Table of contents for 2022-10-11 in Mercury

THE CRIPPLING strike by tens of thousands of Transnet employees could deteriorate into a full-blown industrial action as the employer and workers are still far apart in their salary negotiations. The strike entered the fifth day today after a second workers union joined the picket lines in demand for higher wages for its members. This comes as the industry has warned that the strike could worsen Transnet’s financial position and plunge the economy into paralysis after the State-owned freight and rail operator last week declared a force majeure for the second time this year. The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of Southern Africa (Seifsa) yesterday said a full-blown strike at Transnet seemed unavoidable. Seifsa chief executive Lucio Trentini said such a move would have a serious effect on the economy…

THE GO!Durban bus project could run into trouble following a warning by the Department of Transport that the Public Transport Network Grant (PTNG) funding to eThekwini Metro could be halted. The grant funding is made available for the construction of reliable public transport in municipalities. The GO!Durban project has faced serious problems, with the taxi industry refusing to allow it to be launched over an ownership dispute with the metro. The taxi operators, whose operation would be displaced by the buses, believe they should own the buses, while the city is of the opinion that it should have the biggest ownership of the project. According to a letter from the Department of Transport, the funding could be halted for the next three months or more. The letter was authored by…

A friend has rejected you without explanation, walk towards them, not away. A family member has for no apparent reason, gone silent. Walk towards him or her, not away. A son or a daughter is withdrawing, when previously they were available. Again, walk towards, not away. A spouse seems to be carrying unresolved guilt or shame in ways not formerly apparent to you. Walk towards him or her, and not away. A co-worker has become a rumour mill and is spreading unhappiness throughout the workplace. Walk towards him or her, try to understand what is going on. All behaviour has meaning and little or nothing is gained by avoidance or denial when behaviours shift without explanation and people we know and love act in avoiding ways. Co-operating with unusual behaviours,…

I don’t know if South African voters are stupid or just suckers for punishment. They complain bitterly about the state of our country yet continue voting for the same political parties that put us in this chaos in the first place. Voters have been conditioned to believe that elected public representatives are some kind of specialists or super humans. This is the reason that blue lights and extraordinary perks come with these public offices. The party list system places more emphasis on the party than on the candidates that are contesting elections. We vote for political parties and give them the power to choose our public representatives. In all cases, voters do not know who makes up these lists and how they get chosen. It is for this reason that…

Visvin Reddy cites former DA KZN leader Zwakele Mncwango claiming the DA’s movement to the right is one of the reasons for his resignation (The Mercury, October 10). It is a pity that somehow being regarded as right wing is maligned, yet the progressive failures of the political Left are not treated in the same way. For nearly 30 years, South Africa has been ruled by the political Left’s policies of socialism and communism. The plight of the country today is the direct result of those ideologies – marginalisation of free enterprise, inflexible labour laws, cadre deployment, B-BBEE, progressive implementation of the failed Freedom Charter dreams, subsidising poverty and incentivising indigence, predatory control by the state of health, land and natural resources coupled with the progressive breakdown of infrastructure and…

A divorce lawyer says it is established law that allows a person to ask for their spouse to forfeit benefits in a divorce action. Well-known divorce lawyer, Selwyn Shapiro was commenting after Independent Media reported that a cheating wife would forfeit half of her husband’s pension money as part of the divorce order. Shapiro said it was important to remember that forfeiture of benefits was not unique and that a claim for forfeiture of benefits arising out of marriage in community of property stems from the provisions of Section 9 of the Divorce Act of 1979. This section states when a decree of divorce is granted on the grounds of the irretrievable breakdown of a marriage, the court may make an order that the patrimonial benefits of the marriage…

The Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court has released a 40-year-old on R10 000 bail after he was arrested by the Hawks' Nelspruit-based serious commercial crime investigation unit for fraud in connection with tax returns. According to Hawks spokesperson in Mpumalanga, Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi, “Bongani Sydwell Mkhatshwa was arrested on a warrant of arrest and charged with fraud, theft or alternatively contravening the provisions of Section 235 of Tax Administration Act”. He said it was alleged that forged tax returns were filed with the South African Revenue Services (Sars) which prejudiced the tax receiver for an amount of over R3.4 million. After his arrest, it was discovered that there was a similar case outstanding against Mkhatshwa. In March 2018, along with others, he allegedly fraudulently submitted forged tax returns. In that case,…

