Содержание выпуска: 2021-08-13 — Mercury

ARE YOU MORE optimistic about South Africa’s prospects today than you were at the start of the year? Given the events of the past month, it’s understandable that many of us may be feeling more despondent. But even after accounting for last month’s riots, most professional forecasters have upgraded their economic growth numbers compared to the start of the year. And many local asset managers are still sticking with their South African overweight equity and bond positions. Admittedly, these upward revisions are coming off a low base. At the start of this year the International Monetary Fund expected the country’s economy to grow by just 2.8 percent in 2021 and 1.4 percent in 2022. Subsequently, it upgraded South Africa’s growth outlook by a cumulative 2 percent over…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za FORMER employees of the eThekwini Municipality could face criminal prosecution after the municipality revealed that it had opened a criminal case of fraud in connection with a matter where a service provider was paid despite having done no work. The incident allegedly happened in 2015. It is alleged that the employees colluded to pay a service provider who had not done any work R140 000. The employees allegedly instructed the service provider to transfer R130 000 of that money to another account and keep R10 000 for himself. The service provider instead laid a complaint with the municipality, triggering a fraud investigation by the City Integrity and Investigations Unit. The unit found merit in the allegation and recommended that a criminal case be opened against all involved.…

IT’S State Fair time in Indiana – think “Royal Show”. Last evening, my younger son participated in this deeply loved tradition in these parts. While he was out, it became clear that I needed to address some simple matters of housekeeping with him. Such conversations have usually devolved into not-so-decent exchanges. While I do not usually nitpick and I do give him a lot of freedom to live as he chooses, there are limits. I knew it would be a few hours before he got home (both boys text me constantly about where they are and what they say they are doing) and so, I decided to think deeply about my approach. It was late. The last thing I wanted was to go to bed frustrated at him. I knew…

EBRAHIM ’EBKOYBIE’ ESSA | Durban The most rare, heart-warming, sharing of the gold medal by Qatar’s high jumper – Mutaz Barshim – suddenly shot my memory spiralling back to 1958, when I was in Standard 4, at Anjuman Islam School in Leopold Street. Sports grounds were not easily available to non-white schools and we were restricted to mainly Curries Fountain. During that particular year, even that ground was not available due to heavy booking, so the school negotiated with Hoy Park, near the beachfront, and so our annual sports/ athletics/ fancy dress competition was held there. Apart from the excitement of the close and heated competition between the four houses (Taj, Benaras, Ajmer and Shalimar – all significant names from India), the one single event that stands out…

FAROUK ARAIE | Johannesburg Seventy-six years ago Nagasaki was flattened in an atomic fireball that killed 74 000 people, three days after Hiroshima was blitzed. Within 10 days, thousands of civilians went bald as gamma rays overwhelmed them at ground zero. Many unstable nuclear states are increasing their atomic arsenals at an alarming pace, posturing for war that will surely lead to radioactive suicide. Little do these reckless leaders realise that apart from belligerent behaviour, their nuclear missile systems are widely open to cyberattacks. From a high of 70 300 active weapons in 1986, as of 2018 there are about 3 750 active nuclear warheads and 13 890 total nuclear warheads. Nine nuclear armed states have the capability to erase all human life on Earth. Classified military data…

Mpumalanga police are appealing to the public to provide information about robbery suspects who shot and injured two police officers earlier this week. The officers were shot when they unknowingly drove past a business burglary in progress while on a routine patrol, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) said. The pair, aged 38 and 42, were shot on Monday at Block C in Tonga near Komatipoort, Hawks Mpumalanga spokesperson Captain Dineo Lucy Sekgotodi said. “According to the information received, the members were on duty, doing a routine patrol when they unknowingly drove by a business burglary that was in progress. Upon noticing the police vehicle, the suspects opened fire,” she said. “There is no arrest at this stage whilst the investigation is ongoing,” Sekgotodi said. Police in Mpumalanga…

