Table of contents for 2021-08-23 in Star

Siphelele Dludla Siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za The GOVERNMENT’S finances will be boosted further with a R65 billion ($4.16bn) injection as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) become effective today. Earlier this month, the IMF board of governors approved the general allocation of SDRs equivalent of $650bn, the largest IMF emergency currency creation in history, to tackle the Covid-19 global pandemic. The newly created SDR is the first tranche, since the $250bn that was issued soon after the global financial crisis in 2009. The SDR is meant to boost global liquidity and will be credited to IMF member countries in proportion to their existing quotas in the Fund. The IMF said the SDR allocation will benefit all members, address the long-term global need for reserves, build confidence, and foster the…

Last WEEK a friend of mine, an astute investor, pointed me to gold and silver price graphs and it is evident that both metals are at major points of resolve. His question was what major move lies ahead – up or down? As a mining analyst many moons ago and investment strategist and fund manager later on, I focused on supply and demand in forecasting metal prices, especially gold. Although I got a somewhat better idea than some economists whose numbers are just thumbsuck, I continued to be perplexed about the relationship between the supply/demand equation and the gold price in terms of US dollars. I experienced a lightbulb moment a few months ago when I discovered that gold was nothing else than a 10-year US Treasury Inflation-linked Security or…

Debashine Thangevelo With as many years as Jack Devnarain has under his belt in the industry, it was only natural for him to start stretching himself as an actor. In fact, it’s a rite of passage for most actors who, in having proven themselves, have the freedom to now explore and push the envelope. And, boy oh boy, is he proving his chops in darker roles, which are a far cry from Rajesh Kumar, his saintly character on SABC3’s Isidingo. Since returning to BET’s Isono as Hashmi, he’s really sunk his teeth into the role. I’ve been following Devnarain’s career closely since he joined Isidingo. Over the years, the tone of our interviews softened into informal catchups. So when we spoke last week, we first indulged in a speedy catch…

ITUMELENG MAFISA ABSA is in hot water for its lack of action following reports of one of their accounts being used in a pyramid scheme that promised to build houses for the poor at R600. The Star has seen a letter written by the members of the EFF in Joburg to the bank pleading with it to freeze the accounts of South Jozi, a property development organisation that has been swindling money from the poor with the promise of affordable housing. The organisation has been exposed for stealing from the poor and robbing them of their dreams of one day having houses but continued to function using an Absa account. In the letter the EFF said people trusted the idea of getting a house at only R600 because the…

zelda Venter zelda.venter@inl.co.za CONTROVERSIAL Rivers of Living Waters Church leader Bishop Bafana Stephen Zondo’s much-awaited sex trial is due to kick off today in the North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria. The 55-year-old head of the church is facing charges of rape, contravening the Sexual Offences Act, as well as defeating the ends of justice. It is alleged that one of the victims of Zondo, who faces nine counts, was allegedly repeatedly raped and is a family member. Bishop Zondo allegedly raped the woman in 1980 while she was eight or nine-years-old, while other victims who were he apparently raped and/or sexually assaulted were members of his congregation. The trial is scheduled to run until September 17. Zondo earlier told his supporters during an appearance in the Sebokeng Magistrate’s Court…

Exactly nine years after the senseless Marikana massacre happened, the families of the victims have not been compensated while the perpetrators have gotten away with murder. Cyril Ramaphosa, Susan Shabangu, and Nathi Mthethwa should be among those who are charged and prosecuted for their role in the death of 34 mineworkers who were demanding improved wages and better working conditions. The democratic dispensation delivered by the ANC in 1994 took a decision to demilitarise the police force which was notorious for its brutality. The SAPS has instead been remilitarised and that has made it unreliable. In the case of Marikana, the political and financial influence inside the police force was highly visible. Ramaphosa was a London Mines (Lonmin) board member when the Marikana Massacre took place in 2012; he…

More than 300 senior lawyers, including Cherie Blair, pictured, whose husband Tony was British prime minister, have signed a petition urging one of London’s oldest gentlemen’s clubs to start admitting women. The Garrick Club, founded in 1831 for actors and “men of refinement and education”, is one of the last such clubs not to allow women in, except as guests of men. Several previous votes by members proposing a change to the men-only policy have failed after not reaching a two-thirds majority.…

