Table of contents for CT-2021-04-13 in Cape Times

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za INVESTMENT banking fees generated in sub-Saharan Africa fell 39 percent in the first three months of 2021 to the lowest quarter total since 2014. Data from Refinitiv released yesterday showed that an estimated $99.3 million (R1.45 billion) worth of investment banking fees were generated in the region during the quarter. Refinitiv, a subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange Group, is a well-known global provider of data services. The group said advisory fees earned in the region from completed M&A (mergers and acquisitions) transactions reached $15.5m, down 65 percent from last year to the lowest first-quarter total since 2005. The value of M&A transactions with any sub-Saharan African company involvement reached $6.1bn, almost level with the same period in 2020, and a five-year low. Refinitiv…

VISA, the global payments group, appointed Maurice Newa as the new MD of the southern Africa cluster, a statement said yesterday. Newa would be responsible for the development and implementation of Visa’s growth strategy in the region. He would report to Aida Diarra, senior vice-president and head of sub-Saharan Africa, and would be part of the sub-Saharan Africa leadership team. Prior to joining Visa, Newa worked at Vaya Technologies, an Econet Group subsidiary, where he was chief executive. He brought to Visa over 25 years of experience in regional and global roles in mobile telephony, Fintech (mobile money and mobile insurance), digital technology solutions and blue-chip fast-moving consumer goods companies, Visa said. “We are excited to bring Maurice on board. His appointment reflects the importance we place on the southern…

ZARCLEAR Holdings’s board said yesterday it was in the best interests of the company and its shareholders for it to delist from the JSE and A2X. In November, Zarclear’s public shareholding fell below the minimum spread requirements for companies listed on the JSE’s main board due to the take-up of the general offer to Zarclear shareholders by Legae Peresec Capital. Zarclear’s board said in a statement yesterday that the decision to delist also took into account the impact the Covid-19 pandemic had had and was anticipated to continue to have on equity capital markets in general, and on small-market-capitalisation companies such as Zarclear for an extended period. Zarclear is an investment holding company whose operating segments are market infrastructure and regulation technology investments. An offer would be made to shareholders…

Sacha van Niekerk With their warm glow and ornate designs, candles are functional and decorative, making them ideal for turning spaces from dull to cosy and vibrant. Five ways to decorate your home with candles: Coffee table A neat pile of books, fashion magazines, a gifted bonsai or a bowl of seashells from past ventures to the beach are all the usual suspects for coffee table decor. For a fresher, more styled look, try putting together a tray of succulents and candles of varying heights. The succulents require minimal attention and the candles can be lit for a cosy glow, setting the mood for movie nights. Table runner Hosting a dinner party? Make your decor a little more special by using tall, slender candles. Vases of flowers and foliage look beautiful…

Lisa Isaacs lisa.isaacs@inl.co.za BULLYING and harassment are common experiences during psychiatry registrar training – and under-reported. In correspondence in this month’s SA Medical Journal, experts who served as members of the Council of Psychiatrists, Colleges of Medicine of SA from 2017-2020, aimed to understand how workplace experiences could affect training and exam outcomes, with a focus on bullying during specialist psychiatric training. A study of registrar trainees in psychiatry at eight universities was conducted between June 1 and November 30, 2019 via an online survey that included questions on bullying and discrimination. The estimated number of psychiatry registrars was 179, and 70 responses were received. Just under half of the registrars (34) reported having been bullied or harassed. Consultants (21) were most frequently cited as the culprits, followed by patients…

Kailene Pillay kailene.pillay@inl.co.za FORMER Eskom chief executive Anoj Singh, who returned to the State Capture Commission yesterday, has not only claimed ignorance on whether payment procedures were followed between Eskom and Trillian Capital but also called McKinsey out for claiming it was “confused” about the companies’ relationship. Singh continued with his testimony yesterday after he and his team were over an hour late for proceedings. McKinsey and Trillian have been implicated in allegations of state capture after securing multimillion-rand contracts with Eskom. Singh said McKinsey directors met regularly with him so they could not claim “they didn’t know” about Trillian. “I can understand if my kids were confused – but this one is the legal head of McKinsey South Africa and head of accounts department. Two senior partners were involved,”…

