Innehållsförteckning för 2021-08-26 från Mercury

Upward revision will be pleasing to ratings agencies but still shows rising debt, warns economist Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za The rand strengthened yesterday, dipping below the R15-mark against the dollar following reports that South Africa’s economy was bigger than previously estimated. Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) yesterday said the economy was actually 11 percent larger in 2020 than previously estimated. StatsSA’s upward revision followed its normal five yearly rebasing and benchmarking exercise. The stats agency said the revised estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2020 was R5.521 trillion, an increase of 11 percent, compared with the previous estimate of R4.973trln. The rand flexed its muscles against all G10 currencies after having retreated to a near 6-month low last week after a risk-off sentiment in global markets on Delta variant concerns. FXTM’s…

Gardening Lutho Pasiya lutho.pasiya@inl.co.za I imagine there are lots of home vegetable gardeners looking at empty beds now. You may not have considered planting earlier this year, but now, while the weather is still cool to mild, there is still time to plant wonderful cool-season vegetables. One of the biggest trends in gardening today is growing your own food, no matter what size your garden. Growing your own vegetables ensures they are fresh, have not been sprayed with chemicals, and you save on grocery bills. It is easy to grow vegetables from seed. All you need to ensure is that you sow at the correct time of year and give the seeds a good start with composted soil, sunshine, and access to water. So, what vegetables can you still plant…

Thami Magubane THE Msunduzi Municipality will provide financial support to Maritzburg United Football Club, to the tune of millions of rand – despite its own finances being in tatters. The financial sponsorship will cost the city a minimum of R27 million over the next three years – at R9m a year. However, this is less than the R15m per year that the club had requested. On Wednesday, The Mercury reported that the Msunduzi Association of Residents, Ratepayers and Civics (MARRC) had written to the municipality to voice its disapproval of the deal. The association argued in the letter that the municipality, which is under administration, had more pressing matters, like repairing the multitude of water leaks, electrical substations, potholes, and upgrading infrastructure in the city. Yesterday, when the matter…

G WALKER | Durban In a recent article covering Paul Adams’ submission to cricket’s equivalent to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, I was rather perturbed by the lack of balance of Mark Keohane’s article, given his apparent face-value acceptance of Adams’s testimony without checking, or at least providing evidence that he checked the veracity of the evidence given, or looked at any of the “context” in which the alleged offence was committed. Why is he singling out Mark Boucher, when there were other players of colour in the squad at the time who possibly were actively involved in the singing of the alleged “slur”? Did Keohane actually check if that was the case, and if it is so, why are they not mentioned in the article or asked…

MOHAMED SAEED | Pietermaritzburg The passing away of a loved one is a human experience we all have at one time or another. At a time when a Muslim experiences a tragedy in life, especially upon hearing news that a person has passed away, we say to the family members “We surely belong to Almighty and to Him we shall return”. However, I did not expect to hear the statement so soon concerning the death of my young son. Suddenly, without warning, my son Maseehullah, the apple of his late granny’s eye, fulfilled the Quranic message that “every soul shall taste death”. The loss of a child is unthinkable and the experience is not something any parent should go through. Although the proverb goes “time is the healer”,…

Dear Rod As my parents were living in the Free State at the time, my sister and I were sent to Maris Stella Convent as boarders. There we met the resident priest, Father John Gannon, who was to become a surrogate parent, mentor and forever friend. Being unable to go home because of the distance, on free Sundays and weekends, we often had to remain at school. On Sunday afternoons, Father Gannon would bundle us into his little bottle-green “Prefect” with “Mitzi” his golden spaniel and drive us all down to the beachfront. There we would frolic in the waves and be treated to cooldrinks and ice cream. What a treat. When I got married, Father Gannon officiated at my wedding and when my nieces were born, he baptised them…

Carried out shortly before the July riots, the findings from the most recent Afrobarometer survey show that South Africans’ trust in a variety of institutions is at its lowest level since first being measured by Afrobarometer in 2006. The Afrobarometer team in South Africa, led by the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation and Plus 94 Research, interviewed 1 600 adults in May and June. The key findings were: Trust in nearly all institutions is low – and declining. Only media broadcasters, both independent (63%) and government (61%), and the Department of Health (56%) – the data was collected prior to an investigation into alleged corruption implicating then minister of Health Zweli Mkhize – enjoy the trust of a majority of citizens. Only a minority of South Africans say they trust…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za ETHEKWINI Municipality’s wastewater and water treatment works are at high risk of failure that could result in pollution and a public health crisis. A report looking into the state of the city's water and sanitation infrastructure highlighted concerns with the city’s wastewater and water treatment works. “Most of the treatment works need some urgent intervention in order to unlock capacity in the city. There exists a high overall risk of infrastructure failure and collapse,” it said. The report also looked at the lack of generators at wastewater and water treatment works to mitigate against power outages and load shedding. “Most treatment works’ gensets (generator sets) do not cover all critical process equipment. There are treatment works that do not have a genset (which means treatment is compromised…