Zaahier Adams zaahier.adams@inl.co.za It was the Marizanne Kapp show at Lord’s in the inaugural Hundred competition final with the Proteas all-rounder showing off her big-match temperament to a global audience. Kapp, playing alongside her wife, Proteas Women’s team captain Dane van Niekerk, and fellow Proteas fast bowler Shabnim Ismail, produced an excellent performance with both bat and ball to lead the Oval Invincibles to the maiden title. The 31-year-old recorded the tournament’s best figures of 4/9, which included dismissing all of the Southern Brave’s top three for ducks, which they never recovered from in pursuit of the Invincibles’ 121/6. It was only fitting that Kapp picked up the last wicket that saw the Brave dismissed for just 73, sending the Invincibles into raptures. The four-wicket haul followed a game-changing 26…

Morgan Bolton morgan.bolton@inl.co.za It has been a fractured, difficult and extremely frustrating season for Lions supporters, players and coaches alike – that is a certainty. What is not so clearcut is what the future holds for the franchise after they failed to secure a spot in the Currie Cup play-offs and with the United Rugby Championship (URC) looming large. Rumours abound that a new coaching structure is in the works, that there will be players recruited from the “smaller unions”, according to coach Ivan van Rooyen, while the future of Lions stalwarts might also be under discussion. After another loss – their seventh of the competition – on Saturday in their final regular season encounter, a 56-14 drubbing at home to the Sharks which cemented the Joburgers to the bottom…

FAMILY LAW UNIVERSAL TV, DSTV CHANNEL 117, 8PM Jewel Staite stars as lawyer Abigail Bianchi, a recovering alcoholic who has hit rock bottom. As per her probation conditions, Abigail starts working for her estranged father, Harry Svennson (Victor Garber), at his Vancouver law firm. Now she must practice family law for the first time, while also getting to know the half-brother and half-sister she’s never met before. LINGASHONI 1MAGIC, DSTV CHANNEL 103, 9.30PM After Mohau’s betrayal, Seipati must bow to Puleng, Ace’s mouth is about to cost someone their life and Makoti kit works wonders for Mpumi. Puleng’s house of cards begins to tumble around her, and Mpumi’s lies catch up with her. NQOBILE MZANSI MAGIC, DSTV CHANNEL 161, 8PM All the Star Fly drivers are rescued and safe but…

Bongani Nkosi A GAUTENG Department of Education official has paid a fitting penalty for sexually harassing a client of the department by sending her unsolicited pornographic videos. MT Phanyaphanya has lost his job for the seedy act he committed against the woman who contacted him on WhatsApp for information. Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) arbitrator Yolisa Ndzuta ruled last week that the department’s decision to dismiss Phanyaphanya was substantively and procedurally fair. He had sought to have the dismissal overturned on grounds that a finding that he sent the two sexual videos to harass the woman was wrong. He maintained he sent the explicit videos for education-related purposes. The victim testified that she was disgusted and felt violated by the content. Ndzuta cited jurisprudence setting out that sexual harassment must…

Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za MEDICAL doctor Thato Mosehle has done South Africa proud after she was named second runner-up for 2021 Miss Supranational, Poland, this weekend. The African continent thrived and shined at this year’s Miss Supranational pageant, on Saturday, after Chanique Rabe from Namibia took home the title and South Africa’s Mosehle made the top three in the contest. Mosehle was the first person in South Africa to compete under the official Miss South Africa organisation banner in the pageant, after she was crowned Miss Supranational SA 2020, at the Miss SA pageant last year. Mosehle, 26, from North West, represented Mzansi against contestants from nearly 60 other countries in the 12th edition competition that was held in Nowy Sacz, Poland, and was one of the front runners throughout the…

Samaoen Osman | Cape Town THE US was defeated and humiliated in Afghanistan. The hypocritical and self-righteous western corporate media is in overdrive hysteria against Sharia Law and Taliban takeover. Those who argue that history is cyclical must feel validated, as the chaos in Kabul – resulting from fleeing foreigners and their collaborators – was almost identical to the chaos in Saigon (later Ho Chi Minh City) in 1975. It is important, then, that we insist on this depiction, that of defeat, not tactical withdrawal, for the latter will still allow the spin doctors to sustain the illusion that military intervention, regime change and so on remains an option in the hands of Washington. The former, however, helps us truly appreciate this incredible moment in modern human history:…

