Table of contents for 2022-03-02 in Mercury

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za THE plan to borrow another R1 billion to finance big projects in eThekwini Municipality has come under fire from opposition parties who said the city was borrowing money when it had more than 10 times that amount “parked off” in the form of uncollected debt. EThekwini council this week approved a directive to borrow another R1bn that will be used to fund the city’s capital expenditure. A report tabled before a full council meeting on Monday said the city had resolved that as part of budget approval process, a loan of R1bn be secured to fund capital expenditure in the 2021/2022 financial year. “The proposed new loan in the form of a bond of up to R1bn will not negatively impact the sustainability of the municipality,” the…

One of the joys of artisanal gin- making is sniffing the fragrant botanicals, fruits and seeds used to create the aromatic spirit – but not usually after they’ve passed through the digestive tract of an elephant. Yet that is exactly what Les Ansley does when, foraging through the South African wilderness, he finds a prime specimen of elephant dung, lifting it to his nose to inhale its complex aroma before bagging it to be made into high-end booze. Launched in 2018, Indlovu gin – named after the regional Nguni word for elephant – has expanded into the US, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Japan and Taiwan during the Covid-19 pandemic. Ansley and his wife Paula now export 1 500 bottles a month. Since the start of this year, Woolworths and Pick n…

ALLAN WOLMAN | Tel Aviv, Israel Listening to the callers on a morning talk show one realises just how effective ANC propaganda is, to the point that factual history is replaced with revisionist (hi)story. One must wonder if this forms part of the school curriculum, brainwashing the young with a specific narrative. Nothing different to what the nationalists were doing in the days of apartheid. But it’s more than likely that all countries manipulate and propagate according to the political direction the leadership wants the country to follow. However, in stating the above, it is so very contradictory to how South African democracy was crafted, or one would like to think that was the original strategy of those parties who negotiated this new “democracy”. The topic of conversation…

KEN CRITCHLOW | Kloof A week ago I criticised the Proteas’ abysmal performance against the New Zealand Black Caps. Well fair’s fair. The Proteas turned it around in the last Test, with quite a comfortable win. I asked why Erwee was even in the team, but his 108 was pure class, sadly he let himself down in the second innings, but it’s a start. Markram, Elgar and Van der Dussen still fail to impress. Verrynne made a superb 136 not out and Rabada’s cameo was brilliant. The fielding was still below standard, but at least we looked like a team. Well done, guys.…

Baldwin Ndaba baldwin.ndaba@inl.co.za Western Cape DA leader and former Community and Safety MEC Albert Fritz has resigned from the party following the sexual misconduct scandal. Fritz resigned hours after DA federal council chairperson Helen Zille gave him 24 hours to give reasons why he should not be suspended from the caucus and party activities. This was after Western Cape Premier Alan Winde earlier fired him from the provincial government’s executive council following the release of the independent report into allegations of sexual misconduct. Zille said the DA takes sexual impropriety, sexual abuse and sexual assault very seriously. The DA is also very aware of the responsibility to protect the victims and ensure that they do not suffer secondary abuse as a result of reporting allegations of abuse and assault,” she…

Yogashen Pillay yogashen.pillay@inl.co.za THE ALL Truck Drivers Forum and Allied SA (ATDF ASA) said yesterday that it had put its nationwide strike on hold as it was set to meet the Department of Employment and Labour. On Sunday, some parts of the N3 were blocked by trucks in Gauteng while five people were arrested in Richards Bay for allegedly intimidating truck drivers. The organisation wants no foreign national drivers employed in the industry. ATDF ASA secretary, Sifiso Nyathi said they were preparing for their meeting with the department and that they were also studying the migrant policy that has been published for public comment. On Monday on its website, the department published a gazette on the National Labour Migration Policy. It concerns the employment of foreign nationals. “We will be…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za THE eThekwini Municipality’s employment equity profile has come under scrutiny after concerns were raised by the director-general (D-G) of the Department of Employment and Labour. The D-G found that some of the designated groups may not be adequately represented in the municipality’s staff complement. The designated group refers to individuals who should be prioritised when it comes to employment opportunities to address the imbalances of the past. This refers mostly to black people, women and people living with disabilities. The ANC has committed itself to ensuring that the metro’s employment profile reflects the make-up of society. A report tabled before the council on Monday proposed that the metro should do an analysis of its workforce profile. The report asked for authority to be granted to the head…

