Cape Times 2023-01-09

A JUDGE once said love is blind, but divorce opens your eyes. In yet another application by a divorcing spouse for the other to forfeit their half of the pension money due to allegations of cheating, a judge ordered against the forfeiture. This was because neither the husband, nor the wife, had a clean record when it came to cheating. The husband received this bad news last week, when the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, dismissed his appeal against an earlier finding by the lower court that his wife was entitled to half of his pension in their divorce settlement, as the couple were married in community of property. The Regional Court in Vereeniging had earlier found both parties were to blame for the breakdown of their marriage. The husband took…

Nearly R6.9 billion will be refunded to Gauteng motorists who have been paying their e-toll bills. However, it is unclear if they will be paid out in cash, or with vouchers and discounts. Speaking to eNCA, Vuyo Mhaga, spokesperson for Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi, said government entities were discussing how and when payments would be refunded. Mhaga said political teams from the Premier’s office, as well as the Department of Finance, were in talks around modes of payment. It could be in the form of fuel rebates or discounts on driver’s licence discs, he said. “(With the Treasury) they are hard at work looking at different scenarios that could be used. It might not be hard cash,” he said. Mhaga said there were a few minor issues to be…

THREE ousted Swellendam municipal officials are the latest DA former members who will take the party to court to fight for the reinstatement of their memberships. The memberships of Speaker Bongani Sonqwenqwe, deputy mayor Gcobisa Mangcu-Qotyiwe and councillor Abraham Pokwas were ceased in December after they voted against a caucus decision. DA Federal Council chairperson Helen Zille has remained adamant that no one’s membership was terminated, but the three officials ceased it. Swellendam Municipal spokesperson, Bianca McKechnie, said that the DA informed the municipality that the councillors’ memberships to the party “had been terminated” and that they therefore no longer hold office at Swellendam Municipality. Pokwas and Mangcu-Qotyiwe’s positions were declared by the municipal manager as vacancies to the IEC, and in the case of Pokwas, additionally, to Local Government…

BLOEMFONTEIN business owners and community members say they have lost hope in the ANC and party president Cyril Ramaphosa’s presence, saying all the progress only happens when he visits the city. Yesterday, the party celebrated its 111th birthday in the Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium in Mangaung, where Ramaphosa addressed more than 10 000 party supporters. Resident Lex Strauss asked why the city was “suddenly” clean when Ramaphosa was around. “It’s a good thing that the president is here. He has come before, he must just give us service so we are able to run our businesses. “We are business people and need clientele. It’s dirty. Why is it that we don’t get service from the government, how will we employ people?” The city of Bloemfontein is generally dysfunctional, with…

1 puff pastry sheet 150g cream cheese 1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce *optional 80g white cheddar cheese, grated 250g button mushrooms, sliced 2 large onions, sliced in thin halves 2 tbsp olive oil 1 egg salt to taste Garnish with chopped parsley Preheat your oven to 200°C In a medium-sized pan, add the olive oil, sliced mushrooms and onions together and sauté on medium-high heat for around 15 minutes or until soft, brown and caramelized. You want some charr on the mushrooms and onions because that adds great flavour to the end result :) Place your defrosted puff pastry on a baking tray that has been lined with baking paper. Lightly line a border with a butter knife - this will help the edges to puff up whilst baking.…

THE cape minstrels tradition is as old as slavery at the Cape and forms an intrinsic part of our slave history and heritage. It celebrates the one day in the year when slaves were given the day off by their slave masters and they celebrated their freedom in a spirit of defiance, joy and mirth. Traditionally, the Christmas Choirs would march on Christmas Eve, December 24, Malay Choirs on December 31 and the Minstrels on January 2 or Tweede Nuwejaar. In all it has become an intrinsic part of Cape Town’s social memory both for the klopse participants handed down from generation to generation and equally so for the spectators whose presence and joining in the revelry some camping by the roadside in anticipation of the klopse is an equally…