I guess I am supposed to start off with a clever remark, comment or quote. This, however, wouldn’t remove the stark reality of the sad and rapidly declining state of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and the supporting Defence Industry (DI) – apologies in advance for not adhering to CSW (convention of service writing) in writing this contribution. Without going too far back in history, I’d like to mark time on the last decade, or so, and reflect on the SANDF and DI and some of the recent developments in the sector. A few matters worth noting include the ageing SANDF from a human resource and technology perspective and a declining “defence budget”, coupled with political hurdles. Allegations of corruption, tender fraud, ongoing defence acquisition, litigation, theft and…

Katy LEE The last time the Taliban were in power, social networks were a thing of the future – but this time around, the militants’ takeover of Afghanistan poses tricky questions for the likes of Facebook and Twitter. As their arrival in Kabul sparked worldwide panic, Taliban officials took to Twitter to project a message of calm beyond Afghanistan’s borders. Claims that the Taliban forces young girls to marry fighters are “poisonous propaganda”, the group’s international media spokesperson Suhail Shaheen assured more than 350 000 followers; reports of murders are “baseless”, he insisted. The fact that Taliban officials are tweeting is cause for outrage among some opponents – not least supporters of Donald Trump, who was banned from the site in January over the alleged risk of inciting violence. “I…

VENEZUELA’S Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro has resigned less than two weeks ahead of a triple-header of World Cup qualifiers, because he has not been paid for a year, the country's federation said. “Yesterday (Thursday) we received a letter from the technical director rescinding his contract,” said Jorge Gimenez, president of the Venezuelan Football Federation this week. “We spoke with him in the evening and explained to him that it was difficult for us to understand his position … because we have a triple-header,” said Gimenez. It was not enough to change Peseiro’s mind, though, and he confirmed his resignation on Friday morning. South American minnows Venezuela face Argentina, Peru and Paraguay in World Cup qualifiers between September 2 and September 9. Peseiro was appointed in February 2020, just before the…

Wynona Louw wynona.louw@inl.co.za Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber has every reason to be “unbelievably proud” of his team after their 29-10 Rugby Championship victory over Argentina at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha at the weekend. Playing in their second Test against the Pumas, the South Africans scored two tries to one to bag the win. While the game wasn’t the ultimate advert for rugby, the Boks, playing as a much-changed team yet again, showed the magnitude of their depth and defensive prowess. The Boks needed to score three or more tries than Argentina to claim the bonus point. While they conceded a late try, it was only their third in the six Tests they’ve played this year. In the previous matches, their kicking game was also a big feature. Speaking…

AUSTRALIA have threatened to pass on a multi-million dollar bill to New Zealand if they fail to show up for a Bledisloe Cup Test in Perth, a report said yesterday, as Queensland was firmed up as host for the Covid-19 pandemic-hit Rugby Championship. The All Blacks failed to travel to the Western Australian city as scheduled over the weekend for this Saturday’s clash against the Wallabies, citing uncertainty around Covid-19 restrictions. The decision sparked fury from Rugby Australia (RA), whose chief Andy Marinos claimed he only heard about it through the media as talks with the state government around securing an exemption to mandatory quarantine were progressing. He said yesterday he now hopes to lock in next Saturday for the Test and New Zealand Rugby had been asked to provide…

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za KAP INDUSTRIAL Holdings, which employs about 19 000 people in a range of sectors that includes automotive components, timber and logistics, reinstated its dividend and lifted operating profit 48 percent to R2.1 billion in the year to June 30. “We are extremely pleased with the results in what was an uncertain, unpredictable environment. We emerged with a stronger balance sheet, strong cash generation and a dividend,” chief executive Gary Chaplin said in a telephone interview on Friday. All the companies in the group performed well, although Unitrans, which had among its operations school bus and corporate transport, was facing a tough environment, he said. He said the strong results in the complex environment were a reflection of the value in the business model and…

Alyssia Birjalal alyssia.birjalal@inl.co.za M-Net’s award-winning telenovela Legacy has been renewed for a second season starting mid-September. And with even more thrills and less frills, viewers will be at the edge of their seats. The telenova stars a bevy of South African A-list actors like Mary Anne Barlow, Kgomotso Christopher and Michelle Botes, with its main focus on the fight between family members for the corner office and Legacy chief executive title. Aside from the office drama, season one gave viewers a storyline that resonated with them, featuring alcoholism, out-of-wedlock pregnancy and blackmail, among other topics. Director Natalie Haarhoff says viewers can expect “a rebirth of the series” and a big expansion of the story universe which will be even more compelling and addictive. She said her husband chuckles when she’s…

