Table of contents for 2023-02-20 in Star

Energy availability of 53.8% sees utility implement Stage 4 load shedding SOUTH Africa’s energy crisis deepened further over the weekend as Eskom’s generating capacity was battered by breakdowns of five generating units, while heavy rains in the east of Mpumalanga and the Vaal left coal stockpiles temporarily unusable. This electricity supply capacity was in spite of Eskom burning at least 2.4 million litres of diesel per day last week at its emergency Open-Cycle Gas Turbines to keep the lights on. The power utility on Saturday implemented Stage 4 load shedding indefinitely, following the breakdown of a generating unit each at Koeberg, Medupi, Kriel, Arnot and Lethabo power stations. Eskom’s energy availability factor (EAF) has deteriorated further and is currently at 53.8%. It is anticipated to increase when some…

DISCOVERY, the JSE-listed private healthcare group, said on Friday that it expected normalised headline earnings a share to increase by between 27% and 22% after a period of good trading in the six months to December 31. The group said in a trading statement on Friday that the “strong performance” would see normalised profit from operations likely increase by between 20% and 23%, while headline earnings are expected to decline by between 7% and 12% for the period. The share price rose 1.6% to R145.45 on Friday, 11% below the R164.96 that it traded at on the same day a year previously. Profit from the South African operations were expected to increase by between 20% to 25%, while profit from the UK Composite, including new initiatives, was expected to increase…

NAMPAK, “Beware the Ides of March”. Despite this same warning by a soothsayer, Roman leader Julius Caesar ended up stabbed to death. However, in Caesar’s case he was stabbed by members of the Roman Senate, who were scared that he was becoming too powerful. The question for Nampak is: “Are your shareholders and lenders all on the same page in this very tough macroeconomic environment? Will the lenders give you leeway and will shareholders back a rights issue, which will dilute their shares further? This as Nampak’s rapidly declining market capitalisation was at R663 million on Friday. Unfortunately, the company’s net debt burden at R5.243 billion at September, 30, 2022, is 7.8 times the value of the company, which could be fatal. In the annual results released in…

Social media users have slammed Minerals and Energy Minister and ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe over his apparent about-face on the “nine wasted years” narrative. In a video, Mantashe is heard saying the narrative is a myth and a lie. It is not clear when the video was captured and where Mantashe was delivering his speech, in which he is reported as saying the “so-called years”, also known as “state capture“, were some of the best years in terms of service delivery under the stewardship of former president Jacob Zuma. Many on social media said his change of heart was hypocritical after he spent more than six years in support of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration, which coined the “nine wasted years” term. “Nine wasted years is a myth, comrade. In the…

After the success of his smash hit singles, Loyiso, full name Lloyiso Gijana, delivers another tune, titled Run, which influences listeners to relentlessly go after what they want and live their best life. Run is about breaking those boundaries that hold you back from living your best life. It’s about letting go of those fears and letting your mind free,” says Lloyiso in the song. This song hits a towering high register on the bridge before his vocals ring out on the refrain, “I’m gonna fly, gonna reach the sky, take up all the space and time. I just wanna run.” Run comes in the wake of the fan favourites Let Me Love You Now and What Would I Say, which have already racked up millions of streams. The…

Over the past few days, the world, including many in Africa, watched closely “the balloon episode” with growing concern that it could further complicate US-China relations and cause lasting damage. The “balloon” and “objects” crisis has raised tensions between the US and China, the world’s two biggest economies, with the potential to damage crucial efforts to foster co-operative bilateral and multilateral diplomacy. China is the biggest trading and development partner with Africa. The Biden administration has sought to woo African countries to bolster waning relations. On February 4, the US military shot down what it reportedly claimed to be a “Chinese balloon” which hovered over North America for a couple of days, heightening tension with China. The US army has since shot down three other flying objects which were not…

KAIZER CHIEFS (1) 2 Hlanti 7; Shabalala 47 GOLDEN ARROWS (1) 3 Makhubele 45; Mutizwa 69, 78 THIS is not how you prepare for your big clash against the arch-enemy. Defeat by a side in the throes of a relegation battle is sure to dent Chiefs’ confidence ahead of Saturday’s Soweto Derby against Orlando Pirates. And with the Buccaneers having beaten Maritzburg United on Friday, surely it is advantage Pirates. But history tells us that using prior results to predict what will transpire in South Africa’s top clash is folly. Many a time the team that has gone into the derby on the back of a defeat has come out victorious. But Amakhosi’s showing will have Pirates the bookies’ favourites for Saturday. Twice Chiefs gave away a lead in a…