Rapula Moatshe rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za GAUTENG Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi has suspended five contract workers at a primary school in Soshanguve, following the rape of a 6-year-old pupil last week. Lesufi said the five would be on suspension until they are cleared by experts’ reports and they would also be in the identity parade to be carried out by the police for the victim to identify the suspect implicated in the crime. He announced steps taken against the five during his visit to the school yesterday. This followed reports that a Grade 1 pupil was allegedly raped on August 2 in a toilet on the school premises. The child was allegedly ambushed in the toilet. Among the five suspended individuals are four general assistants and a volunteer cleaner. “The problem with the…

Sihle Mavuso sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za SUPPORTERS of former president Jacob Zuma have revealed that his senior wife, Sizakele Khumalo (MaKhumalo) pleaded, with the arresting SAPS officers to bring him back home alive. This was revealed yesterday in Nkandla by Bishop Vusi Dube of eThekwini Community Church while addressing a prayer service that was organised to pray for Zuma to get well and to be freed from prison. Zuma is serving a 15-month sentence at the Estcourt Correctional Centre in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands for contempt of court. However, last Friday the Department of Correctional Services announced that Zuma had been admitted to hospital to undergo a routine medical check-up by military health services. On Monday, the Pietermaritzburg High Court heard that he was undergoing extensive medical evaluation and care. Dube lamented that when…

| Mercury Correspondent The body of a man who drowned when the vehicle he was travelling in plunged into the Vaal Dam on Monday was recovered yesterday. While the bodies of Lucky Hlapo, 20, and Thugela Mnguni, 34 were recovered on Tuesday, the body of 42-year-old Lefunyana Tsotetsi was only recovered yesterday when the vehicle was pulled out of the water. Free State police spokesperson Brigadier Motantsi Makhele said the car reportedly crashed through steel barriers and fell into the water. The cause of the accident was not yet known, he said. The search for the third body resumed yesterday. “A towing service was roped in for assistance and a red Kia Sportage was lifted out of the dam at about 10am.The body of a man was found trapped…

Siyabonga Mkhwanazi siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za Parliament could have a new Speaker in a week’s time after MPs agreed the election will take place on Thursday next week. The ANC caucus has nominated former defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula to be the new Speaker. The previous speaker, Thandi Modise, was appointed as the new defence minister. However the DA and UDM said the nomination of Mapisa-Nqakula raised questions. The DA said it would not support her nomination, with the party’s chief whip Natasha Mazzone describing the move as a “mockery of Parliament and the Constitution”. “This is the policy of the ANC – to reward the incompetent,” said UDM leader Bantu Holomisa. But the ANC defended the decision, and said Mapisa-Nqakula had a sound track record in Parliament and government over the past 25…

When it appears that in South Africa the clowns have replaced the ringmasters, what comes to mind is that we must rate as one of the most enthralling soap operas the world has witnessed in the last two decades, if only they were interested enough to be watching. Much like that old saying goes, “If you tell the same lie enough times, it has a very good chance of being believed as fact”. And so we look at the melee of inconceivable things going down, from just today’s headliners in the Mercury, and wring our hands in disbelief. “The Medupi explosion may cost up to R40bn”. Now we know why this happened, as the reason for this avoidable explosion and delay it has caused in the long awaited progress in…

Blazes raged across northern Algeria yesterday as the country observed a national day of mourning for dozens of people killed in the latest wildfires to sweep the Mediterranean. The country has been in the grip of devastating fires since Monday that have claimed 69 lives – 41 civilians and 28 soldiers. Soldiers and civilian volunteers have joined firefighters on multiple fronts in the effort to extinguish the blazes that have been fanned by windy and tinder-dry conditions. In Tizi Ouzou district, the area with the highest casualty toll, entire sectors of forest went up in smoke. Villagers forced to evacuate to escape the flames began trickling back to their homes, overwhelmed by the damage. “I have nothing left. My workshop, my car, my flat. Even the tiles were destroyed,” one…

Morgan Bolton morgan.bolton@inl.co.za ARGENTINA cannot rely on their past glories to defeat the Springboks this weekend in their opening match of the Rugby Championship, coach Mario Ledesma warned yesterday after naming his matchday 23 for the encounter. Last year, Los Pumas managed to stun the rugby world by beating the All Blacks for the first time in their history, and also secured two draws against Australia to finish the Tri-Nations in second-place. As recently as last month they defeated Wales – albeit a team bereft of their best player who were in South Africa on British & Irish Lions duty – but these triumphs will mean little, according to Ledesma, if they are not done on a consistent basis. Said Ledesma: “We didn’t set out last year to be…