ETHEKWINI Municipality is concerned about the influx of people to the city looking for economic opportunities and wants to partner with neighbouring municipalities in the province to boost the job prospects in those areas. EThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda said the city was looking to “share” skills and investment opportunities in order to encourage people to stay in those areas instead of flocking to Durban, the economic hub of the province, to look for work. “We cannot be looking to shine alone as that has unintended consequences,” said Kaunda recently. The municipality, together with the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry, held a media briefing last week to give an update on a variety of challenges in the city and what had been done to address them. The challenges include the…

The municipality announced it had cut services to the Nyonithwele and Georgetown high schools, near Edendale, yesterday. The latest move drew criticism from community members concerned about the impact this would have on schooling as pupils were expected back in class today after the holiday. The municipality said in a post on its Facebook page that Nyonithwele Secondary School’s water meter has been disconnected. It said the school owed over R1m in rates, and the disconnection was carried out after the school’s failure to honour previous payment arrangements. It also announced it had cut services to Georgetown High School. “Operation #QoqaMillion continues today. Illegal water connections were discovered at Georgetown High School where more than R2m in rates is owed to the municipality.” It said the disconnection of water was…

FORMER president Nelson Mandela once said: “A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.” This particular quote resonated with me as the world marked World Homeless Day yesterday. It is true that homelessness is a worldwide phenomenon and that some of the biggest economies are also battling to deal with it. Due to increasing unemployment, poverty, the breakdown of family structures, crime and many other social ills, our major centres such as Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town are experiencing a dramatic rise in the number of homeless people. A quick glance at rural communities, where family units are supposed to be very entrenched, would also show the same upward trajectory when it comes to homelessness. It is therefore clear that as…

Heatwaves will become so extreme in certain regions of the world within decades that human life there will be unsustainable, the UN and the Red Cross warned yesterday. Heatwaves are predicted to “exceed human physiological and social limits” in the Sahel, the Horn of Africa and south and southwest Asia, with extreme events triggering “large-scale suffering and loss of life”, they said. Heatwave catastrophes this year in Somalia and Pakistan foreshadow a future with deadlier, more frequent, and more intense heat-related humanitarian emergencies, they warned. The report was released in advance of next month’s UN’s COP27 climate change summit in Egypt. They said aggressive steps needed to be taken immediately to avert potentially recurrent heat disasters. “On current trajectories, heatwaves’ impact would be large-scale suffering and loss of life. Projected…

Berlin: German sportswear giant Adidas has put its partnership with Kanye West under review after the US rap star triggered a furore by wearing a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt at Paris Fashion Week. “We’ve decided to place the partnership under review,” Adidas said. The artist, now known as Ye, had been widely criticised over the T-shirt, which was also shown as part of his collection in Paris. Asked why he wore the T-shirt, he told Fox News: “I … just channel the energy, it just feels right.” West also criticised Adidas recently on Instagram, accusing the company of bringing back older styles without his approval. | AFP…

AmaZulu’s appointment of Romain Folz as their new coach epitomises a major problem that exists in South African football. Many clubs are willing to entrust unknown European coaches ahead of aspiring young coaches and even international coaches from outside Europe. There is no problem with clubs hiring international coaches. Having an international presence allows for more ideas to come into SA football and it also makes the league more interesting. However, it is noticeable that there has always been a big presence of fairly little known European coaches in the Premiership with a much smaller presence from other African nations and continents. The 32-year-old Folz may have good managerial ideas, but does not yet have a good record. His recent stint with Marumo Gallants was only the second ful-…