Angry residents destroy his house Athandile Siyo athandile.siyo@inl.co.za Okuhle Hlati okuhle.hlatio.@inl.co.za ANGRY Kraaifontein residents have demolished the shack of a suspected serial rapist who allegedly raped five children – four little girls and a boy – in Wallacedene. The suspect has since fled the area, after the parents and residents destroyed his house in Masondo Street on Sunday. This was after one of the children told his parents that the suspect, who works at a nearby retail store, has been raping him. The parent, whose identity is being withheld, told the Cape Times yesterday that he noticed his child was not happy when he was bathing him. “I noticed his behind was not okay and I asked what had…

Zelda Venter zelda.venter@inl.co.za A FULL bench of the Gauteng high court has given the Road Accident Fund (RAF) a reprieve of 180 days in which to pay claims. It was ordered that the fund is to pay all claims based on court orders already granted or settlements reached, which are older than 180 days. This must be done before the end of April, provided that the RAF has been notified by the attorneys involved that they have outstanding claims which are older than 180 days. Judge PA Meyer also ordered that all writs of execution and warrants of attachment against the fund based on court orders already granted or settlements already reached, which are not older than 180 days, be suspended from May 1 until September 12. The RAF, in…

Siphokazi Vuso siphokazi.vuso@inl.co.za A HEART-WRENCHING picture of a dog desperately clinging to his elderly owner, who said she had no choice but to surrender him to the Garden Route SPCA, has led to numerous donations. Cordelia Ngoqo, 67, from George, said she did not want to give up her dog, Whisky, but couldn’t afford to feed him because she did not have a job. “I’ve had my dog for 10 years now. I love him so much, I didn’t want to give him up. Even if I go to the shops, I can leave the door open and no one can come into my house. My dog protects me. “But since lockdown I have been struggling financially and I no longer work, so I called the Garden Route SPCA to…

Athandile Siyo athandile.siyo@inl.co.za A MOTHER and her nine-month-old baby were killed when their shack caught fire in Blackheath early yesterday. Amanda Booysen and her baby, Skyler, were burnt beyond recognition. Police spokesperson Noloyiso Rwexana said that Mfuleni police had opened an inquest case following the fire that occurred at about 12.15am in Omo Street, Happy Valley. “According to reports a woman aged 29 and a nine-month-old baby died in the fire. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.” Fire and rescue services said it dispatched crews from Mfuleni and Kuils River to battle the blaze. Spokesperson Jermaine Carelse said: “The City’s fire and rescue service received an emergency call at approximately 12.35am of an informal structure that was alight in Omo Court, Wimbledon. “Fire crews were immediately…

AT his first news conference as US president, when he introduced his policy on competing with China, Joe Biden told reporters: “This is a battle between the utility of democracies in the 21st century and autocracies. We’ve got to prove democracy works.” It is natural to come up with questions from Biden’s vague interpretation, about when and why the democracy of the US seems to have stopped working. According to a very conservative estimate by Brown University, since 2001, the US has launched or taken part in wars in Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, Iraq, Libya and Syria respectively. Millions of civilians have died and 37 million people have become either refugees or displaced, which is more than those displaced by any other war or disaster since at least the start of…

DEBBIE SCHÄFER With reference to Brett Herron’s opinion piece (Cape Times, April 12), it is necessary to set out the facts, lest this narrative – which he has been trying so hard to drive – becomes “truth”. He seeks to criticise what he calls the “blame game”, while he is indulging in exactly the same thing. He repeats his false claims about the pupils “under the trees” in Forest Village. Our department has, in fact, offered a number of placement options to the pupils, but the groups “task team” has refused to accept any of them, unless their teachers are employed by the WCED and a new school is created on the grounds of another. The WCED has faced similar attempts to strong-arm the department into hiring select individuals by…