KYIV: The Ukrainian special forces commander inspected the remains of a bridge his teams had blown up at the gates of Kyiv and explained his strategy for fighting Russian “saboteurs”. “We have our agents living with the locals,” Spear unit commander Viktor Chelovan said. “If strangers come into our villages, people send us signals, call us, and we go out and take care of these saboteurs.” A fear of Russians disguised as locals is gradually gripping Ukraine. It crept into Kyiv when Russian paratroopers dropped into a local airfield on the edge of the city in the first hours of their invasion last Thursday. The precise number who landed – or who survived the Ukrainian counter- offensive – is unclear. But residents of the neighbouring village of Irpin have been…

Three tycoons and an ex-Nasa astronaut are all set for the first fully private voyage to the International Space Station later this month – just don’t call them tourists. That’s the word from Michael Lopez-Alegria, formerly of the US space agency and now commander of the Ax-1 mission, which will see the crew launch from the Kennedy Space Center on March 30 aboard a SpaceX Dragon, then spend eight days on the orbital platform. The reported ticket price for the three business magnates is $55 million each, a figure that hasn’t been disputed by Axiom Space, the company managing the trip. Speaking to reporters, Lopez-Alegria said: “We are not space tourists. I think there’s an important role for space tourism, but it is not what Axiom is about. “My crewmates…

Nairobi: Wealthy countries should provide at least $60 billion (R923bn) every year to the world’s poorest nations to combat biodiversity loss, an alliance of environment groups said yesterday. The appeal by WWF, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and other green groups was launched on the sidelines of a major UN environment meeting in Nairobi. It comes ahead of key talks for a UN biodiversity summit to be held in China that will see nations hammer out conservation targets for the next decade. A major UN report on climate change stressed the protection of biodiversity and ecosystems.…

Nomonde Zondi nomonde.zondi@inl.co.za STUDENTS at the University of KwaZulu- Natal (UKZN) have distanced themselves from a violent protest that resulted in a vehicle being burnt yesterday. The protest took place at the Westville campus at about 10am. Apart from the vehicle that was set alight, there was damage to buildings, which had been pelted with rocks, and staff members were attacked. The students, who spoke to The Mercury on campus and did not want to be named for fear of reprisals, said they had no idea there would be a strike and were taken aback to receive an email from the university telling them about the protest. “We did not know that there would be a protest. I was shocked when I received an email from the university about what…

THYAGARAJ MARKANDAN | Kloof Have you heard the great news? South Africa has offered to mediate in the crisis between Russia and Ukraine. I was shocked, astounded and flabbergasted. For a moment I couldn’t believe my ears. Could it be true, I asked. A country where the government was caught with its pants down during the July riots wants to broker a peace deal between the Russians and the Ukrainians. The rioters looted and burned down hundreds of shops, malls and warehouses, costing businesses and the country billions of rand in damage. The Cabinet and the police stood by and watched the country burn. And it wants to negotiate a deal in Europe? It cannot stop the factionalism that is rendering the government powerless and tearing the country…

DUNCAN DU BOIS | Bluff LIKE the Covid-19 vaccine narrative, the promoters of the climate change narrative are abusing science and ignoring history in their efforts to cajole people into accepting their demands to ban fossil fuels (The Mercury, February 28). If the activists perused a bit of history, they would find that violent thunderstorms and lightning are a natural occurrence, not just in Kokstad but worldwide, over millennia. Their assertion that “unless radical action is taken to tackle climate change, the country’s agricultural industry faces a grim future” is unscientific, unhistorical and alarmist. In December, when Kentucky was hit by a massive tornado that killed 70 people, the event was blamed on climate change. But in 1925 when a tornado struck the same area, 750 people were…

THE other night, I had to rescue a damsel in distress. It was in the Midlands town of Howick, after dark, and she’d tripped over an upward step, fallen and was in great pain. She obviously needed a doctor. A terrible dilemma. What can one expect out in the bundu, especially at night? Silly me. Somebody called a St Michael’s ambulance and the next thing these paramedics had the good lady strapped into a stretcher then hoisted aboard to be rushed to Lenmed Hospital. This turned out to be not the kind of crumbling, rustic establishment set up by the 19th century missionaries that you’d imagine, but a spotlessly gleaming place that would not be out of place in New York or somewhere. The good lady, in great pain, was…

| African News Agency (ANA), Reuters International Relations and Co-operation Minister Naledi Pandor said she was shocked by revelations that African students fleeing the war in Ukraine by attempting to cross into Poland, were subjected to racism. “I was fairly shocked this morning, to get a message that African students trying to get through the Poland border were being pushed to the back of the line because they are black, and being denied entry in the queue position they were in,” said Pandor. “This goes to prove that we continue to suffer the awful blight of racism, and so we must not allow racism to be placed at the end of the queue in our attention to human rights.” Pandor made the remarks in Geneva, Switzerland, where she is…

