and technology, and endeavour to become a world centre for science and innovation. The president mentioned that China is going through a transition from quantity accumulation to a quality leap-forward, and from breakthroughs in certain fields to overall improvement of performance. As a new round of scientific, technological and industrial revolutions is reshaping the world, the impact of science…

Haiti yesterday marked one year since president Jovenel Moise was shot dead in his private residence, with the investigation stalled and no mastermind or motive for the attack yet identified. Moise was assassinated on July 7, 2021, when a commando entered his bedroom at the house in Port-au-Prince and shot him 12 times. Haitian police arrested about 20 people within hours, including 18 former Colombian soldiers presumed to be hired as mercenaries. But that initial speed has been followed by a glacial legal process in Haiti and the US. The challenges have deepened in recent weeks as the prosecutor’s offices in the Haitian capital have been invaded by one of the gangs plaguing the country. The UN office in Haiti issued a statement on the anniversary, expressing concern over “lack…

Washington: Billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk had twins last year with an executive at one of his companies, according to Texas court documents. The babies’ mother, Canadian Shivon Zilis, 36, is an executive at Neuralink, Musk’s brain-implant maker. She and Musk filed a petition with a Texas court in April for the children to “have their father’s last name and contain their mother’s last name as part of their middle name”. Musk has fathered 10 children, one of whom died after birth. Last month, one of his children who turned 18 filed a petition to change her name and gender identity to female. | AFP…

Strasbourg: The European Parliament yesterday voted to urge the EU to make abortion a basic right, in reaction to a US ruling overturning it in America. MEPs voted 324 in favour, with 155 against and 38 abstentions, of a resolution calling on EU member states to include an article saying that everyone has the right to safe and legal abortion. The June 24 decision by the US Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that had enshrined the right to abortion in the US, was condemned. While the parliament’s vote was non-binding, the EU’s charter of fundamental rights is. But to amend it, all 27 member countries need to agree.…

AFTER news emerged that he will be awarded with a honorary doctorate by the University of Cape Town (UCT), Kaizer Chiefs Chairman Kaizer Motaung has paid tribute to the late Jerry Sadike. The owner of Kaizer Chiefs is set to be awarded with a doctorate in Social Sciences ahead of UCT’s graduation ceremony on July 22. As a footballer, the 77-year-old Motaung is also regarded as a South African icon. While he was denied the opportunity to play international football due to his career coinciding with the apartheid regime in South Africa, he still managed to forge a successful career in the US and South Africa, turning out for the Atlanta Chiefs and Denver Dynamos. Sadike, of Orlando East, played in and scored in Chiefs’ first ever league game…