Spanish police said yesterday they had arrested 20 alleged human smugglers operating through the Ceuta exclave bordering Morocco. They are thought to be responsible for a February shipwreck in which four migrants drowned and are accused of trafficking migrants in rickety boats, each carrying seven to 10 people, between North Africa and Spain. Their victims, mostly underage Moroccans, were approached in Ceuta, police said. They then travelled the few kilometres to the Iberian peninsula, paying an average of €2 500 (about (R43 400) apiece. In the bust, some 150 police officers backed by Europol agents seized three boats, five firearms, ammunition and cash. Death by drowning is frequent in the western Mediterranean where 330 died last year, according to the International Organization for Migration.In the first three months…

BERLIN: The head of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU has secured the backing of the party’s senior leadership in his bid to become the conservative chancellor candidate for September elections, party sources said yesterday. “The CDU leadership is in favour of Armin Laschet running as the (conservative) candidate in the 2021 election campaign,” a source said. Laschet had declared his willingness to run for the post on Sunday along with rival Markus Soeder, the head of the CDU’s smaller Bavarian sister party CSU.…

Five priests and two nuns were kidnapped in Haiti, a Catholic priest said, with two French citizens among the hostages in the Caribbean nation increasingly riven by kidnappings and violent crime. The clergy members were kidnapped in the commune of Croix-des-Bouquets, northeast of the capital, Port-au-Prince, said Father Gilbert Peltrop, secretary-general of the Haitian Conference of the Religious association. “The nation must stand up to fight these thugs,” Peltrop said, adding that the French citizens included a priest and a nun. France’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that two French citizens had been kidnapped in Haiti .…

BEIJING: Archaeologists have found a total of 165 millennia-old tombs at a single relic site in east China’s Shandong Province. The tombs, unearthed in the city of Heze, include 156 that date back to the Han Dynasty (202 BC to 220 AD) and nine from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770-221 BC), according to Shandong’s institute of cultural relics and archaeology. All of the tombs belong to the 1.3-hectare Sundayuan Site, the recent excavation of which also revealed five pits from the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC) and 27 from the Neolithic Longshan Culture, said Sun Qirui, an archaeologist with the institute.…

Stuart Hess at the Wanderers Pakistan 140/9 (Azam 50, Linde 3/23, Williams 3/35) South Africa 141/4 (Markram 54, Qadir 2/26) SA win by 6 wickets This match was decided after the first ball. That one ball saw Mohammad Rizwan charge down the wicket at George Linde and attempt to belt him over long off for six. Instead, having connected with the ball with the outside corner of his bat, Rizwan skied it to Aiden Markram at mid-off. Game over. There was some criticism in the aftermath of Rizwan being arrogant, but can you blame him? His four T20 innings against South Africa before yesterday’s match read as follows: 104*, 51, 42 and 74*. His desire to dominate was thus understandable. But it immediately put Pakistan on the backfoot.…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za MOMENTUM Investments yesterday joined other economic think tanks in revising South Africa’s growth projections, saying the economy could rebound more than expected this year if the energy crisis and the slow roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccination programme were resolved. Momentum said it now projected that the economy would grow at 3.4 percent, down from 3.8 percent forecast in March, as the global vaccination process slowed, with only 129 million people, or 1.7 percent of the world’s population, being fully vaccinated by the end of last month. In South Africa, just more than 288 000 health-care workers have been vaccinated so far, with the second phase of the programme earmarked to start this week. The 17 days of stage 2 loadshedding and the…

THE FINANCIAL Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) yesterday warned the public to act with caution when dealing with Work Your Wealth, Conray Labuschagne and Ewoudt Labuschagne. The FSCA said in a statement it suspected that Work Your Wealth, Conray Labuschagne and Ewoudt Labuschagne were conducting unauthorised financial services business and breaching various financial sector laws. The FSCA had received information that Work Your Wealth, Conray Labu- schagne and Ewoudt Labuschagne were soliciting money from the public and promising them high returns. The FSCA said Work Your Wealth, Conray Labuschagne and Ewoudt Labuschagne were not authorised in terms of the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act (FAIS Act) to render financial advisory and intermediary services. “Members of the public should always check that an entity or individual is registered with the FSCA…