The price of a cup of coffee keeps rising – and nobody seems to care. Prices for arabica beans went up 50% in the past 12 months, hitting seven-year highs in July after drought and frost damaged crops in top producer Brazil, and signaled tight world supplies for at least two years. The rally comes as high freight costs and shipping container shortages continue to rattle global supply chains, squeezing margins and heightening inflation fears. Many consumer-facing businesses face a stark choice: raise prices or switch to cheaper beans. The good news? Coffee drinkers are so addicted that consumption is unlikely to be hurt much, especially with demand still recovering from the pandemic. The drink is “such a key part of [consumers’] daily routines, it would take a lot to…

Sihle Mavuso and Tarryn-Leigh Solomons The mooted shutdown has long been on the cards as the faceless poster announcing it started circulating early this month. It was initially treated as a hoax until the State Security Agency (SSA) told the province to come out with counter-plans. Also on edge is Gauteng and the operators of the N3 supply route servicing the province with essential goods from the Durban harbour in KwaZulu-Natal. A security plan seen by Independent Media shows that security personnel will be all over Gauteng to ensure that order is maintained. In an intelligence briefing given to the KZN provincial government on Friday, state security officials said truck drivers under the banner of the All Truck Drivers Foundation (ATDF) wanted to use the day to kick out foreign…

SEX slavery, human trafficking and addressing the link between media and power, are some of the issues to be discussed at the women and leadership conference next month. The conference in George on September 28 and 29, has lined up speakers, including Commission for Gender Equality chairperson Tamara Mathebula, National Prosecuting Authority deputy director Karen van Rensburg and Bombardier Transport SA managing director Makgola Makololo. The Star’s sister newspaper, the Cape Argus has joined as the media partner in the “It’s DUE” Women and Leadership conference, which aims to unite and empower women in government, state-owned enterprises and business, to lead and promote the fight against gender-based violence (GBV)and human trafficking. The conference will tackle GBV plaguing many nations today, through funding – therefore, 10% of the profits for…

Cometh Dube-Makholwa | Midrand JESUS spoke in parables and so does the Bible. When I was in primary school, during breaks, especially if they followed some scripture reading, I’d stand there alone, afraid and convinced that there was no point in having any plans for the future, as we were constantly reminded that the end of the world was near. I reached standard 6, and the world was still standing steadfast, a lovely surprise! Today I am 75 or 73, and the world still stands. But wait – for a whole lot of people, it has indeed ended. When you die, your world has ended. If you die in sin, you have no chance to repent. Whether you die from natural causes or disasters, the point is…

Tapiwa Muskwe | United Kingdom I FEEL abashed that Zimbabweans are now living in almost every country on this planet. They are in South Africa, Jamaica, the UK, France, Iceland, Dubai and Caribbean countries. This is because conditions in Zimbabwe are more than hell. The include raw sewage in urban areas, hospitals without electricity and resources, bridges which collapsed, and cash machines that no longer function. Every country to go, you will bump into Zimbabwe migrants. The beleaguered Zanu-PF government should change the situation urgently by improving standards of living in Zimbabwe and provide at least basic items. President Mnangagwa should start improving the economic and social circumstances in Zimbabwe and stop being selfish. Scattered Zimbabweans should come back to Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwean president should be forced to…

A British public health study has found that protection from either of the two most commonly used Covid-19 vaccines against the prevalent Delta variant of the coronavirus weakens within three months. The Oxford University study, based on more than 3 million nose and throat swabs taken across Britain, also found that those who get infected after receiving two shots of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or the AstraZeneca vaccine may be of greater risk to others than under previous variants of the coronavirus.…

HERMAN GIBBS Dominant Kaizer Chiefs were held to a 0-0 draw by hosts TS Galaxy in their Premiership opener at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit yesterday. Although Chiefs enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, they could not convert their good fortune in a scrappy match in which shots on target were far and few between. Galaxy forced two corners in the opening 90 seconds after their attackers, making the most of loose marking, ran into spaces in the Chiefs defence. Nothing came of the set-pieces, as the kicks were easily cleared by Amakhosi’s rear-guard. In the opening minutes, Chiefs looked out of synch as a team for at least the opening 20 minutes. They were enjoying around 60% of possession, but seldom took play into the opposition half. Midway through…