Ntombi Nkosi ntombi.nkosi@inl.co.za There has been mixed reaction to the appointment of experienced prosecutor, advocate Andrea Johnson, as the new head of the National Prosecuting Authority’s Investigating Directorate (ID). The parties have called on Johnson to deal without delay with those implicated in theft, fraud and corruption. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the key appointments to the NPA on Monday night, with Johnson replacing advocate Hermione Cronje, who resigned two months ago. The Presidency said Johnson’s appointment came at a time when the country’s efforts were geared towards acting decisively against individuals involved in state capture and corruption. Cope said it welcomed Johnson’s appointment. “This is an excellent appointment. Johnson comes with years of experience in the field of prosecution. We believe that she is the right and suitable person for…

THE people of Ukraine are fighting with the Russian aggressor for their country, for their independence and for their democratic lifestyle. Ukrainians are fighting with courage and sacrifice. I sincerely hope they defeat the Russian aggressors. Aggression against Ukraine is a point of no return for Russian President Vladimir Putin. He certainly has given the impression that the attack on Ukraine is not a walk in the park, and nobody is waiting with flowers for the Russian army. Mr Putin understands that his political and personal future will be decided in the fields of Ukraine. If he knows Russian history, as he claims, he knows that losers don’t have a brilliant fate. Maybe he remembers what happened to Tsars Vasili Shuisky or Paul I Romanov? Mr Putin’s actions have shown…

Ten people have died, and thousands have been forced to evacuate their homes in eastern Australia as almost a week of torrential rain and record flooding have submerged houses, washed away construction cranes and smashed boats like toys. Flash floods had swept through 297km of Australia’s coast across two states by yesterday, with warnings in place for the most populated city, Sydney, as the country endures the final months of the La Niña weather pattern. Storms began in Queensland on February 22 and drenched coastal towns on the way to the city of Brisbane, which received 80% of its typical annual rainfall in three days. The nation has been living under a La Niña weather pattern since November, and it is predicted to ease over the coming months. La Niña…

MOSCOW: An exhibition dedicated to the 85th anniversary of renowned French artist Alain Pierre Bonnefoit “Flight of beauty Paris – Moscow” opened in Moscow’s art gallery Gartallery yesterday. More than 50 works of different periods from Bonnefoit’s collection are on display, including paintings on canvas and wood, sculptures, works in mixed media, and colour graphics in the style of sumi-e. The exhibition will run until April 30. Bonnefoit was born in 1937 in Paris. He studied at the Higher National School of Fine Arts in Paris, then at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels. He has gained popularity in Europe, Japan, South Korea, Tahiti and the US since the 1960s. The artist is inspired by the beauty of the female body and human emotions. A woman for him…

BANGKOK: Thailand plans to facilitate the deployment of labour to Saudi Arabia for the first time in decades, its government said yesterday, as part of the restoration of ties severed by the Gulf State over a multi-million dollar jewellery theft. Thailand has been keen to normalise relations with the oil-rich kingdom after a spat that has cost billions in trade, tourism and the loss of thousands of overseas Thai jobs. Saudi Arabia downgraded relations over the 1989 theft of $20 million of jewels by a Thai janitor in a Saudi prince’s palace. The spat was known as the “Blue Diamond Affair”. The gems, including a rare blue diamond, are yet to be recovered.…

Sibusiso Mboto sibusiso.mboto@inl.co.za LABOUR unions, including the Migrant Workers’ Association, have welcomed a proposed policy that aims to cap the percentage of foreign nationals employed in some of the country’s key economic sectors. The policy is now out for public comment. Unions yesterday said that similar policies are already being applied by a number of countries within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. The National Labour Migration Policy was unveiled by Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi on Monday and is aimed at striking a balance among conflicting interests. Nxesi said the policy aims to achieve a balance in addressing the country’s expectations regarding access to work opportunities, given worsening unemployment and the perception that foreign nationals were distorting labour market access, while introducing quotas on sectors including agriculture,…