SIRIUS Real Estate, the owner and operator of branded business and industrial parks in Germany that is also listed on the JSE, said it would report its seventh consecutive year of like-for-like rent roll growth of above 5 percent in the year to March 31. The group said in a trading update yesterday that like-for-like rent roll growth over the period was up 5.2 percent to €94.3 million (about R1.64 billion). Sirius’s share price increased 1.98 percent to R19.05 by yesterday afternoon. Chief executive Andrew Coombs said: “Over the past 12 months we have continued to grow Sirius from an operational perspective and through the acquisition of further assets where we see a clear opportunity to add value and increase income in the future.” The…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za THE $2.8 BILLION (R41bn) antitrust fine slapped on global e-retailer Ali- baba for abusing its market dominance had little impact on the markets yesterday, with experts saying that the conclusion of the antitrust investigation had cleared the spectre of uncertainty facing the internet giant. A senior analyst at ActivTrades, Ricard Evangelista, said yesterday that while the fine represented a large sum at $2.8bn, it ended up being smaller than many expected, representing 4 percent of the firm’s 2019 revenue, considerably less than the 10 percent set by regulations of such violations. Evangelista said that on the other hand, closing the chapter was seen as positive for Alibaba, clearing the spectre of uncertainty. “For these reasons the markets reacted positively, with shares gaining more than…

Miss Universe South Africa, Natasha Joubert, has revealed the national costume she will be wearing when the 69th Miss Universe pageant takes place in Florida in the US next month. The Miss Universe pageant takes place on May 16 in the US (02h00 to 05h00 on May 17 SA time). The reigning Miss Universe, Zozibini Tunzi – who was crowned Miss South Africa in August 2019 and who, because of lockdown, is the longest reigning Miss Universe – will crown her successor at a glittering event at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Joubert, a 23-year-old B. Comm graduate from Gauteng, believes she is fully prepared for Miss Universe: "My preparations started when I was crowned Miss Universe South Africa last year. I have been looking…

Siphokazi Vuso siphokazi.vuso@inl.co.za GRANDMOTHERS Against Poverty and Aids (Gapa) has welcomed with excitement the launch of the mobile clinic of the Heart and Stroke Foundation SA (HSFSA), which will offer health screenings to the vulnerable in Khayelitsha. The high-tech clinic launched yesterday was built with grant funding from the National Lotteries Commission, and is the first in an intended series of mobile clinics, with the aim of bringing access to basic screening and health care, starting with the elderly. Foundation chief executive Professor Pamela Naidoo said the mobile clinic would assist in educating, informing, diagnosing and referring patients to lessen the strain on the health-care system. “Our trained nurses are ready to conduct health-risk assessments on members of the communities where they work, and provide them with helpful information and…

Odwa Mkentane odwa.mkentane@inl.co.za CAPE Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata) boss Victor Wiwi was shot and killed while en route home from Laingsburg where he was to resolve an issue of transport in the area, it has emerged. The issue he was dealing with was related to a company that hired taxis from outside the Western Cape to provide services at a wind farm, instead of those who operate locally. This surfaced yesterday during a meeting between Cata, the SA National Taxi Council (Santaco), the Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (Codeta), the Laingsburg Municipality and Transport MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela to address concerns over ongoing violence and taxi killings. Wiwi was killed last Wednesday in Nyanga. Madikizela said the contractors were now in agreement that taxis in the province will be the ones…

Siphokazi Vuso siphokazi.vuso@inl.co.za WHILE staff at the Pepperclub Hotel, where SA rapper AKA’s fiancée Anele “Nellie” Tembe died are receiving counselling, a CCID patrol guard said paramedics tried for a while to resuscitate her when he arrived. The 22-year-old plunged to her death on Sunday morning, leaving AKA – real name Kiernan Forbes – and the Tembe family distraught. “The paramedics were already there when I arrived. “I then contacted my office and other guards. “The paramedics tried to resuscitate her but, after a while, she stopped breathing,” he said. Pepperclub Hotel management said their staff have been offered counselling. Hotel general manager Efi Ella told the Cape Times that AKA had been a regular visitor. “It’s very unfortunate, Nellie, she is 22 years old, her partner is Mr Forbes…

