Table of contents for 2022-07-18 in Mercury

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has given a glimpse into the mooted plan by govern- ment to resolve the ongoing energy crisis through the creation of another state-owned power utility. This comes after Eskom plunged the country into Stage 6 power cuts last month, with power gen- eration deteriorating to its worst levels since December 2019, due to plant break- downs that were worsened by a lack of maintenance during a strike by workers. Ramaphosa said on Friday that Eskom’s monopoly of electricity supply was posing a “risk” to South Africa’s econo- my amid its years-long failures to meet energy demand. He said the Minister of Minerals Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe had proposed a second state-owned power utility be established. “It is a risk to have one electricity (provider) owned by…

THE NATIONAL Treasury says it is taking steps to strengthen public participation in the drafting of the national Budget in a bid to further improve transparency. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in January invited South Africans to share their suggestions about what the government should be spending on, how to address a large Budget deficit, new sources of tax revenues and other Budget-relevant information. This is usually a normal pre-Budget process to encourage public interest as the finance minister strives to strike a balance between competing national spending priorities. However, the Treasury on Friday said South Africa wanted to strengthen its commitment to a transparent budget system after maintaining its reputation as a global leader in this sphere. This comes as South Africa came second in transparency in the 2021 Open…

HOURS after her death, ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte was buried at the Westpark Cemetery in Joburg in accordance with Muslim rites of passage. The Struggle stalwart who had been on sick leave for months died at home in the early hours yesterday, after she lost her long battle with cancer. She was aged 68. President Cyril Ramaphosa had earlier on in the day announced that government would hold an official and provincial funeral category 2. Duarte was a long-time anti-apartheid activist who served as special assistant to Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu. Scores of politicians and business people were at Duarte’s funeral, including suspended party secretary-general Ace Magashule, who was there in his personal capacity after he stepped aside from all ANC activities. Also present was former president Kgalema…

IN THE space of four hours, two accidents in KwaZulu-Natal left 18 people dead this weekend. In one crash six people died on the N11 near Dundee. Another accident on the R617 in Mpophomeni, near Howick, claimed the lives of 12 people. Among the dead in the R617 crash, which involved a minibus taxi, a police van, a private security vehicle and a bakkie, were a police officer and two security guards whose stationary vehicles were hit while they were attending to an accident that had taken place earlier. Midlands EMS spokesperson Roland Robertson said Midlands EMS Howick advanced life support ambulances were dispatched to the R617 just after 9.30pm. Robertson said that when the paramedics arrived, they were met with a gruesome scene that stretched about 200m on the…

Mr President, have you read Frantz Fanon’s Wretched of the Earth? He warned of the dangers of failed decolonisation. Towards the middle of his book, in a chapter aptly labelled “The pitfalls of national consciousness”, in the words of Ngugi wa Thiong’o, “he warned that instead of being the crystallisation of the aspirations of the people, African nationalism was in the danger of becoming an empty shell and a travesty of its promise”. Three decades post-liberation from a colonising apartheid, discontent and disenchantment is akin to that fear of Alan Paton about a time “when loving turns to hating”. Fanon’s predictions very much resonate vis-a-vis your government’s “last kick of a dying horse”. When you spoke at the SACP conference, you avowed your commitment to “transform the ANC”. You tried,…

WHATEVER happened to the smoke-filled rooms of old, where weighty political decisions on matters of state used to be made behind closed doors? In Britain the Tories’ drawn-out and very public process of selecting a replacement as prime minister for Boris Johnson at times approaches the bizarre. The remaining five aspirants were quizzed live on TV, each asked whether he/she thinks Johnson is an honest man. “Sometimes,” one replied, then laughed. Another just shook his head. The closest any one of them came to expressing any degree of support for the departing prime minister was Liz Truss – of the party’s Johnson- supporting faction – who said he had admitted to making mistakes. What real bearing does such a question have on deciding who is the best candidate…

EFF president Julius Malema has accused singer Kelly Khumalo of knowing who killed Bafana Bafana captain and goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa, saying he was more than convinced that Khumalo knew something. Malema also blasted advocate Malesela Teffo, formerly the defence counsel for four of the five men accused of killing Meyiwa. Last week Teffo withdrew from the case, citing harassment from the State and the court. Meyiwa was killed in an alleged home invasion on October 26, 2014, at the home of Khumalo, who at the time was his girlfriend. Addressing the media last week about several issues facing the country, including president Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala scandal and crime, Malema said Khumalo had to be held accountable because she had knowledge of the murder. “We hold the view that…