This opinion piece is neither a follow-up nor a reminder to the readers of the opinion piece I wrote in 2013. Far from it. I am the first one to concede that the anthropology of society is often situational. Perhaps in 2013, when I scribed it, the pulse of South African citizens had focused on some incidental critical priorities. The land question drips out of our saliva at the slightest opportunity we get to engage on serious matters of national interest. In Parliament and other fora, no discussion ends without traversing the land issue. What prompts me to enter the ring without being invited to engage on the land issue is the energy exuded by two young intellectuals who once led the ANC Youth League together: one as the president…

LIMA: Peru supports international efforts to settle the political crisis in Venezuela and is ready to host negotiations between the government and opposition, the country’s newly-appointed Foreign Minister Oscar Maurtua de Romana said. “We offer Peru’s support so that this process yields results, including eventually the possibility to become an alternate place of negotiations,” the minister said during his address during the inauguration ceremony on Tuesday. After a prolonged hiatus in negotiations, the government and opposition of Venezuela, resumed talks earlier in August.…

With untreated sewage in the water and rubbish piled on the sand, pollution on Tripoli’s Mediterranean coast is denying residents of the war-torn Libyan capital a much-needed escape. The environment ministry last month ordered the closure of a number of beaches along the 30km Greater Tripoli coastline, despite the summer heat. “The situation is catastrophic,” said Abdelbasset al-Miri, the ministry official in charge of monitoring the coast. “We need quick solutions for this problem because it harms the environment just as much as it harms people.” Daily discharges of untreated sewage from the capital’s 2 million population make this the most polluted section of the 1 770km coastline. Cans, plastic bags and bottles plague the water and shore. On one beach, near a large hotel, open-air rivulets channel untreated wastewater…

eshlin.vedan@inl.co.za WHILE last night’s DStv Premiership games produced many goals, AmaZulu and Moroka Swallows shared the spoils in a goalless draw at the Jonsson Kings Park Stadium in Durban. Concerning for AmaZulu will be the fact that they have not yet won any of their three games in all competitions so far this season. Usuthu opened the season with an MTN8 quarter-final elimination at the hands of Cape Town City. Then followed an opening day league defeat to Mamelodi Sundowns and yesterday’s draw against Swallows. Usuthu seem to be lacking the killer instinct that they showed last season when they finished as league runners-up. AmaZulu’s new recruit, Matarr Ceesay, made some enterprising runs forward in the first half but the Gambian’s decision making appeared to be slow as the…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za RICHARDS Bay Minerals managing director Werner Duvenhage told journalists yesterday that getting the business back on track following a three-month-long closure is going to be a painful process. Richards Bay, a unit of globally diversified mining company Rio Tinto, said on Tuesday that it was preparing to resume operations after reaching an agreement with its community leaders. The mine ground to a halt amid escalating tensions within its host community at the end of June. “Our key focus right now is restarting our business after being down for almost three months. It is going to be a painful process to restart, but we have tried to maintain our assets as much as possible, but I am sure we are going to have stumbling blocks along the way,…

Marchelle Abrahams marchelle.abrahams@inl.co.za We’ve heard the rumours and had glimpses of an expanding bump but never did we imagine DJ Zinhle would take us by surprise by announcing her baby news with a teaser clip for her new reality show to premiere on BET Africa later this month. Taking to social media, Zinhle shared a promo video for Unexpected. Not giving much away, the Indlovu hitmaker teased fans with what to expect, but many of us were blown away with the final scene showing her gently rubbing what appears to be a baby bump. It was definitely unexpected. Many local celebrity mamas who announced their pregnancies have pulled out all the stops, but Zinhle’s pregnancy reveal is probably the most spectacular we’ve witnessed. Coming completely out of left field,…