Staff writer GLOBAL vaccine roll-out programme Covax has delivered more than 38 million doses across six continents, supplied by three manufacturers, AstraZeneca, Pfizer-BioNTech and the Serum Institute of India. Of the over 100 economies reached, 61 are among the 92 lower-income economies receiving vaccines funded through the Gavi Covax Advance Market Commitment. So announced the World Health Organization, saying despite reduced supply availability in March and April – the result of vaccine manufacturers scaling and optimising their production processes in the early phase of the roll-out, as well as increased demand for Covid-19 vaccines in India – Covax expected to deliver doses to all participating economies that had requested vaccines in the first half of the year. “In under four months since the very first mass vaccination outside a clinical…

Staff writer LAPSED temporary disability grants that affected around 200 000 people were hardest felt in the Western Cape, which has the highest number of beneficiaries in the country. The SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) said it was now in the process of partnering with the University of Cape Town to conduct research into the seemingly “abnormally high number of temporary disability grants in the province”, that surpasses those of the biggest provinces by grant uptake – KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. In December last year, Sassa stopped the temporary disability grants when the period for which they had been approved expired. The grants were extended during the 2020 financial year to limit hardship during the lockdown. Sassa said yesterday that almost a quarter of lapsed grants were in the Western…

Candidates interviewed for Concourt positions face searching questions Zintle Mahlati zintle.mahlati@inl.co.za SHORTLISTED candidates for two vacant posts at the Constitutional Court have faced tough questions as they attempted to convince members of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) of their competency for a seat at the apex court. The first candidate to take the stand yesterday was advocate Alan Dodson SC, who stands out from the others because he is not a sitting judge. Dodson previously served as a land claims judge, between 1995 and 2000. He has done extensive work in the land claims legal fraternity and faced numerous questions based on his work in representing land claimants. He was admitted as an advocate in 2001 and as senior counsel since 2011. Dodson faced tough questions from commissioners, with EFF…

It has become a familiar trend in this country that when you are poor, the rich will trample on you and the system will defend the rich. The community of Dannhauser in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, who were shot at and violently arrested by the police while protesting peacefully, appeared in Dannhauser Magistrate’s Court this week to defend themselves against police brutality and to take a stand for environmental justice. The police shot at members of the community who were seeking to peacefully engage with the Ikwezi Mining management last month. This was on the second day of a two-day protest. The community is affected by the Kliprand Colliery owned by Ikwezi, as the coal dust affects their health and the blasting keeps damaging their homes. On the second day of…

The coronavirus pandemic could fuel organised crime for years to come in Europe, a continent already at “breaking point” from an unprecedented flood of cocaine, the EU’s policing agency warned yesterday. In its flagship four-yearly report, Europol said increasingly violent criminal gangs are likely to muscle in on legitimate businesses left vulnerable by the economic damage caused by Covid-19. Criminals are also offering fake coronavirus vaccines and home-testing kits as they seek to capitalise on global efforts to recover from the virus, the Hague-based agency said. “We are at the breaking point,” Europol’s director Catherine De Bolle told AFP in an interview. “The impact on the lives of citizens, on the economy, on the rule of law is too big. That’s what we see from this... report.” The “Serious and…

Myanmar’s detained government leader Aung San Suu Kyi asked a court yesterday to be allowed to meet her lawyers in person when she appeared at a hearing via video link to face charges brought by the military junta that could see her jailed for years. As Suu Kyi appeared, her supporters called for people to show their opposition to the February 1 coup during this week’s traditional new year holiday in the largely Buddhist country. Suu Kyi, 75, who has led Myanmar’s struggle against military rule for decades, has been detained since the coup and charged with various offences, including violating a colonial-era official secrets act that could see her jailed for 14 years. She has only been allowed to talk to her lawyers via video link in the presence…