The AA has predicted a slight decrease in the price of fuel at the beginning of next month. Experts have agreed that a fuel decrease is likely, but warned consumers to guard their spending as the country was still not through the difficult financial times. Layton Beard, spokesperson of the AA, said South Africans could expect some relief at the pumps in August. “The current numbers are showing 95 ULP petrol down by around 90c/litre, 93ULP down by around R1.07/l and the wholesale price of diesel decreasing by around 91c/l. Illuminating paraffin is also set for a decrease of about 94c/l.” Beard described the decrease as good news for consumers and motorists that would ease some pressure on embattled budgets. “We must, however, be cognisant of the fact that this…

With immense sadness the nation was told of the passing of ANC Struggle stalwart Yasmin “Jessie” Duarte. An iconic symbol of true grit, a hero of the struggle to obtain equality across the world. Her courage and strength made you stand in awe. She never blinked. She gave hope to a generation of women and was instrumental in our Struggle for equality, and played a crucial and pivotal role in our emancipation from racism. Women like her and many others made personal sacrifices that enabled us to shed our chains of enslavement, and thrust upon us the virtues of liberty and freedom. Sadly, we also lost many stalwarts during the past few years. They made the ultimate sacrifice. That is why our nation endures. Our future success is predicated upon…

Osogbo: Voting began to elect a new governor for Nigeria’s south-west Osun state on Saturday, in a final test for the elections next year. According to the Independent National Electoral Commission, 1.9 million voters registered to vote. The Osun election front runners are governor Gboyega Oyetola (All Progressives Congress), the main opposition People’s Democratic Party senator Ademola Adeleke, Akin Ogunbiyi (Accord Party) and Yusuf Lasun (Labour). The ballot is seen as a battleground for the leading parties to test support for their presidential hopefuls before the February 2023 election as President Muhammadu Buhari steps down after eight years in office. |…

LIMASSOL: Cyprus has opened its first underwater archaeological park, offering visitors a glimpse of history at one of the eastern Mediterranean’s best preserved ancient harbours. The now-submerged harbour lying off the ancient city-kingdom of Amathus was constructed between 312/311 BC and 294 BC, when Cyprus was the focus of conflict between two sucessors of Alexander the Great. It was probably constructed as a naval base because of its narrow entrance, though experts say its combined commercial use cannot be dismissed either. Over the centuries, it has developed into a natural reef where marine life thrives. |…

Russia is using Europe’s largest nuclear power plant as a base to store weapons including “missile systems” and shell the surrounding areas of Ukraine,the head of Kyiv’s nuclear agency Energoatom has said. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in south-eastern Ukraine has been under Russian control since the early weeks of Moscow’s invasion, although it is still being operated by Ukrainian staff. Petro Kotin, the president of Energoatom, said on Friday in a televised interview that the situation was “extremely tense”, with up to 500 Russian soldiers controlling the site. “The pressure on the occupiers to leave the territory of the plant is insufficient,” he said, before taking aim at the International Atomic Energy Agency. “(The IAEA) is playing some political games, balancing between Russia and Ukraine,” he said. The agency has…

Lungi Ngidi 2.0. At only 26-years-old, that is quite a statement but such has been Ngidi’s troubles that this England Tour is a virtual rebirth for the hulking fast bowler. A former automatic selection for the South African senior men’s team in all formats, Ngidi has fallen down the pecking order over the past two years due to a combination of injury and illness. Now in the best physical shape that he’s been in a long while, Ngidi has been tasked with leading the Proteas attack in the upcoming three-match ODI series against world champions England, starting in Durham tomorrow. His good mate Kagiso Rabada has been rested for the first-leg of the tour. It is a position he’s familiar with, often thriving with the extra responsibility, with his best…

MTN’s ATTEMPT to buy Telkom is one of the most audacious bids that we have yet to see in the South African Information and Communications Technology (ICT) space, according to Arthur Goldstuck, the managing director of World Wide Worx. This follows mobile operators MTN and Telkom announcing that they have entered into a formal discussion about MTN buying Telkom. In similar statements released on the JSE on Friday, both companies said the discussions were about MTN acquiring the entire issued share capital of partially state-owned telecommunications provider, Telkom, in return for shares or a combination of cash and shares in MTN. The companies said the discussions were at an early stage and there was no certainty that the transaction would be consummated. If the deal goes through, this means MTN…