AmaZulu FC head coach Romain Folz has slammed his attacking players following their home defeat to TS Galaxy. Usuthu were dealt a huge blow in their pursuit of continental football as they went down 2-1 to the Rockets at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday night. A visibly livid and frustrated Fohloza did not mince his words when addressing the media after the game. The hosts registered a total of 16 attempts on goal on the night but only two of them were on target, with one of them being Sede Dion’s consolation strike. An annoyed Folz felt that his side had shot themselves in the foot with their failure to convert their clear advantage in play into goals. “We find ourselves in situations where we could be dangerous but we…

THE VISION of Sibanye-Stillwater’s CEO Neal Froneman to make a big play in electric battery metals has finally born fruit as the precious metals miner on Friday declared a maiden lithium reserve of 193 600 tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) at its 85%-owned Keliber project, in Finland. The diversified miner also an- nounced a 133% increase in lithium mineral resources to 452 900 tons of LCE. The declaration of a mineral reserve at Keliber follows the completion of a positive feasibility study on the project, as well as approval for its construction. Earlier this month, the miner announced that it had received a key environmental permit for its Keliber lithium mining and processing project in Finland, clearing the path for a facility to supply the European battery…

BARLOWORLD, the international heavy equipment and vehicle distribution group, said on Friday that its financial results from its businesses were “pleasing” in the four months to January 31. The group said in a trading statement that the Industrial Equipment and Consumer industries verticals traded well despite operating challenges in its Eurasia division. “Favourable group revenue growth has been achieved as a result of better trading performance in Equipment southern Africa, Equipment Mongolia and Ingrain,” the group said. The car rental and leasing business, Zeda, was unbundled and separately listed on the JSE on December 13, 2022, and its assets and liabilities had been de-consolidated from the group financial statements. Equipment Southern Africa saw stronger turnover on the back of high demand in the mining sector across all its regions. “Machine…

The first season of DAM scooped several nominations, and two wins, at the South African Film and TV Awards (Saftas) and, going by the first few episodes of the second instalment, the Showmax drama could be on its way to winning plenty more. Season two picks up three months after the Spring Festival. The cult’s ritual sacrifice seems to have worked: rain has come and transformed the land. Lea Vivier, who reprises her role as Yola, has no memory of anything since her return for her father’s funeral, but can she put the missing pieces together as diamonds are discovered, a mass grave uncovered and a monster surfaces in the dam? Safta nominee Pallance Dladla returns to his role as Themba in this suspense-filled drama and to wrap up some…

Since the beginning of the year, the demand for blood has been consistently higher than collections, especially for blood groups O and B, according to the South African National Blood Service (SANBS). On Friday, SANBS said that South African blood stocks were slowly increasing but remained lower than the five-day cover required. “We would like to thank our donors for increased collections, but we are not in the safe zone yet. “We urge everyone, including active donors, lapsed donors, and potential donors to continue donating consistently to ensure ongoing adequate national stocks,” said Thandi Mosupye, SANBS senior manager: marketing, communication and brand. To adequately cater to the country’s blood requirements, an allocation of 3 500 units is needed daily. SANBS said that the five days’ supply on average was…

Police Minister Bheki Cele said if the SAPS was to end the reign of criminals who are hell-bent on terrorising communities, officers’ visibility would always work in their favour. Cele said results and desired outcomes could only be achieved if management left their offices and led from the front in the streets. Cele said “Operation Okae Molao” in Gauteng was a model that would be replicated and become a national policing feature that brought fear to criminals and comfort to law-abiding citizens. “We are calling on all provincial commissioners to take a cue from Gauteng and intensify their provincial operations, focusing on troublesome stations and removing them from the top 30 high-crime stations, both nationally and provincially,” Cele said. While Cele released the crime statistics on Friday, two cash-in-transit robberies…

WHEN Monché Muller left Pretoria for the Western Cape in pursuit of her career in the culinary world, all she wanted was to produce good food. Little did she know that – in partnership with world-renowned wine-maker Schalk-Willem Joubert – she would travel the world, and come back to put together a book of Europe’s finest foods. Or that she would end up in a competition, pitting her against the world’s best for production of a food and beverage book. The book, “Harvest Table”, brings together the meals and recipes that Muller learnt about with ingredients sourced in Italy, Spain, and South Africa. The journey left the 32-year-old wise beyond her years about the world of gourmet preparation. Speaking at the launch of the book at Forte Grill restaurant in…