LOS ANGELES: Hugh Jackman’s marriage is as “natural as breathing”. The Logan actor has marked his 25th wedding anniversary with a heartfelt tribute to his spouse, Deborra-Lee Furness, who he said he felt he was destined to spend his life with as soon as they met. Alongside a series of photographs from their wedding day, he wrote on Instagram: “Being married to you Deb is as natural as breathing. “From nearly the moment we met … I knew our destiny was to be together. In our 25 years – our love has only grown deeper. The fun, excitement and adventure more exhilarating; the learning even greater. I’m forever grateful to share our love, our life – and our family together. We’ve only just begun.” The 52-year-old actor, who met his…

TOKYO: More than 70% of people in Japan want the Tokyo Olympics to be cancelled or delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic, a Kyodo News poll showed yesterday, just over 100 days ahead of the planned start of the Games. The survey showed 39.2% want the Games scrapped, while 32.8% favour another delay. Only 24.5% of respondents want the world’s largest sporting event to go ahead as scheduled. Tokyo has begun a month-long period of quasi-emergency measures to blunt a fourth wave of Covid-19 infections driven by virulent mutant strains. More than 92.6% of respondents felt anxiety about the resurgence of infections.…

Ashfak Mohamed ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za THE Rainbow Cup has not been cancelled, and South Africa are exploring every possible option to make the tournament happen. That was the official word from SA Rugby president Mark Alexander yesterday following reports that the event was set to be called off due to the fact that the local teams wouldn’t be able to operate out of a bio-bubble in the UK. Weekend online and newspaper reports stated that the SA teams were instructed not to apply for UK visas just yet as the British government had not given the necessary clearances for the Bulls, Sharks, Stormers and Lions to be based in a bio-bubble in Bristol. The South Africans are due to start their part of the tournament with derby matches from April 24…

Back in 2011-12, Manchester United held an eight-point advantage over second-placed Manchester City with six games to go, but with Sergio Aguero’s 94th-minute intervention in the final game of the season, City completed a dramatic title turnaround. City’s shock 2-1 defeat to Leeds United on Saturday, coupled with United’s 3-1 success at Tottenham Hotspur, means that should United win their game in hand, it will be roles reversed from 2011-12, but with an eight point gap, six to play. Hopes of an equally dramatic turnaround are slim, however. The pair do not meet each other again this season, as they did in the run-in in 2011-12, and it remains more likely City’s defeat to Leeds was a mere blip. But, you never know. The good news for West…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed that the government was on track to create 100 000 new jobs by the end of 2023 as it ramps up the Presidential Employment Stimulus (PES) plan. This comes as South Africa last week received a second $1bn Covid-19 emergency loan to finance job creation in the country, in particular the first phase of the PES. Ramaphosa said the aim of this initiative was to create 500 000 new jobs by the end of 2030 in the business services sector, which includes call centres, technical support and back and front office services. He said the PES had already enabled the creation of 8 000 new jobs in the industry during the last two quarters, most of which have gone…

SANDILE MCHUNU sandile.mchunu@inl.co.za RENERGEN’S share price rose by more than 8 percent on the JSE yesterday morning after the domestic producer of natural gas and helium announced its first helium sales agreement with a global acting, tier-one automotive supplier to diversify its customer base beyond wholesalers. The share closed 3.7 percent higher at R28. The group said the sales agreement was its first direct-to-customer helium deal, and for reasons of confidentiality it was unable to disclose its customer or the details of the agreement, but confirmed that the customer operated in the automotive sector. Renergen chief executive Stefano Marani said the company was proud to announce its first helium sales agreement from the Virginia Gas Project. “Importantly, this contract shows the viability of accessing helium directly from the refinery by…

From page 1 qualified internal candidates who could have been appointed to this very important office.” The BAC said the university missed an opportunity to implement clear succession planning and career advancement processes, as recommended in the Mayosi report. “The BAC calls on the UCT council to be bold on transformation and give a clear road map on how to handle issues of senior leadership appointments, replacements, and development, in a manner that is transparent and supports the mandatory transformation imperatives. “The BAC also remains gravely concerned with the recent departure of black leaders in senior management positions, including the resignation of the president of convocation. “This is happening at a time when it was felt that UCT was making progress in transforming and diversifying the senior leadership/management sector…