INVESTORS are increasingly interested in sustainability issues as this pertains to all their investments, irrespective of whether they are large or small, equities or bonds, listed or unlisted, across all sectors. Different measurements are made to determine the condition of the atmosphere. The primary variables are barometric pressure, temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind speed, and wind direction. Meteorologists study these readings to help forecast the weather. Most of the atmosphere is composed of nitrogen. In addition to 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent is oxygen. The remaining 1 percent is composed of argon, carbon dioxide, and other gases. The 99 percent of the atmosphere is found within 32km of the surface of the Earth. Half of the atmosphere’s weight is from the surface up to 5.5km in the…

Suspended secretary-general of the ANC, Ace Magashule, has labelled the late deputy secretary-general as a no-nonsense person who shared explosive secrets with him when they often secretly met former president Jacob Zuma. Magashule was speaking to the media outside the home of the late Jessie Duarte, who took ill around November last year, leaving the office of the secretary-general vacant since Magashule was under suspension. Duarte succumbed after an eight-month battle with cancer, resulting in a string of condolences emanating from different sectors of society, including various political formations. “Our relationship dates back to the years of the Struggle. I always went to her home and we had one-on-one discussions. We would meet Comrade Bathabile Dlamini, and when we had issues she would actually say, ‘Comrade Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and…

Do you see a therapist about your family or relationship issues? Here are a few ways to measure your progress. You’re gaining the courage you need to define yourself more and more clearly. You’re learning the futility of trying to define others, especially the people to whom you’re closest. Defining yourself means you’re declaring who you are and what you want in the nicest, kindest, most self-assured manner, and anticipating that those to whom you’re closest will do the same, or not. You’re urging your ego to opt for being quieter, less defensive, and more curious. This is with the welcome knowledge that you have a lot to learn from how you got into the circumstances you face. You understand that you are the common denominator in all of your…

THIS is no tooth fairy tale but a real show of apology and redemption from Belgian authorities who recently led an entire entourage of children and grandchildren of the late Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) prime minister, Patrice Lumumba, who escorted a gold-capped tooth, all the way from Belgium to Kishasa, DRC. The procession with Belgian officials in tow made global news headlines. Lumumba was the first prime minister of the DRC from June to September 1960 but was assassinated by a firing squad on January 17, 1961. History books tell us that shortly after gaining independence in 1960, a mutiny broke out in the army which marked the beginning of the Congo Crisis. Belgium supported the Katangan secessionists led by Moise Tshombe and the US refused to help, believing…

THE 73-year-old Prince Charles has five grandchildren whose parents are Prince William and Duchess Catherine and Archie and Lilibet, who live in California with their parents Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan – and Charles loves to put on funny voices when he reads books to the kids. Charles’s wife, Duchess Camilla, said: “His grandchildren aren’t (too old), and he’s very good because he does all these voices for them. He loves Babar the Elephant. They are such lovely books, I think all ages love them, even grown-ups. “I think we all do that (introduce grandchildren to the books we enjoyed as a child) don’t we? I can never read Black Beauty to Eliza, my grand-daughter, though, because she can’t cope with anything to do with an animal that is hurt.”…

A mentally challenged girl from Hibberdene on the South Coast finally received justice after DNA from another case committed two years later, positively linked the man who raped her in 2019 at the age of 11, as her rapist. A 42-year-old man was sentenced to life in prison after he pleaded guilty to the rape of the 11-year-old girl in the Hibberdene area on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast. The Scottburgh Regional Court sentenced the accused on Friday. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara said the rape was committed in March 2019. “On the day of the incident, the child, who was mentally challenged, was on her way home from the shop, when he accosted her,” Ramkisson-Kara said. She said the accused dragged the girl into a bushy area…

A convicted and sentenced rapist has been granted leave to appeal after the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ruled that if “alleged shortcomings in the analysis of evidence” were considered, a different conclusion could be reached. Acting SCA Judge Violet Phatshoane set aside the Western Cape High Court’s decision to dismiss Jovan Maree’s application for leave to appeal, finding the trial court had committed a number of misdirections, including the “lack of a proper holistic analysis of the evidence, in particular the version presented by the State, upon which the onus rested to prove the appellant’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt”. Judge Phatshoane held that there was a reasonable prospect that another court on appeal might consider the statutory minimum sentence imposed to be disproportionate to the crime. Maree, 32, stood…

Media freedom and democracy are inextricably linked “A critical, independent and investigative press is the lifeblood of any democracy. “The press must be free from state interference. It must have the economic strength to stand up to the blandishments of government officials. “It must have sufficient independence from vested interests to be bold and inquiring without fear or favour. “It must enjoy the protection of the Constitution, so that it can protect our rights as citizens.” – Nelson Mandela, February 1994. This Mandela Day, there is no better time to remember that media freedom and democracy are indivisible and inextricably linked. Yet, right now we stand on the brink of losing the protection of our rights, as the greed and power-hungry antics of a handful of corporates and financial institutions…