Sakhiseni Nxumalo sakhiseni.nxumalo@inl.co.za RESIDENTS in Jacobs, south of Durban, have been battling the effects of smoke pollution after a fire broke out at a chemical factory early yesterday. The South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (Sdcea) said some residents had complained of chest pains, itchy eyes and coughing. Affected areas included Wentworth and Merebank, but because of a change in wind direction, Clairwood, Montclair, the Bluff and Mobeni were also at risk. According to the Durban Central Fire acting divisional commander, Sifiso Mtshali, more than 50 firefighters were dispatched to the chemical factory, KZN Resins (Pty) Ltd. Speaking to The Mercury at the scene, Mtshali said a call was received just after midnight and a team from the Jacobs Fire Station arrived 10 minutes later. Mtshali said more than 10 response…

KEVIN GOVENDER | Shallcross SOUTH Africa must rate as one of the easiest countries to qualify for professional football status. All you need is lots of cash and a small dose of influence and you’re winging it to the high-end world of professional football. A quick flip through the past four years reveals five sales, two to relegated clubs and three to First Division clubs seeking the back-door into top-flight football. The latest is the sale of 52-year-old Bloemfontein Celtic FC to Durban businesswoman, Shauwn Mkhize. The latest addition to the KwaZulu-Natal stable of professional outfits is Royal AM FC – the AM an obvious reference to her young son, Andile Mpisane, presumed to be the youngest football chairman in South Africa. Mkhize has been embroiled in a…

PAKS PAKIRIY | Durban North IN A moment of what one would call madness, the government’s latest proposal for a national social security fund is a non-starter. To create such a fund, the government wants every employee to pay a 12.5% deduction from their salary. It’s a crazy notion dreamt up by the ANC and the minister of social welfare. This was not even discussed in the Cabinet, it is alleged. This piece of proposed legislation must be stopped in its tracks. The insurance and investment companies are well placed to do what the government wants to do. Give all workers a bigger incentive to take out a private pension plan with an insurance company. The fund will be looted by ANC cadres and, in time, the investment return will…

Elton John has mourned the loss of “the ultimate drummer”, Charlie Watts. The Rolling Stones drummer died on Tuesday at the age of 80, and following the sad news dozens of celebrities have taken to social media to share their memories of the music legend. Among those to honour Charlie’s life first were singing icon Elton, and fellow drumming superstar Ringo Starr. Elton took to Twitter and wrote: “A very sad day. Charlie Watts was the ultimate drummer. The most stylish of men, and such brilliant company. ” Beatles legend Ringo penned: “#God bless Charlie Watts we’re going to miss you man peace and love to the family Ringo (sic)” Ringo’s bandmate Sir Paul McCartney also posted a message on Twitter in the form of a 50-second video…

| Mercury Correspondent The portfolio committee on police has slated the Police Ministry for employing only three new personnel and promoting five members at the embattled Central Firearm Registry (CFR), which faces backlogs in the processing of firearm licence applications and amnesties. Police top brass and Police Minister Bheki Cele virtually briefed the committee this week on progress made from May to date in dealing with backlogs regarding firearm amnesty capturing and other processes. About 165 715 firearms were surrendered, and 14 419 firing tests have been conducted. Of the 123 199 specimens received at Forensic Science Laboratories for analysis, 54 507 were finalised and 68 692 are still being processed. A total of 75 363 firearms have been surrendered for licence application and only 4 241 of these…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za THE Msunduzi Municipality is looking into whether it can criminally charge residents found stealing water and electricity through illegal connections. Councillors in the municipality have proposed that the municipality open criminal charges against those stealing, and the municipality conceded that it had been considering the idea for almost a year. The issue emerged as the city was looking at a report on illegal connections during a full council meeting yesterday. The municipality is suffering massive losses through theft, illegal connections and non-payment, and is owed close to R5 billion by ratepayers. DA councillor Ross Strachan said illegal connections were everywhere in the city and not only posed a danger to residents, but was also a crime. He said that in his ward this week, a child was…

IT IS clear that the ANC’s much-hyped renewal and unity project has been an epic failure, especially if the recent violence plaguing its selection of candidates for the upcoming local government elections is anything to go by. It is no secret that the party cannot self-correct. Just look at the people occupying some of its top positions. The recent events around the selection of candidates make for interesting reading, especially since President Cyril Ramaphosa used his appearance before the Zondo Commission of inquiry to paint a picture of an ANC that is working very hard to renew itself. Reality shows the opposite. Just last week, we reported that the ANC nomination process for a councillor in Ward 15 in Nellmapius near Pretoria took a violent turn when a branch member…