SIRIUS Real Estate, the JSE-listed operator of business parks, which is doing a three-day investor roadshow in South Africa, has secured gas supply for its German customers at fixed-rate agreements that will not expire until December, 2023, chief executive Andrew Coombs said yesterday. The JSE-listed real estate investment trust, which has 140 assets mainly in Germany, but also in the UK, and which has 9 532 tenants, is on a three-day road show in South Africa to see investors, and one of the issues addressed was the energy crisis in Germany. Coombs said yesterday in a trading update for the six months to September 30 that the Bundesnetzagentur, the German Federal Agency responsible for gas-supply co-ordination in Germany confirmed on September 30 that events at the Nord Stream 1…

SERIOUS questions are being asked about the future of PetroSA, the loss-making Central Energy Fund’s (CEF) biggest subsidiary that has as its main task the operation of the Mossel Bay gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant, which has been shut for two years. The Mossel Bay GTL plant was put on “care and maintenance” in November 2020, after the offshore gas reserves were depleted. PetroSA also manages a 3% stake in an oilfield offshore of Ghana, and has begun importing petrol and diesel, as the other major oil industry group have done, following the closure of most of SA’s refinery capacity, though Astron has indicated its refinery in Milnerton may open by the end of the year. PetroSA acting chief executive Sandisiwe Ncemane said yesterday in a News 24 report that the volume…

Police have confirmed the arrest of a 21-year-old suspect in connection with the rape and murder of six sex workers in the Johannesburg CBD. The man, who cannot be named as he is yet to undergo an identity parade, has been linked to the disappearance of at least seven women, six of whom were found dead at a panel-beating factory in Selby, Johannesburg. On Sunday, police said they were alerted to a foul smell coming from the factory and the discovery of the first body was made. Five more badly decomposed bodies were also discovered. Police spokesperson Brenda Muridili said a preliminary investigation led the police to the suspect, believed to be the last person seen with one of the dead women. “It is reported that on October 2, the…

SPICY stuff? British Trade Minister Conor Burns has been summarily sacked by Prime Minister Liz Truss for serious misconduct at the recent Tory conference, though Burns himself says he has no idea what it is that he’s supposed to have said or done. The Tory MP for Bournemouth West has also had the whip suspended while the complaint is investigated. The 50-year-old later posted a series of tweets where he wrote: “I will fully co-operate with the party's inquiry and look forward to clearing my name. “I hope the party will be as quick to conduct their inquiry as they were to rush to judgment.” But do we have here a clue? Mel B, an ex-Spice Girl whose full name is Melanie Brown, then retweeted his thread and wrote: “Really??…

Against the background of reports of babies being dumped with the most recent headline “Don’t judge me, mother who ‘dumped’ baby says in note”, such cruel acts must be condemned in the strongest terms. Dumping a baby for whatever reason is an inhuman action, illegal and a criminal offence. I am conscious of the fact that often the conditions and causes that lead mothers to dump their babies can be complicated and for reasons best known to these mothers. However, abandoning a child without any affection or respect for its physical well-being and safety is against the law and cold-hearted. Mothers, parents or even families who are experiencing difficulties such as financial or personal issues and are unable to take care of their babies or their personal well-being, should seek…

Last week, during KwaZulu-Natal health facility functionality inspections, trade union Nehawu raised the issue of medical equipment being moved from one facility to another ahead of MPLs’ oversights, in order to present a glowing picture. The very purpose of such visits is to identify challenges impacting staff and patients and approve resolutions to rectify them. That there are now claims that a true picture is not being presented is extremely worrying, and demands explanations from KZN’s health MEC Nomagugu Simelane. The DA has long raised its concern that facilities visited as part of this programme are cherry-picked. In spite of this so-called cover-up, we still found multiple challenges within the system, most of which are long-standing. Among the most alarming problems encountered were no staff for one of the shifts…

The SA National Parks (SANParks) has urged tourists to use alternative entrance gates into the Kruger National Park after the death of a German visitor last week in a botched hijacking. The 67-year-old German tourist was shot dead last Monday when he and three other German tourists were travelling on the Numbi Road en route to the Kruger National Park’s Numbi Gate, and they were attacked. According to the Department of Tourism, the German tourists arrived in the country on September 20, landing at Cape Town International Airport. They stayed in Cape Town for five days, then proceeded to Durban and stayed there for four days. From Durban, they travelled to the Drakensberg and stayed there for two nights, and then on Monday, October 3, drove 600km to Mpumalanga. Three…

The Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, has amended the fees for South African passports and travel documents which will cost much more now. The department said the amended fees were published in Government Gazette No 47256 on October 6, and come into operation on November 1. The South African Passports and Travel Documents Act, 1994 enables the Minister of Home Affairs to make regulations regarding the fees payable for the issuance of a South African Passport or Travel Document, in consultation with the Minister of Finance, it said. The fee changes to passport and travel documents come after a bench-marking exercise with other countries which found that South African tariffs were up to three times lower, it said. “The decision was also informed by the fact that production…

National plans by the government and civil society to combat gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) must not ignore the vulnerable and marginalised groups on the periphery, including LGBTQI, sex workers, the disabled and the youth. The issue of GBVF against women in South Africa continues to be at the centre of advocacy efforts to fight for a gender-just and violence-free society, in a seemingly unending war against women and vulnerable genders and identities. This includes LGBTQI, persons living with disabilities, sex workers and young people, as was highlighted in a recent webinar attended by government and youth activists from the NGO, ACTIVATE! Change Drivers, which has a youth network of 4 500 active in their communities promoting active citizenry. The Gender-Based Violence and Femicide National Strategic Plan (GBVF-NSP) was created…

Russia pounded cities across Ukraine during rush hour yesterday morning, killing civilians and knocking out power and heat, in apparent revenge strikes after President Vladimir Putin declared a blast on Russia’s bridge to Crimea a terrorist attack. Cruise missiles tore into busy intersections, parks and tourist sites in the centre of Kyiv with an intensity unseen even when Russian forces attempted to capture the capital early in the war. Explosions were also reported in Lviv, Ternopil and Zhytomyr in Ukraine’s west, Dnipro and Kremenchuk in central Ukraine, Zaporizhzhia in the south and Kharkiv in the east. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the rush hour attacks appeared to have been deliberately timed to kill people and to knock out electricity. His prime minister said 11 major infrastructure targets were hit in…

Protesters in Iran remained defiant in the fourth week of a movement against the Islamic republic despite a crackdown, including the use of tear gas in Tehran and reports yesterday of heavy weaponry used in the Kurdish-populated north-west. Videos posted on social media showed protests flared in the capital and other cities nationwide over the last days, with women seen burning headscarves and shouting slogans against the Islamic system. Meanwhile, the Kurdish rights group Hengaw accused authorities of using heavy weaponry, including “shelling” on neighbourhoods and “machine gun fire”, in the northwestern city of Sanandaj – claims which could not be independently confirmed. The unrest erupted over the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, an Iranian woman of Kurdish origin who died in hospital following her arrest by the notorious Tehran…

London: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has tested positive for Covid-19, his wife said yesterday, as she battles his extradition to the US. “Julian was feeling unwell last week but started feeling sick on Friday,” Stella Assange said. “He started coughing and had a fever. He was given some paracetamol. He tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday.” Thousands of people formed a human chain around the UK parliament in London on Saturday to demand Assange’s release from London’s Belmarsh prison. The Australian national, now 51, has been held at the high-security jail since 2019, after serving time for skipping bail in a previous case. As the pandemic took hold in early 2020, he unsuccessfully applied to be released on bail because of the risk of contracting Covid in prison. His lawyers…

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch FC coach Steve Barker was left unhappy with his team’s defending after they were beaten 3-1 by a resurgent Kaizer Chiefs at Cape Town Stadium on Sunday. What was particularly interesting about the game is that Chiefs scored all three of their goals from the penalty spot. Moreover, Bonfils-Caleb Bimenyimana scored all three of Chiefs’ spot-kicks. In doing so, he effectively scored a hat-trick of penalties, something that very rarely happens in football. “I don’t think we were at our best defensively today. At the start of the game, there were a couple of big chances for them. They dominated the first 15-20 minutes, but then the game settled a bit leading into halftime. We pressed them in their final third and we were able to get the…