Rapula Moatshe rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za THE National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) has denied suggestions that it is pre-empting the outcome of the Eskom inquiry into chief executive Andre de Ruyter, saying it has no faith in the probe based on the power utility’s questionable handling of similar allegations levelled against chief operating officer Jan Oberholzer. The union’s spokesperson, Phakamile Hlubi-Majola, said it would have preferred an independent process such as the one the standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) was considering. “We are basing it (our stance) on our previous experiences with them in relation to how they handled the matter involving Jan Oberholzer, the chief operating officer. “It was established that he had a relationship with Stefanutti Stocks, but the board cleared him. So for us that outcome was a…

Judge rejects woman’s ‘exaggerated’ maintenance claim ZELDA VENTER zelda.venter@inl.co.za A MOTHER of five embroiled in divorce proceedings with her husband got far less than she bargained for after claiming she couldn’t make ends meet since he left. The woman claimed she had a R60 000-a-month shortfall, and her grocery bill alone was R20 000 monthly. She told the Limpopo High Court she and her husband had lived a life of luxury before he left. Now she had to “jiggle around” to make ends meet. As a result of his failure to contribute to the upbringing of their children, her monthly expenditure rocketed to R83 280, she said. Her take-home salary was R23 000, and that left her with a monthly shortfall R60 280. She asked the court to order her…

Lisa Isaacs lisa.isaacs@inl.co.za AHEAD of an emergency UCT council meeting today, the Black Academic Caucus (BAC) has called on UCT’s decision makers to be bold on transformation, and provide a clear road map on how to handle issues of senior leadership appointments and replacements. At the weekend, reports emerged that after a week of high drama with the controversial acting appointment of retired Emeritus Professor Martin Hall, to replace Professor Loretta Feris as deputy vice-chancellor (DVC) for transformation, which led to the shock resignation of convocation president Eddy Maloka on Thursday, a student had died in the health sciences faculty – where the former dean, Professor Bongani Mayosi, took his life in July 2018. The Weekend Argus reported that in his resignation letter, Maloka said the recent events on campus…

Dr Marienne de Villiers SHARPTOOTH catfish (Clarias gariepinus) are rather remarkable creatures. They are omnivorous feeders, have high fecundity (can produce many offspring) and survive in a wide range of water quality conditions. In addition, they possess a primitive accessory air-breathing organ which enables them to survive out of water for hours or even days, provided their skins and gills stay moist. The downside is that these characteristics enable sharptooth catfish to be very successful invaders, causing severe ecological impacts in areas where they are introduced. For example, they have been implicated in the severe reduction of populations of the indigenous smallscale redfin (Pseudobarbus asper) in the Gamtoos River system. While sharptooth catfish are indigenous to the northern parts of South Africa, they are both alien and invasive in the…

Chevon Booysen chevon.booysen@inl.co.za “I WOULD never hurt Orderick. I loved him very much.” These were the words of murder-accused Melvin Volkwyn as he took the stand to testify in the Western Cape High Court yesterday. Volkwyn is accused of murdering one-year-old Orderick Lucas whose lifeless body was found eight days after being reported missing in Eerste River on March 25, 2019. Orderick’s maggot-consumed body was found in a stormwater drain, just metres from his grandparents’ home in Wittebol Street. Volkwyn, given an opportunity to respond to the murder case against him, maintained his innocence when he said: “No, I did not murder Orderick Lucas,” adding that he did not place Orderick in a drain and had never owned a black suitcase. State witness Rugaya Gerhardus previously testified how she had…

Siphokazi Vuso siphokazi.vuso@inl.co.za THE Hout Bay Seal Rescue Centre administrators say they are at their wits’ end with fears they may be evicted after the Department of Public Works (DPW) “indicated” it will be putting up the centre for tender. The centre rehabilitates and releases stranded, injured or distressed Cape fur seal pups which have been rescued by volunteers. Its administration and fund-raising director, Kim Krynauw, said the centre had a long-standing agreement with the Oceana Group to use one of the company’s lots. However, in February, Oceana said it was cancelling its lease as it was letting go of some of its lots. Krynauw said the centre has since requested a standalone lease from the DPW but has not received a response. “Public Works indicated that they will be…