Dubai: Dubai authorities yesterday confirmed they have arrested one of Italy’s most wanted international drug barons and his right-hand man, after years on the run. Raffaele Imperiale, considered to be one of Italy’s most dangerous fugitives, was a top operative from the Naples organised crime world. In 2016 he was believed to have fled to the Gulf emirate. A statement said Dubai police had arrested Imperiale. “It also arrested Imperiale’s right-hand man Raffaele Mauriello, who is responsible for plotting and executing murders and assassinations using unlicensed firearms,” the statement added.…

LONDON: Carbon dioxide emissions from the global electric power sector rebounded in the first half of 2021 to above pre-pandemic levels, according to an analysis, signalling that the world has failed to engineer a “green recovery” and shift decisively away from fossil fuels. As electricity demand jumped from last year’s lows, the London-based think tank Ember found, it outpaced the growth of renewable energy. That pushed global electricity-related emissions 5% above where they stood before the coronavirus outbreak. The new findings have major implications for the upcoming UN climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, where negotiators hope to forge a pact to cut greenhouse gas emissions and keep the planet from warming more than 1.5°C compared with pre-industrial levels. They also suggest that a surge in electric vehicles, which US President…

Western nations rushed to complete the evacuation of thousands of people from Afghanistan yesterday as the August 31 deadline for the withdrawal of foreign troops drew closer with no sign that the country’s new Taliban rulers might allow an extension. In one of the biggest such airlifts ever, the United States and its allies have evacuated more than 70 000 people, including their citizens, Nato personnel and Afghans at risk, since August 14, the day before the Taliban swept into the capital Kabul to bring to an end a 20-year foreign military presence. US President Joe Biden said US troops in Afghanistan faced mounting danger and aid agencies warned of an impending humanitarian crisis for the population left behind. Biden said they were on pace to meet the deadline, set…

The word ‘legacy’ popped up twice on my radar this week. The first was Netflix reminding me that it was the first anniversary of its broadcast of ‘the Last Dance,’ the excellent 10-part documentary on the Chicago Bulls’ championship years in the 1990s. It is widely regarded as having enhanced Michael Jordan’s legacy, as one of the greatest basketball players ever and one of the most influential athletes of any era. The second reminder of legacy came from reading Mark Boucher’s submission to Cricket SA’s Social Justice and Nation Building project. Boucher has become one of the central figures at the hearings. It was always likely to be the case given his extended playing career and later his coaching one, which has seen him become the Proteas head coach. “It…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE GOVERNMENT will be tightening its belt further this financial year, as downward risks to the fiscus have materialised after it lost a bruising battle with labour unions over wage increases. The National Treasury yesterday confirmed to Parliament that the recently signed wage agreement with 1.2 million public servants would cost the fiscus R20 billion in the 2021/22 fiscal year. Treasury director-general Dondo Mogajane said the wage agreement would have an impact on the fiscus, because it was over and above the compensation ceilings that had been tabled in February. The government’s wage bill accounts for about a third of consolidated spending. “The risks have finally materialised now. It’s not ideal to not give inflation-linked increases, but the reality is that we have come to…

Loyiso Sidimba loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za MORE than two dozen deaths as a result of police action reported during the recent unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng are under investigation. The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) is also investigating cases of deaths in police custody. According to documents obtained by Independent Media, Ipid is investigating 26 deaths due to police action, including 17 in KZN and nine in Gauteng. In both provinces, two deaths in police custody were reported to Ipid. The directorate also received reports of three deaths as a result of police action at the Phoenix police station in Durban, as well as nine cases reported of assault. Ipid received 74 cases, 61 in KwaZulu-Natal and 13 in Gauteng, and these include 25 cases of assault, 17 complaints of discharge of an…

Unable to manage your blood pressure levels? Eating flavonoid-rich foods like berries, apples, pears and drinking red wine can lower systolic blood pressure levels, as well as improve greater diversity in gut microbiome, according to new research. The study, published in the journal, Hypertension, showed that up to 15.2% of the association between flavonoid-rich foods and systolic blood pressure could be explained by the diversity found in participants’ gut microbiome. Flavonoids are broken down by the body’s gut microbiome, the bacteria found in the digestive tract. Eating 1.6 servings of berries a day (about 1 cup) was associated with an average reduction in systolic blood pressure levels of 4.1 mm Hg, and about 12% of the association was explained by gut microbiome factors. Drinking 2.8 glasses (125ml per glass)…