Former President Jacob Zuma has made a veiled threat of more possible private prosecutions against the country’s top brass which could include National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi or even Justice Minister Ronald Lamola. Addressing a crowd of supporters gathered outside the Pietermaritzburg High Court before his private prosecution case against State advocate Billy Downer and News24 journalist Karyn Maughan, Zuma said the case was unprecedented and could be a taste of things to come. In an earlier interview, Jacob Zuma Foundation spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi indicated that the criminal prosecution brought by the former president had been prompted by the non-action from the government. “President Zuma reported the matter to President Cyril Ramaphosa and nothing was done; he went to Justice Minister Ronald Lamola, again nothing was done and…

Civil society organisations and Cosatu have slammed a move by the government to give more benefits to ministers and deputy ministers regarding their bills for electricity and water. According to the previous Ministerial Handbook of rules for ministers and deputy ministers, the amount of taxpayers’ money that went to pay for water and electricity at official ministerial residences was capped at R5 000 per month per house. However, the latest version of the Ministerial Handbook, published on April 13, 2022, shows that the cap on the amount has been removed. The DA spokesperson on public service and administration, Dr Leon Schreiber, said in the new Ministerial Handbook, President Cyril Ramaphosa had scrapped the provision that previously capped the amount of money that taxpayers would pay. “Each of Ramaphosa’s 28 ministers…

Two climate activists glued their hands to the perspex cover of Picasso’s anti-war painting Massacre in Korea in a Melbourne art gallery on Sunday, police, protesters and the gallery said. The painting emerged unscathed. The black-clad activists were shown with their hands pressed against the painting in a room of the National Gallery of Victoria in images shared on social media by the Extinction Rebellion movement. A man wearing a T-shirt with the Extinction Rebellion symbol – an hourglass in a circle – stood alongside them. On the ground at their feet lay a black banner reading “Climate Chaos = War + Famine”. “It is believed three protesters entered the ground level of the gallery before a man and a woman glued themselves to a protective covering of a Picasso…

I am taking an extraordinary step of addressing two of the most progressive editors I have the privilege to be associated with. This letter emanates from Auckland, New Zealand, where I’m visiting my grand-daughter Safiyyah. Let me reflect a bit before I continue to the substantive purpose of this letter. October 10 every year before our constitutional era was celebrated as “Kruger Day”, remember? Kruger Day or Heroes’ Day was an official public holiday in South Africa from 1882 to 1899 and again from 1952 to 1994. The day was named after Paul Kruger, who served as president of the South African Republic. The holiday celebrated his birthday on October 10. The day was used to underline the values and principles of the Afrikaner people, apartheid and superiority of the…

The South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) says it will accept the government’s 3% offer should it be tabled again because most of its members had given the leadership the go-ahead to sign the agreement, the union’s KwaZulu-Natal secretary, Nomarashiya Caluza, said at the weekend. Following the government’s withdrawal of the offer last week, many unions have been left pondering strike action in a bid to get the government, through the Public Service and Administration Department, to give a better offer to public servants. The labour federation Cosatu said the strike was inevitable, and only the government could ensure that it was averted. Cosatu convener of affiliates Simon Hlungwani said they were dismayed by the government’s attitude, shown by its decision to withdraw the 3% wage offer last Monday. “Our…

Tributes and condolences continue to pour in after the death of sporting icon and transformation and gender equality activist Cheryl Roberts. Roberts, who represented South Africa as a table tennis player at the 1992 Summer Olympics Games in Barcelona, died of cancer at the Netcare Parklands Hospital in Durban on Friday. She was 62. Roberts used her social media and other platforms to raise awareness around representation and fought for the promotion and recognition of women in sport. Molo Songolo director Patric Solomons, who had known Roberts for 30 years, described Roberts as a “cool, friendly, youthful and independent” person who loved sport, music, arts, nature and travelling. “She established her own publishing agency, producing publications of the champions of anti-apartheid sport, and promoting black women, their work and agency.…