PARIS: More than 12 200 people were evacuated from the Gironde region area in France on Saturday and more than 1 000 firefighters were trying to bring wildfires under control, the authorities of Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Gironde said. Southwest Europe baked under sweltering temperatures, with the heat sparking devastating wildfires, forcing the evacuations and ruining holidays. Armies of firefighters also battled blazes in Portugal and Spain as Britain braced for a weekend of “extreme heat”. Even Irish forecasters predicted a taste of blistering Mediterranean-style summer temperatures. |…

Tehran has accused the US of provoking tensions in the Middle East, a day after President Joe Biden ended a tour to Iran’s rival Saudi Arabia and arch-foe Israel. The US “has once again resorted to the failed policy of Iran-phobia, trying to create tensions and crises in the region”, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani said yesterday. The comments came after Biden on Saturday vowed that the US would not “tolerate efforts by any country to dominate another in the region through military buildups, incursions, and/or threats”, in a transparent reference to Iran. Biden’s first visit to the Middle East since taking office came before Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to visit Tehran tomorrow. He has assured Arab leaders the US would remain fully engaged in the Middle…

Colombo: Sri Lanka’s Acting President Ranil Wickremesinghe has decided to implement an urgent relief programme to provide fuel, gas and essential food items to the citizens who are struggling due to the economic turmoil. He took the decision following discussions held with ministers and Members of Parliament on Friday. It was also decided to use the additional money for this from the relief budget that will be presented in August. Wickremesinghe said the plan handed over by the peaceful protesters has been recognised as a good plan. He said parliament will meet this week and take steps to elect a new president. |…

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber has made it pretty clear that he sees Damian Willemse as the heir-apparent to Frans Steyn. In the Boks’ 30-14 victory over Wales in the third and final Test in Cape Town at the weekend, the utility back - who started at fullback - moved to inside centre after Cheslin Kolbe left the field with a suspected cheek fracture, with Willie le Roux coming on on the wing. Willemse, however, was also battling injury in the second half. He was treated a few times and played with strapping around his ankle. Despite that, he fought through the pain and produced another outing that should prove that he is way more than a stop-gap player. It was one of his best performances in a Bok jersey, and…

Embattled Tongaat Hulett, which has had to scrap plans for a R5 billion rights issue, has asked the JSE for a temporary suspension of its shares while it undergoes a restructuring aimed at alleviating liquidity and debt problems at southern Africa’s biggest sugar producer. The share price fell 8.52 percent to R3.22 on Friday on the news, after the share price had risen sharply from R2.66 on June 1 up to R4.77 on news that a minority shareholder Artemis had upped its stake in the group to 10 percent, and that the controversial plans for a rights issue had been terminated. The group admitted on Friday that a longer-term financial solution is required for Tongaat Hulett’s audited annual financial statements to be finalised, and this was largely…

THE PUBLIC Investment Corporation (PIC), which is the guardian of 82 percent of the Government Employees Pension Fund’s (GEPF’s) R2.09 trillion portfolio, must get all dividends that are due to it as stated by former Finance Minister Tito Mboweni when addressing the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance (SCoF) in December 2020. AYO Technology Solutions (AYO) in which the PIC invested R4.3 billion of the GEPF’s funds has done just that. The black-owned tech firm paid Africa’s largest asset manager a total of R310 million in dividends from 2018 to now. By any standards, the asset manager getting R310m in dividends over a three-year period on a R4.3bn investment is a relatively good return given the state of the economy during a period when most companies were not even…

ANC KwaZulu-Natal chairperson hopeful, Nomusa Dube-Ncube’s campaign will not be derailed by allegations of fraud and corruption. This is the word from campaign leader Wiseman Ngobese and comes after reports emerged in the weekend press indicating that Dube-Ncube was the subject of the elite investigating unit, the Hawks, over fraud and corruption. With the ANC KZN elective conference just four days away, lobbying for positions is said to be intense without any candidate emerging as the favourite for the position of chairperson. KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala, Dube-Ncube, Provincial Executive Committee member Siboniso Duma and businessman Sandile Zungu have all raised their hands for the position. It has been suggested that while the contest appears to be a four-way tie, the battle is between Zikalala and Dube-Ncube. Yesterday Ngobese said they…