GUITAR maestro Selaelo Selota has vowed to surprise audiences at his upcoming one-man show titled “Tribes of Tomorrow” at Jack Botes Hall in Polokwane this Saturday. The legend, arguably the best living guitarist and composer in the country, said the project aimed to teach up and coming artists to rely on their own talents to make ends meet, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic that saw thousands of careers ending because they could not perform. Selota, who has played a part in the success of the likes of Judith Sephuma, Malatji and many others, has seven albums under his belt and is working on an eighth. Speaking to the Independent Media, he said his passion for teaching “music to music lovers” was unending. “‘Tribes of Tomorrow’ is a project I created…

What a load of hogwash from ANC provincial secretary TK Nciza with regard to Randall Williams’s resignation as mayor of Tshwane. He believes the resignation is a sign of DA failure to govern. Really, Nciza? The statistics tell a different story. In the period 2020-2021, only 41 municipalities out of 257 gained clean audits. Of the 41, 22 were in the DA-run Western Cape. The Free State (ANC-run) has not had a clean audit for five years. Thirty-three councils were placed under administration after being declared dysfunctional. Shocking! Only Ekurhuleni, Cape Town and Midvaal local municipalities achieved clean audits – all DA-run. Seventy-three percent of DA-run Western Cape municipalities received clean audits (22 out of 30) while the eight ANC-run provinces averaged just 8% (19 out of 227). Midvaal (DA)…

“Definitely not, and I don’t think you would see a performance like the first 40 (minutes) if there is a disconnect,” Ivan van Rooyen answered sharply when asked if there was a loss of confidence in the Lions’ system after another loss to the Sharks at the weekend. The Lions coach does have a tenuous point. The 29-7 defeat to the Durbanites in their United Rugby Championship clash at Ellis Park would not be a fair reflection of the narrative of the first half. But plot twists would be a more apt description of events that occurred after half-time. Truth be told, the Lions had the upper hand in the first half but lacked the cutting edge to score at least two botched tries, while flyhalf Gianni Lombard failed to…

Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira believes that the Springboks have nothing to fear from Ireland or Scotland when they face the two teams later this year at the World Cup in France. The Irish and Scots are currently unbeaten in the Six Nations and when the World Cup starts on September 8 in 200 days’ time, the Boks will have to contend with both teams in Pool B of the tournament. Ireland, in particular and with all due respect to Scotland, as the top ranked side in the world, will be a massive encounter that the Boks will have to overcome if they are to make a statement of intent in defence of the Webb Ellis Cup, won in 2019. As intimidating as that proposition looks right now, World Cup winner and…

MARKETS gave Dis-Chem Pharmacies the cold shoulder and sent its share price lower on Friday after the pharmaceutical group reported revenue growth of 8.7% in a trading update and said that its diesel costs across its stores increased 54% over the past six months. Its diesel bill came to R36m as it tried to mitigate load shedding in its stores. South African companies are all feeling the fallout of an unprecedented period of load shedding in the country, which is adding to firms’ increasing costs. Dis-Chem said: “The group’s strategic early investment in generator capacity has resulted in minimal disruption to its ability to trade.“ Dis-Chem shares closed on Friday at R28.60, 2.95% down. They have decreased by 21.04% in the past six months. For the period September 1, 2022,…

RELIABLE, efficient, affordable and sustainable electrical infrastructure is as key to investment and growth as oxygen is to our lungs. We cannot drive investment and grow an equitable and inclusive society without energy to fuel economic activity. The frequency and the intensity of load shedding in recent months has increased the cost of doing business in South Africa to unsustainable levels, likely to result in reduced production and a contraction in the size of our economy. We, therefore, cannot hope to grow investment without addressing security of energy supply as the main driver to the cost of doing business. Consequently, incentives to unlock renewable energy opportunities and build electricity supply resilience in the economy are a priority. The government announced in 2021 a $8.5 billion (R153.3bn) climate finance package…

Media personality and film-maker Renaldo Schwarp is back with a hard-hitting documentary that tackles issues around campus culture. As more than 5 500 first-year students descended on the Stellenbosch University (SU) campus at the start of February, Schwarp started production on his much-anticipated documentary feature in this historic student town. The doccie, Kampus (Afrikaans for “campus”), aims to expose the reality of South African university culture. Schwarp, 30, is originally from Pretoria but moved to the Western Cape in 2010 to study at SU, where he remained until 2018. He works between Johannesburg and Cape Town, and hosts kykNET’s popular show Kassie-Kuiers. The film delves into the disturbing reality of racism, binge-drinking, gender-based violence, and institutional prejudice at campuses across South Africa, and is interwoven with moving first-hand testimonies from…