For the 200 homeless men and women who receive treatment at the free Bellhaven Harm Reduction Centre in Greyville, Durban, the centre’s staff and other beneficiaries have become family. The Mercury visited the centre yesterday as people from around the globe observed World Homeless Day. Bandile Shezi, 32, said he had been coming to the centre since level 5 lockdown was implemented in 2020. At first, Shezi said he came to the centre seeking help after he heard about the methadone programme. Methadone is an opioid substitute that helps alleviate the side effects associated with heroin use. However, he said he soon discovered that the centre had much more to offer. “It’s actually a family thing going on here. As you can see, there are a lot of services offered,”…

THE number of people who still receive the R350 Covid-19 Social Relief Distress grant on a monthly basis has dropped from 10.5 million people to nearly 7.5 million, Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu said yesterday. Zulu was briefing the media on the child support top-up and the R350 relief grants. The department needed to be cautious not to over-commit the government to levels of funding beyond the allocated budget, she said. The Disaster Management Act enabled paying the Covid-19 grant to 10.5 million beneficiaries within a short space of time, but the lifting of the National State of Disaster in March challenged the department to immediately develop new regulations under the Social Assistance Act The Public Finance Management Act required that the department stay within the allocated R44 billion budget…

Decline in investment could have catastrophic socio-economic effects Most South Africans await two critical announcements on October 26 amid high inflation and rising interest rates. First is Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s tabling of the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement in Parliament and whether it will be bold enough to address the urgent needs of children in need of early childhood development (ECD) services. Second is the release of the Crop Estimates Committee’s intentions-to-plant data, in which we expect farmers to increase their plantings of summer crops. This will be in line with increased plantings of winter crops, notably wheat, barley and canola, for the 2022/23 season to take advantage of good rainfall and higher prices. The looming concern is that there is a depressed mood in the ECD sector as…

Britain yesterday ramped up efforts to calm markets after a heavily criticised budget, with the government bringing forward key economic forecasts and the Bank of England boosting liquidity. Finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng will bring forward debt-slashing plans and key predictions after markets chaos sparked by his debt-fuelled budget at the end of September. Kwarteng revealed he would publish his medium-term fiscal plan alongside the forecasts on October 31 rather than late November. The news marked another U-turn for the chancellor of the exchequer who had resisted pressure to move the date from November 23. And it comes after he was forced to abandon a tax cut for the richest earners, in the face of outrage amid a cost-of-living crisis. Markets have been spooked by the budget from the government of…

China called for “patience” with its tough Covid-19 policies and warned against any “war-weariness” as local cases soared to their highest since August, days ahead of a pivotal Communist Party congress. Many countries are learning to co-exist with Covid-19, but China has repeatedly quashed any speculation of a let-up in its counter-epidemic policies, which can range from locking down a local community to sealing an entire city, even though fatalities remain low by global standards and symptoms, if any, are mostly mild. Pressure on officials to stop outbreaks as soon as they spring up has risen in recent weeks as the highly transmissible Omicron sub-variants BF.7 and BA.5.1.7 appeared in mainland China for the first time, ensnaring travellers during a just-ended week-long national holiday. Across China, 1 939 locally…

There was an abiding moment from the Lions’ shock win over Edinburgh that sums up both the health of South African rugby, and also the resilience of a Johannesburg-based team that is punching above its weight despite having zero big-name players. Actually, maybe that is what is so good about the Lions at the moment — they are the journeymen of SA rugby, the everyman team that is drawing strength from being perpetually written off. But back to that moment ... Or rather moments because it was a series of body blows from an unknown youngster called Ruan Venter that removed British & Irish Lions flank Hamish Watson from the field in Edinburgh. Ruan who? Precisely! He is a 19-year-old product of Paarl Boys High and is making his way…

Brighton midfielder Enock Mwepu has been forced to retire at the age of just 24 after he was diagnosed with a hereditary heart condition, the Premier League club announced on Monday. The condition, which can worsen over time, would put him at "extremely high risk of suffering a potentially fatal cardiac event if he were to continue playing competitive football", the club said. Mwepu was unwell during a flight to join up with Zambia during the international break last month, and after a period in hospital in Mali, he returned to Brighton to undergo further cardiac examinations. "These tests have concluded that his illness is due to a hereditary cardiac condition, which manifests later in life and was not previously evident on regular cardiac screening," the club said in a…