WHILE my June 15 Mercury lunch partner, Thyagaraj Markandan, makes an excellent case dissecting the fall of Boris Johnson (July 13), the only point of dispute is his claim that Johnson “joins the ranks of men like disgraced US president Donald Trump”. That view of Trump’s presidency is a tribute to four years of relentless, dogmatic negativity waged by the bullhorns of the mass media on the basis of their globalist and green energy agenda. Nonetheless, history will vindicate Trump’s presidency as one of the most successful because his achievements are not only irrefutable but have gained stature in the wake of the disastrous policies imposed by the (Joe) Biden regime. From his first day in office, the leadership of the defeated Clinton Democratic Party vowed to impeach Trump. For…

FORMER prime minister of Japan, Mr Shinzo Abe, was tragically assassinated recently – a politician being felled by an assassin’s bullet while stumping during an election campaign is sadly one of the risks that a leader can face. An incident of this magnitude, in a tranquil country like Japan, invariably sent shock waves across the world. The killing of political leaders has been utilised as a deadly tool since the beginning of recorded history, grimly determining the course of events through brazen and carefully enacted acts of murder. Their strategic impacts have altered the course of history for over a thousand years. In today’s fragmented global societies, acts of brazen political assassinations, are hardly condoned as an ideal strategy for catalysing positive political change. Shinzo Abe could become in death…

COVID-19 cases in Africa continue to decline with the trend for a plateau persisting for yet another week. So announced the World Health Oragnization Africa, saying 41 540 new cases were reported in the week ending on July 10 – a 9.4% decrease from the week before. This is relatively low as weekly cases have fluctuated from 19 500 to more than 300 000, it said. “Death rates are also relatively low – the average over the past month is a bit more than 130 each week. “Weekly deaths have fluctuated from less than 10 in the first few weeks of the pandemic to nearly 3 900. “Even as cases fall, it is important that countries remain vigilant and capitalise on the decline to beef up…

THE investigative capacity of the police should be sharpened as a matter of urgency to ensure that the perpetrators of violent crimes are arrested and prosecuted. The recent events where brazen criminals have shot and killed people in different parts of the country have plunged it into mayhem and chaos. These random criminal acts have sent a message that lawlessness is taking root in our country and the police are powerless to do anything about it. Last week, a total of 20 patrons were murdered at taverns in Sweetwaters, in Pietermaritzburg, and Orlando West in Soweto by armed gunmen who indiscriminately opened fire. As if that was not enough, seven bodies were found with gunshot wounds at a Free State farm in Kestell on Friday. The killing spree continued on…

Brazzaville: The Republic of Congo’s ruling party won a majority in last week’s parliamentary election, based on provisional results seen by AFP as opposition groups alleged electoral fraud. Congolese Territorial Administration Minister Guy Georges Mbaka announced the results of the July 10 poll on national television on Friday. Mbaka ministry subsequently allowed journalists, including an AFP correspondent, to see the provisional results on Saturday. According to these results, the Congolese Labour Party won 103 out of 151 assembly seats. |…

Khartoum: At least 31 people have been killed in clashes between two tribes in Sudan’s Blue Nile state bordering Ethiopia, the security services said on Saturday. They said another 39 people had been wounded and 16 shops torched during the violence, which erupted last Monday over a land dispute between the Berti and Hawsa tribes. Soldiers were deployed and a night curfew was imposed on Saturday, a day after Blue Nile governor Ahmed al-Omda issued an order prohibiting any gatherings or marches for one month. An urgent appeal for blood donations was made to treat of casualties from the unrest, according to medical sources. |…

United Arab Emirates authorities have detained Asim Ghafoor, a US citizen and civil rights attorney who previously served as a lawyer for slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi, said US-based rights group Democracy for the Arab World Now (Dawn). Ghafooris a member on Dawn’s board. A senior American administration official, when asked on Saturday by reporters about the detention, said the US was aware, but could not say whether President Joe Biden would raise the issue in planned bilateral talks with the UAE president. “Certainly I think we have points on that about the importance of consular access and everything else,” the official said, adding “there’s no indication that it has anything to do with the Khashoggi issue.” Saudi journalist Khashoggi was killed by Saudi agents in 2018 at the kingdom’s…

China reported its highest number of coronavirus cases since May, with millions in lockdown at weekend as authorities persist with their zero-Covid policy. The rising wave of cases led to fresh restrictions in some parts of the country since last week. In Japan, the daily Covid-19 infections hit a record of more than 110 000, Jiji news agency reported on Saturday. Faced with a seventh Covid wave, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida urged the public to exercise maximum vigilance. Australia said on Saturday it would reinstate support payments for casual workers who have to be quarantined due to a fresh wave of the coronavirus variants. |…