Moses Tembe has vowed to continue to pursue the truth behind the ‘devastating loss’ of his daughter, Anele KwaZulu-Natal businessman Moses Tembe has reaffirmed his commitment to finding the truth behind the events that led to his daughter Anele’s death. Tembe made his stance known last week, as social media users named him as a suspect in the assassination of rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes – a claim he has vehemently denied. AKA and his long-time friend, entrepreneur Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane were shot dead on February 10 outside Wish restaurant on Florida Road, Durban. AKA was meant to perform later that night at YuGo, a nightclub on Mathews Meyiwa Road. The incident came almost two years after Anele, who was engaged to be married to AKA, died after falling from the…

COMMUNITIES living near the banks of the Vaal and Orange Rivers have been warned to move to higher ground to avoid the risk of drowning or being swept away by the water. The Department of Water and Sanitation said yesterday that 12 floodgates had been opened to release pressure from dams. The dams have been flooded by the continuous rains that have damaged homes and led to a number of deaths in various provinces. The department said: “All residents of settlements and in towns along the banks of the lower Vaal and Orange rivers should consider evacuating or moving to higher places that are at least above the one in 20-year flood line (a level at which people would likely be safer from being reached by water emanating from the…

A now divorced man failed to claim a portion of his wife’s R2.9 million pension fund after the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria found that the couple spent more than half of their married life apart. The couple were married in community of property in 1985 and separated during August 2011. In the 26 years they were together, the husband worked overseas for a couple of years which effectively brought the marriage to 17 years. The former couple were employed by the SAPS, and the ex-wife is still employed by the State entity. In December 2000, the ex-husband was medically boarded. He blamed his ex-wife for this, saying she subjected him to physical, verbal and emotional abuse throughout their marriage and it affected his health. With his R170 000…

TWIN sisters from Stinkwater have endured life without birth certificates for 31 years after their mother abandoned them at Jubilee District Hospital. Lebo and Lebogang Munyai were jubilant last week after they received certificates with the help of the DA women’s network in Tshwane. They said their father, Lucas Munyai, was pushed from pillar to post by the Department of Home Affairs, which required him to prove his paternity. They told the Independent Media that for decades their father faced the difficulty of raising money for a DNA test. After a number of years, the twins’ mother reappeared but died before she could sort out their certificates. Lebogang said: “Our father was denied to do birth certificates for us on his own because they suspected he might have stolen us.”…

The past few days have been mood-elevating for those who have eagerly awaited the arrival of US comedian Kevin Hart. Hart graced South Africa’s shores for the world premiere of his Amazon film Die Hart: The Movie along with making stops in Cape Town and Johannesburg on his Reality Check world tour. The global talent also visited Masibambane College in Orange Farm as a guest of Education Africa, where he undertook an interactive tour of the school and engaged in conversation with school learners. “Knowing that you guys are part of the future, that you guys will be a part of the change, and that you guys are responsible for breaking new ground is what I’m most excited about. I hope you guys truly understand how bright your future is.…

By the time you have picked up this newspaper and taken precious time out of your busy day, the Proteas Women’s team’s continued participation in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup may all be extraneous. In reverse, all roads could be leading to Newlands tomorrow evening when Sune Luus’ team will be hoping to overcome Bangladesh to progress to their second consecutive T20 Women’s World Cup semi-final. Regardless of either outcome, there remains plenty to question about how the Proteas find themselves in this situation. The obvious retaliation would be the omission of Dane van Niekerk. I feel it requires much deeper introspection, particularly the handling of Laura Wolvaardt. The stylish right-hander was the sole Proteas inclusion in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Team of the Tournament four years…

Mamelodi Sundowns could take a step closer to progressing to the Champions League quarter-finals if they beat Al Ahly in the group stage this weekend. Coach Rhulani Mokwena’s team continued with their winning start in Group B this weekend, beating Coton Sport 2-1 in their second game after starting with a 1-0 win over Al Hilal. Al Ahly didn’t start their campaign in the ideal way as they were beaten 1-0 by Al Hilal in their opener after coming back from the Fifa Club World Cup. After that surprising result in Sudan, Sundowns will visit the Egyptians with high hopes that they come away with the win – one that will put them closer to the knockout stage. A 10-point tally is usually enough for a team to qualify for…