Sibusiso Mboto sibusiso.mboto@inl.co.za Msunduzi Municipality’s revenue collection is expected to take a massive hit in the coming weeks and months owing to the looting of businesses and shopping malls in July. Three malls and several other shops were vandalised in the unrest, placing nearly 6 000 jobs at risk. Msunduzi Municipality chief financial officer Nelly Ngcobo said this would have a bearing on municipal coffers as businesses pay for monthly rates and municipal services. In an executive committee meeting last week, she also pointed out that the burning of the malls would also place a huge burden on the residents from townships and rural parts of the KwaZulu-Natal capital. “It must be indicated that the aftermath of the riots will also affect the revenue of the municipality, in that the…

Kailene Pillay and Zintle Mahlati FORMER president Jacob Zuma’s close friendship with the Gupta family “blindsided” many as he was “the ultimate leader” of the ANC and the country at that time. President Cyril Ramaphosa said he believed state capture was a “well- organised project” that influenced policy and legal processes and offered protection to those involved. Commission chairperson Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo asked Ramaphosa whether the ANC did enough to deal with the situation regarding the influence of the Guptas after it was raised by Fikile Mbalula in an ANC National Executive Committee meeting and after the family’s plane landed at Waterkloof In response Ramaphosa said there was some action but it was not enough.He said in relation to the Gupta’s family influence, the party was blindsided by…

| James Thurber A FASCINATING and timely book on rugby was launched in Durban last week. Fascinating because it explores for the first time the story of rugby played in the Eastern Cape from early in the 19th century by black players who were excluded from the white structures of the game. Timely because the book also makes an astonishing – and highly significant – leap into the here and now. Line Breakers: The rugby-playing sons of Makana and Stuurman is written by Ashwin Desai, professor of sociology at the University of Johannesburg, and Ashwell Adriaan, curator of the Apartheid and Cell Stories exhibition on Robben Island. Makana was an early Xhosa leader (Grahamstown, has been renamed after him by the Eastern Cape provincial government). Stuurman was an early…

MARY DE HAAS | Durban I do not know what all this fuss about the Firearms Control Amendment Bill is, unless people have been misinformed about its provisions (The Mercury, August 5). I have read the bill, and most of its provisions appear sensible. Contrary to what is being spread around, it does allow for possession of a firearm for self-defence (Section 13) and even, if deemed necessary, a “restricted” category of gun, such as a semi-automatic one (Section 14). So why is there so much opposition?…

THYAGARAJ MARKANDAN | Kloof Just a month ago we saw the ugly side of humanity. Graphic images of rampaging mobs looting shopping centres, malls, factories and warehouses in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng were shown all over the world. The scenes were so dramatic that they overshadowed the many deaths that accompanied this lawless, barbaric behaviour, raising the ugly spectre of racism. We shook our heads and watched in disbelief. Has democracy come to nought? Could humans behave so badly? Then, in sharp contrast, came the Tokyo Olympics. It was such a relief to switch on the television. We saw how Japan hosted a flawless Olympic Games under very trying times caused by the pandemic. You could almost feel sorry for the host nation. The greatest show on earth which…

Jolene Marriah-Maharaj jolene.marriah@inl.co.za Three people arrested at Sydenham Heights in Durban have been charged with unlawful possession of firearms, ammunition and drugs. KZN police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala said members of the Durban Flying Squad, who were patrolling the Sydenham area on Wednesday morning, received information about three men who were allegedly illegally in possession of firearms and were selling drugs in the Matlock Settlement next to Sydenham Heights. “The suspects were identified and police officers held further observation. After an initial investigation, the police officers immediately moved in on the suspects. On searching the men, police found three firearms and 139 rounds of ammunition in their possession. Police also recovered heroin and mandrax tablets with a street value of approximately R1 000.” The suspects, aged between 22 and 50,…