LEON DE VOS | La Lucia IF THE ANC’s track record is anything to go by, then those heartless, corrupt ANC politicians and their “sidekick comrades” must have been rubbing their hands with glee when they heard of the R65 billion International Monetary Fund loan coming our way. I can imagine all the scheming going on right now, to find the best possible ways of getting as much money as possible without getting caught. There are no empty threats from the president himself that will deter this bunch of greedy hyenas who themselves know, from experience, that there are no accountability structures in place and therefore no consequences to past, present or future cases of corruption while the ANC members have one another’s backs. The only problem they…

MY OLD mate Tom Lambert, retired headmaster of ’Toti High, follows up on last week’s piece about golf: Golfer to caddie at the tee: “How long is this hole? About half an hour.” Having a particularly bad round at an intervarsity in Cape Town one year, I asked my caddie whether I should use my five- or six-iron to the green. His reply: “You’d do better with your umbrella.” I think this one is attributed to Bob Hope. Hitting his ball into thick, bushy scrub, he yelled to his caddie: “Forget about the ball, just come and find me!” A novice golfer is hacking the ball rather frequently towards the green. Then he sinks his putt. A voice calls: “Now you’re in real trouble.” Yeah, that’s golf for you. Tom…

| African News Agency (ANA) The High Court in Polokwane has sentenced Mpho Penuel Mbuyane to two life sentences after convicting him for the murder of a couple at a farm near Zebediela in Limpopo. “The accused was convicted on two counts of murder and three counts of house robbery. He was sentenced to two life imprisonment terms for the double murders and 15 years for the house robberies,” said Limpopo police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo. “The trial court found that the 37-year-old Mbuyane entered the Kalkpoort game farm outside Zebediela on August 20, 2017, and robbed and shot an elderly couple several times with a firearm.” The couple, Piet van Zyl, 68, and his wife Tilla, 66, died at the scene. The intruder then fled the scene with…

Kailene Pillay kailene.pillay@inl.co.za SUSPENDED ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule’s legal team accused three Johannesburg High Court judges of judicial bias in his suspension case – which he took to the courts to overturn. Magashule returned to the Johannesburg High Court yesterday, where he sought leave to appeal its ruling to uphold his suspension from the ANC. Magashule was suspended by the governing party in May, in a letter signed by ANC deputy secretary- general Jessie Duarte, in which the party said that he would be temporarily suspended until the outcome of his legal proceedings. His suspension came after the ANC deadline had passed for leaders implicated in and facing corruption charges before the courts to step aside from their roles. Representing the suspended leader, advocate Dali Mpofu SC based his argument…

Flag flying in Chinese capital will bring hope to people ravaged by pandemic worldwide At the just-concluded Tokyo Summer Olympic Games, Chinese athletes fully demonstrated the hard work, confidence and openness of the Chinese people. South African athletes also performed equally brilliantly extraordinarily. Their attitude of rising to challenges and winning glory for the country is highly also commendable, whether it is the gold medal-winning swimmer Tatjana Schoenmaker or the skateboarder Dallas Oberholzer who regards “skateboarding “as his life”. Following the Tokyo Summer Olympics, the world will have another Olympic feast in February next year – Beijing Winter Olympics. Having hosted the Summer Olympics in 2008, Beijing will again attract the attention of the world. Juan Antonio Samaranch, the honorary lifetime chairperson of the International Olympic Committee, praised the…

SEOUL: South Korea’s childbirth rates hit a record low in the first half of this year, fueling concern about the so-called demographic cliff, statistical office data showed yesterday. The number of newborn babies stood at 136 917 in the January-June period, down 3.5 percent from a year earlier, according to Statistics Korea. It marked the lowest first-half figure since data began to be compiled in 1981. The newborns kept skidding amid the growing social trend of delayed marriage and the falling number of women who are of childbearing age. The number of marriages diminished 11.9 percent over the year.…

FIFTEEN people have died in the Venezuelan Andes after heavy rains triggered mud and rock slides. Several hours of downpours in the Mocoties Valley, a farming region in western Merida state that attracts tourists, caused boulders to tumble down mountainsides, blocking off roads. Jehyson Guzman, an official overseeing Merida on behalf of President Nicolas Maduro, said 15 people had been confirmed dead. Images shared on social media showed a stream of water carrying vehicles down a street in the village of Tovar. Others showed cars buried in mud or stuck between tree roots sticking out of a quagmire surrounded by rocks and furniture. Merida governor Ramon Guevara said the Mocoties river had burst its banks and flooded Tovar, which has been cut off from electricity and telephone coverage. Roads accessing…