FAROUK ARAIE | Gauteng Russian President Putin has alerted his nuclear forces, which means his first- and second-strike nuclear weapons can be unleashed as the codes are given. Once the buttons are pressed, there can be no recall. The doomsday clock is 100 seconds to midnight. It is set every year by the Bulletin of The Atomic Scientists, the latest setting is the closest ever to the apocalypse. It is set every year to determine how much metaphorical time we have to avert catastrophe for mankind. The volatile and escalating situation between Nato and Russia cannot be resolved by military force. Any act of brinkmanship could result in a deadly chain of events that neither Putin nor (US President Joe) Biden will be able to control and contain.…

TERENCE GRANT | Cape Town In 2017, then minister of finance Pravin Gordham issued regulations that allowed state-owned enterprises to refuse to award tenders to companies that were not BEE compliant (regardless of all other considerations). This led Sakeliga (previously known as AfriForum) to take the matter to court, which in 2020 resulted in the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) setting aside the minister’s regulations. In doing so, it stated that state-owned companies “cannot disqualify prospective contractors who are not 51% black-owned without first considering the price and proposition of the tender’’. This ruling was amplified by explaining that state-owned companies have to comply with section 217(1) of the Constitution, which enjoins “organs of state to contract goods or services in accordance with a system that is fair,…

MAINTAINING a unique and separate self in any relationship is an ongoing and necessary process for the person who desires growing emotional wellness. This can be most challenging in intimate relationships, marriages and as a parent, but it doesn’t stop there. Maintaining oneself can also present an enormous challenge at work. We all know someone who got so consumed by their career that who they were got lost in what they did for a living. Similarly, we all know someone who got “lost” in love or gave herself completely to parenting and didn’t know herself or her husband when the children left home. Such a blurring of boundaries in intimacy, family and career is often affirmed as love, commitment and sacrifice – or the call of mothering. Some parents joke…

Zelda Venter zelda.venter@inl.co.za LABOUR union Solidarity and the government will square off in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, on April 20 over the lifting of the State of Disaster. According to Solidarity, there is no reason for the State of Disaster to remain in place. The conditions justifying a State of Disaster have fallen away and for this reason it must also come to an end, the applicants said. While the union served court papers on government at the beginning of the year, the court has only now determined the date on which the matter will be heard. The head of legal matters at Solidarity, Anton van der Bijl, said the court date gave South Africans tangible hope that the end of the State of Disaster was in sight. “The…

A former chief financial officer was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for fraud and money laundering in the Eastern Cape, the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (Hawks) said. Spokesperson Warrant Officer Bonnie Nxumalo said Gcobani Mntumni, 36, was sentenced at the Mthatha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court. “Mntumni, who was a financial officer at the Mbhashe Municipality, added bank accounts belonging to his siblings and friends on to the municipality’s payroll. The municipality paid the ghost employees, and the fraudulent activities were discovered in March 2015. The municipality suffered a total loss of more than R304 000.” Mtumni pleaded guilty on February 23 this year after numerous court appearances. | Mercury Correspondent…

WHEN community groupings take over the role of government officials, including conducting “inspections” aimed at foreign-owned establishments, then South Africans have reason to believe that those they voted into power have failed them. In recent months there has been a considerable increase in the number of these community groupings targeting certain sectors of society, in particular foreign nationals, accusing them of being behind some of the crimes committed in the country. These groupings can be easily described as vigilantes, because at times they charge, prosecute and convict. Among them is the so-called Operation Dudula (push), a group obsessed with those of African origin. Others have been filmed violently demanding that elderly people produce their ID documents. Those who lived during apartheid know very well the pain that this inflicts on…

Russia will continue its special military operation in Ukraine until achieving the main goal of defending itself from Western threats, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said yesterday. “The main thing for us is to protect Russia from the military threat posed by Western countries trying to use the Ukrainian people in the fight against our country,” Shoigu said during a video conference with top defence officials. The Russian military is not occupying Ukrainian territory and is taking all measures to preserve the lives and safety of civilians, he reiterated. “I’d like to stress that the strikes are carried out only against military targets and exclusively with high-precision weapons,” Shoigu said. Moscow considers the behaviour of IT giants such as Google and Meta unacceptable, said Oleg Gavrilov, deputy director of the information…

Islamabad: The year 2021 saw a major surge in cases related to the harassment and abuse of women in Pakistan, with at least 34 000 women registering complaints in connection with various types of offences. Rape, honour killing, the burning of women, sexual harassment and abuse cases were reported mostly in Pakistan’s Punjab province, while similar cases were also reported from Sindh and Khyber Pukhtunkhwa provinces. The data from Balochistan was not available for reference. “Due to increased education and awareness among women, they are asserting their rights and challenging male dominance,” said Afzal Shigri, the former Inspector General of Police of Sindh province.…