Sakhiseni Nxumalo sakhiseni.nxumalo@inl.co.za RACISM, unemployment, poverty and poor economic conditions were some of the ills identified at the hearings held by the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic (CRL) Communities that is investigating the cause of the violence and killings that took place in Phoenix during the unrest last month. The commission said mediation and conflict resolution measures needed to be put in place because of the unprecedented circumstances that led to the deaths. It said this was in line with the call for the rebuilding, reconstruction and stabilising of communities through partnerships and collaborative efforts to facilitate peace and community integration. According to the CRL Rights Commission communications manager, Mpiyakhe Mkholo, all the people who participated in the hearings thus…

Loyiso Sidimba loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za THE National Treasury wants directors-general, heads of government departments and chief financial officers (CFOs) who fail to pay suppliers’ invoices worth billion of rands within 30 days to be disciplined. Treasury yesterday released its latest annual report on non-compliance with payment of suppliers' invoices within 30 days. The report revealed that the total value of invoices paid after 30 days by provincial departments during the 2020/2021 financial year was R25.9 billion, which is an improvement of R1.3bn compared to the 2019/2020 financial year, when the amount was R27.2bn. Provincial governments also failed to pay invoices older than 30 days to the value of R5.3bn by the end of March this year. In national government departments, the total value of invoices paid after 30 days between April 2020…

Global warming represents an existential threat to civilisation THOSE emigrating to distant shores in the wake of recent unrest in the country might want to think twice, given the latest UN report from the Intergovernmental panel on climate change. Those who perceive that the grass is greener on the other side might want to consider the warnings of extreme weather patterns in the next decade or two. Scientists are predicting extreme cold conditions in Europe and North America, as well as much wetter conditions in the North, which is not good news for those who find rainy Britain dreary. It is hard to imagine Northern US and Canada being much colder than they are, when current temperatures can reach -40ºCs with the wind chill in mid-winter. For the sake of…

WHEN casting an eagle-eye view over the Royal AM Football Club saga, it emerges that the Premier Soccer League's Disciplinary Committee (DC) must shoulder the blame for the turn of events that later caused irreparable damage to the image of SA football. In January, before a match between Polokwane City and Sekhukhune United kicked off, the latter protested. When the DC entertained the protest Polokwane was found guilty and forfeited the three points since they won the match 1-0. Instead of completing the process, the DC ended the hearing. The club which protested should have been awarded the points. It is not known why the DC did not complete the process by awarding Sekhukhune the points Polokwane forfeited. Experts say there is also no conceivable reason why Sekhukhune was not…

From travel to technology, employers across the globe are offering four-day weeks as incentives to woo workers after the Covid-19 pandemic upended their working patterns. Debate over the so-called “Scandinavian model”, which holds that productivity will rise if working hours are dropped, is not new but it has gained traction during the Covid-19 crisis not only among companies but also the public sector and politicians. In Europe, Spain’s left-wing government is considering its own version to help its economy, while public administrations in Denmark and Iceland have already adopted four-day weeks. With retail and hospitality now among the sectors struggling to attract and retain staff as economies recover from the crisis, many companies are introducing shorter weeks, the president of global staffing group Adecco said. While there is widespread scepticism…

Cheryl Waterman LAST weekend saw the playing of the PNB Qualifying Masters competition at Hillary and Westville Bowling Clubs. In each division the 12 selected players were drawn into two sections, with the winners of each section earning a place in the PNB Masters tournament to be played from August 27-29. The winners in the Women’s Open Masters were Jay Retief (Bluff BC) and Michelle Nortje (Stella Park BC), with Stella Park making a clean sweep in the Men’s Open Masters when Chris Strover and Wayne Van Nikkelen Kuyper bowled themselves to victory. The Women’s Veteran division saw two Durban Collegians BC bowlers, Marilyn Giraudeaux and Moyra Finnigan, head their sections, and Derrick Lobban (Umhlali Country Club) and Ray le Roux (Parkhill BC) take honours in…

Lender Investec commits to greater environmental transparency Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za INVESTEC yesterday committed to being more transparent with regard to its lending and investment decisions in relation to climate change. This comes as shareholders are slowly pulling away from environmentally unsustainable investment practices such as fossil fuels. The group’s climate risk-related disclosure has received 99.9 percent shareholder approval, the most significant climate-change shareholder resolution for a JSE-listed company to date. The financial services company’s resolution, tabled ahead of its annual general meeting last week, explicitly required the company to take action to address greenhouse gas emissions associated with its lending and investment portfolio. Disclosed in the integrated annual report released yesterday, Investec committed to comply with the goals of the Paris Agreement within its annual report and financial statements…