The TIME has come for the national government to improve the living conditions of farmworkers, in order to calm the simmering tension that is threatening to plunge the country’s agricultural sector into turmoil. KZN Premier Sihle Zikalala on Sunday visited farm dwellers and farm owners, in the Normandien area outside Newcastle, following violent confrontations and the brutal murder of farming couple Glen and Vida Rafferty, in August last year. The escalating tension between farm owners and farm dwellers has often led to violence, murders and even the destruction of property. Farmers, who received their land through violent dispossession of the country’s black majority, have been targeted by criminal elements, while farm dwellers have complained about abuse and violation of their constitutional rights. We applaud Zikalala for taking time off his…

An unidentified man shot dead another man and injured a woman yesterday in Paris before fleeing on a motorcycle in what the local mayor said appeared to be a private quarrel and not terrorism-related. The two were shot in front of a hospital which also serves as a Covid-19 vaccination centre in the upmarket 16th arrondissement of the French capital. The injured woman was hospitalised. “It is not a terrorist attack, it was probably a case of score-settling,” Francis Szpiner, mayor of the 16th arrondissement, told reporters. The Paris prosecutor has opened a murder investigation. Police union official Rocco Contento said there had been an argument between the gunman and the woman, who had been identified as a security official at the hospital, and that a man who tried to…

Somalia’s police chief announced he had suspended parliament yesterday, saying he was acting unilaterally to prevent MPs from extending the president’s term, only to be fired moments later by the police commissioner. The chaos underscores the widening divisions within the Horn of Africa’s security services over extending the four-year term of President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, who faces growing pressure to quit after his term as national leader ended. Parliament was supposed to elect a new president on February 8, but the exercise was delayed because new MPs have yet to be picked by elders. “We have stopped the parliament session today. We have a responsibility bigger than a personal one. We have to solve anything that can bring violence and war in Mogadishu,” police chief Saadaq Omar Hassan…

MOSCOW: A firefighter was killed while responding to a massive blaze that broke out at the Nevskaya Manufaktura factory in the Russian city of St Petersburg, a spokesperson for the emergency services said yesterday. “The body of a deceased firefighter has been found,” the spokesperson said, adding that the man was first listed as missing. Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Emergency Situations said that 40 people were evacuated from a four-storey historic building. Two of them sustained burns and were hospitalised. Videos from the scene emerged online, showing the factory engulfed in huge flames.…

BEIRUT: Lebanon and Israel began maritime boundary talks mediated by Washington in October, but the negotiations stalled a month later amid an impasse caused by conflicting claims. The areas under dispute are known to be rich in hydrocarbon resources. Beirut has amended the maritime boundary claim it originally submitted to the UN by 1 430km², with Michel Najjar, public works and transport minister of the country’s caretaker government, reporting yesterday that he had signed a document to that effect. The decree must now be endorsed by caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab and President Michel Aoun, then sent to the UN.…

HERMAN GIBBS Mamelodi Sundowns returned to winning ways, but made heavy weather of their 2-1 win over lowly Chippa United in their Premiership clash at Sisa Dukashe Stadium yesterday. Three days ago, Sundowns suffered a rare defeat when they were beaten 2-0 by CR Belouizdad. The breakthrough came in the 15th minute when Themba Zwane converted from the penalty spot. Riaan Hanamub fouled striker Aubrey Modiba in the penalty area. Four minutes into the second half, Chippa stunned Sundowns by scoring the equaliser after excellent work by midfielder Gregory Damons. He laid on a defence-splitting pass to Chippa’s lone striker, Nigerian Augustine Kwem, whose angled drive flew past Sundowns keeper Ugandan Denis Onyango. Sundowns’ response came in the 74th minute when Peter Shalulile scored with a header after the…