Sakhiseni Nxumalo sakhiseni.nxumalo@inl.co.za KwaZulu-Natal residents should brace themselves for a chilly weekend. According to the SA Weather Service, the cold front sweeping across the country was expected to affect parts of the province from the early hours of today. Forecaster Thandiwe Gumede said from today, there was a 60% chance of rain expected over the eastern part of KZN, with a 30% chance over the western part. “Due to the rain, we are expecting temperatures to drop, reaching single digits in many places over the western part of the province,” she said. Gumede added that there was a possibility of snow over the Drakensberg and surrounding areas tomorrow morning. Areas that would be most affected by the cold included Underberg, Kokstad, Ladysmith, Harrismith, Newcastle, Mooi River and Bergville. Cold weather…

An asteroid known as Bennu will pass within half the distance of the Earth to the moon in 2135 but the probability of an impact with our planet in the coming centuries is very slight, about one in 1 750, or 0.057%, scientists say. Osiris-Rex, a Nasa spacecraft, spent two years near Bennu, which is about 500m wide, observing its size, shape, mass and composition and monitoring its orbital trajectory around the sun. Using its robotic arm, the spacecraft also collected rocks and dust from the surface of the asteroid that will help researchers determine its future trajectory. This sample is due to return to Earth on September 24, 2023. Bennu was discovered in 1999 and is classified as a potentially hazardous asteroid. Scientists want to figure out how Earth’s…

KUDZAI CHIKOWORE | Human rights activist At the heart of Zimbabwe’s troubles is the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front, a long-time anti-apartheid party that came to power in 1980. Regarding the economic impact of riots and looting in South Africa, Zimbabwe and wider emerging problems, Zimbabwe was the bread basket of Africa and is now the beggar of Africa. The government had a duty to uphold the rule of law to show foreign investors that their businesses would be safe, so that foreign investors help smaller companies raise the capital needed to scale in the country. People across Zimbabwe are facing many problems such as abject poverty and dilapidated infrastructure. South Africa is surveying the damage. The city of Durban in South Africa has estimated over $1 billion…

ALISON FERREIRA | Durban For many years, King’s Park Pool hosted the SA swimming championships and SA trials. Most weekends pre-Covid there were school competitions, inter-club competitions, etc. This year the SA champs and SA trials had to be held elsewhere. What a huge loss for Durban. How exciting it must have been to watch our future Olympic stars. King’s Park has been undergoing maintenance for years now. Who knows when or if ever this will be completed. The same with Rachel Finlayson and many other municipal pools. And Durban wanted to host the Commonwealth Games. What a joke. One feeble excuse for the continued closure of pools was “waiting for chemicals”. Swimming is one of the healthiest and most enjoyable pastimes for young and old. It’s a…

The Gauteng Department of Health has opened a case of theft at the Hillbrow police station after several appliances were stolen from the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital following a fire earlier this year. Gauteng Health Department spokesperson Motalatale Modiba said the department opened the case after doing a check on what equipment and items were taken to other facilities to ensure continuity of care in the aftermath of the April fire. “It was through this process that the missing items were identified, prompting the hospital management to open a case of theft as the items could not be accounted for,” said Modiba. The stolen items include 10 desktop computers, a fridge, six plasma television sets and three laptops. “Immediately after the fire, no one was allowed inside the building.…

Xolile Bhengu xolile.bhengu@inl.co.za The SA Pharmacy Council has said a recent gazette, proposing that pharmacists be allowed to manage patients for antiretroviral treatment, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), aimed to increase the public’s access to health services. However Dr Norman Mabasa, practising general practitioner and former chairperson of the SA Medical Association has blasted the proposal and questioned why it was isolated to one area of disease. The SA Pharmacy Council published a gazette titled “Pharmacist Who Provides Pharmacist-Initiated Management of Antiretroviral Therapy (Pimart) Services” on March 22. Vincent Tlala, registrar and chief executive of the South African Pharmacy Council explained to The Mercury that the introduction of Pimart by the council meant South Africans would now have increased access to HIV testing, first-line treatment and prevention as…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za MOTORISTS who have outstanding traffic warrants in Pietermaritzburg could be in hot water, as the Msunduzi Municipality wants to reintroduce the number plate recognition system, to catch those who are not paying their municipal traffic fines. The municipality wants to reintroduce the automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system, to recover millions of rand owed for traffic violations. The system was abandoned a few years ago due to manpower shortages. The plans are contained in a confidential report about Safe City, the company that manages the city’s surveillance cameras. Msunduzi Municipality provides operational, as well as capital, funding for the entity. There is a dedicated operational desk that has been made available solely for the purpose of detecting by-law infringements, such as littering, as well as to monitor…

Loyiso Sidimba loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za THE ANC wants the local government elections to be postponed to no later than April 1 next year in order to avoid the conflicts and deaths that accompanied its 2016 municipal candidate selection process. The governing party has suggested that the polls be held no later than April 1 due to the predicted rise in Covid-19 infections, which would not be conducive for free and fair polls. While it supports the Electoral Commission of SA’s (IEC’s) Constitutional Court application to have the local government elections postponed until February, it has proposed that they be staged no later than April 1. In the ANC’s affidavit filed by its deputy secretary-general, Jessie Duarte, the party has told the apex court that it could not proceed with its process of…

Baldwin Ndaba baldwin.ndaba@inl.co.za The Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court is expected today to set a trial date for former Bosasa chief operations officer Angelo Agrizzi and his co-accused for fraud and corruption amounting to R1.8 billion. But Agrizzi’s lawyers will have to divulge whether he is medically fit to stand trial following a series of delays due to his non-appearance. The revelations follow Agrizzi’s failure to appear in court on three occasions since February this year due to ill-health. Agrizzi took ill in October while appearing in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court, in Joburg on unrelated charges of fraud and corruption. He is an accused in that matter along with former ANC MP Vincent Smith. Due to Agrizzi’s ill-health, the State was forced to separate their trials. Smith…

Mark Keohane Annelee Murray’s portfolio with the Springboks was that of public relations, but as her book, The First Lady of Springbok Rugby, details, her role and contribution to the success of the Springboks was so much more than a structured job spec. Many in the team called her the mother of the Springboks, but she wasn’t always too fond of that one. ‘It makes me feel a bit too old,’ she jokes, but as John Smit, the 2007 World Cup-winning captain, so eloquently writes in his foreword, she was without a doubt “The First Lady of Springbok Rugby”. I was privileged to author Annelee’s 20-year journey with the Springboks and the book is a delight and an inspiration. If you are a Bok supporter, you’ll love it because…

The Taliban took over the police headquarters in Herat, Afghanistan’s third-largest city, yesterday and also seized another key district capital just 150km from capital Kabul. An AFP correspondent filmed the Taliban flag flying over the police HQ in Herat, while the insurgents tweeted “the enemy fled... Dozens of military vehicles, weapons and ammunition fell into the hands of the Mujahideen”. More details of the Taliban’s presence in the city were not immediately available, but it has been under siege for weeks. Herat, about 150km from the Iranian border, is home to veteran warlord Ismail Khan, who for weeks has been rallying his forces to make a stand against the Taliban. Earlier, the interior ministry confirmed the fall of Ghazni, which lies along the major Kabul-Kandahar highway and serves as a…

MIHLALI BALEKA mihlali.baleka@inl.co.za IF there is a time for Mamelodi Sundowns to stamp their authority in the MTN8, it is now. That is the belief of Manqoba Mngqithi who’s had to watch the Wafa Wafa cup slip through their fingers in the last seven years. Sundowns have dominated domestic football for the last eight years, winning multiple trophies, including championships. The MTN8 is a low-hanging fruit with only four wins needed to walk away with the R8-million prize money. However, this first and most rewarding domestic trophy of the season has eluded them, their last triumph dating back to 2007. That wasn’t because they didn’t care about it or embraced the ‘slow starters’ tag. Instead, there were contributing factors to their shortcomings, such as having a short pre-season as they…