Table of contents for 2021-10-14 in Cape Times

JASON Gotay is a married man after tying the knot with Michael Hartung in New York. The Gossip Girl star – who plays teacher Rafa Caparros on HBO Max’s revival series – got married in upstate New York on Monday. Little details are known about the pair’s special day, however, pictures were taken in the woods with Gotay and Hartung in matching suits. The show’s producer, Sarah Schechter, shared one snap of the newlyweds on Instagram and wrote: “Jason and Michael – there is no better example of love I could have chosen for my girls’ first wedding than this.” The 32-year-old Broadway star had teased their nuptials days before, writing on his page: “I marry this man in 10 days. I think I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.” Gotay…

Siyabonga Mkhwanazi siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za The bail hearing of axed MEC for Agriculture, Land Reform and Environmental Affairs in Mpumalanga Mandla Msibi was thrown into disarray yesterday by a bomb scare. The magistrate was forced to halt proceedings after a bomb threat was made, with the police having to sweep the area. Msibi, who had been fired the day before by Premier Refilwe Mtsweni-Tsipane, is facing two charges of murder and one of attempted murder. National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson in Mpumalanga, Monica Nyuswa, said there was no court date yet. She said the date for the bail hearing would be known once it had been confirmed with them. The police in Mpumalanga could not be reached for comment yesterday. Msibi was arrested early this week, and last night he spent his third…

Nicola Daniels nicola.daniels@inl.co.za DA Central Karoo mayoral candidate Derick Welgemoed has come under fire for allegedly being in arrears of more than R600 000 with a municipal account. Questions have also been raised after he attended a bid opening meeting for a tender, allegedly in contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act. Welgemoed has however dismissed the claims, saying the municipal bill was under a trust related to a development that had been bankrupt for 15 years and not his personal account, and that the advertisement for the tender stated that anyone was welcome to attend. At a press conference yesterday the ANC said it had received information that Welgemoed was being investigated by the Hawks. “Those are complaints registered with the Hawks by the municipality and municipal manager. “In…

Staff writer THE University of Pretoria’s (UP) faculty of veterinary science and the Southern Africa Animal Cancer Association (Saaca) have teamed up to create an oncology centre for clinical cases and research in animals. At the end of last year, founder and chief executive of Saaca Munnik Marais approached the faculty with a proposal to join forces. Having spent many years fundraising for the Cancer Association of South Africa, Marais wanted to create awareness of cancer in animals and encourage treatment and research. Dr Paolo Pazzi, section head of small animal medicine at UP, heads the research aspect of the oncology centre. Most patients are cats and dogs with cancer. “At the faculty, research in the field of oncology includes the investigation of a worm (Spirocerca) that can cause…

Sizwe Dlamini sizwe.dlamini@inl.co.za JUST weeks after the unveiling of a mural commemorating Judge Siraj Desai and his comrades in Salt River over the Heritage Day weekend, an attempt was made by an unknown individual to deface it. On September 25, the Salt River Heritage Society honoured Judge Desai with a mural depicting pictures of himself, Anwah Nagia, Dullah Omar and Ben Kies. The person who attempted to deface the mural was captured by neighbours’ security cameras, but was not identifiable as they wore a cap, a mask and a cloak. Judge Desai’s spokesperson, Professor Usuf Chikte said they were willing to offer R10 000 to anyone providing information about the identity of the suspect which would lead to a successful prosecution. Anwar Omar, the vice-chairperson of the Salt River Heritage…

MICHAEL BAGRAIM | Highlands Estate YOUR Tuesday edition ‘SANDF loses appeal against restorative reinstatement ruling’ refers: It is unbelievable to read how the military thought they were above our labour laws. Over and above this, they then had the extreme nerve to take the arbitration on review to the Labour Court, despite the arbitrator pointing out to them that they had not followed the law at all. Every employer ought to know that if someone is employed for more than three months after an expiry of any contract, they must have a reasonable expectation of permanent employment. Once again our government has cost the taxpayer an enormous amount of money, both on legal costs and retrospective salary all the way back to 2015.…

CHIEF Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng has retired, a brilliant chief justice who will be remembered for his statements on Israel and the Palestinians. A judicial officer holding this important post should be able to pierce any obfuscating doctrine and get to the heart of the matter. The daily violations of international law in the conflict zones defy description. Collective punishment is enacted every week to intimidate those whose only aim is to redress the injustices being ruthlessly inflicted upon a powerless populace. Article 33 of The Fourth Geneva Convention defines collective punishment as a war crime. The policy of settling civilians in occupied Palestinian Territory contravenes fundamental rules of international humanitarian law. It is a gross violation of Article 49 of The Fourth Geneva Convention. The complete list of violations and…

Paris: The world is failing to invest in energy on the scale needed to escape catastrophic climate change and avoid sharp increases in fossil fuel prices, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned. In a report just weeks before a key climate change summit known as COP26, the agency said investment in green energy like solar and wind was falling short of what’s needed to keep the planet from warming up significantly. At the same time, spending on fossil fuels was lower than needed if current demand growth for oil, natural gas and coal continues. “There is a looming risk of more turbulence for global energy markets,” Fatih Birol, the head of the agency, said yesterday. “We are not investing enough to meet future energy needs.” The stark warning comes…

LONDON: Sir Billy Connolly thinks he “would have been cancelled” if he had started his career this year. The 78-year-old comedian doubts whether the “fearless” material he used in the 1970s would be accepted in the modern day. Connolly confessed: “I couldn’t have started today.” He said: “Because of political correctness, people have pulled in the horns. “I couldn’t have started today with the talent I had then.” The stand-up star also admitted he loved comedians who were willing to take risks.…

Growing tension over a judicial probe into last year’s Beirut port blast threatens to push Lebanon into yet another political crisis, testing Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s new government as it struggles to dig the country out of economic collapse. More than a year since the explosion ripped through Beirut, killing more than 200 people, Judge Tarek Bitar’s efforts to hold senior officials to account for suspected negligence are facing mounting political pushback. Ministers aligned with the politicians Bitar has sought to question, were expected to press the demand for his removal at a cabinet meeting yesterday, after the subject disrupted a session on Tuesday. But the session was postponed until a framework to tackle the row would be agreed, an official source said. Mikati took office last month after more…

Colombo: Sri Lankan authorities have dropped charges, including conspiracy to murder, against a former navy chief linked to 11 killings that drew international condemnation, the country’s attorney-general announced yesterday. The investigation against Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda was part of a case that cast a spotlight on extrajudicial killings during Sri Lanka’s 37-year ethnic war that ended in 2009. Attorney-General Sanjay Rajaratnam told the Court of Appeal that the State would not pursue charges against Karannagoda, who was first indicted in 2019.…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za LONDON-listed Grit Real Estate Income Group, which has about 60 percent of its shareholders in South Africa, said yesterday that it had issued a bond to raise up to $31.5 million (R472.3m) to acquire, expand and redevelop the Orbit Africa warehousing and manufacturing facility in Nairobi, Kenya, on a sale and leaseback basis. Grit is a pan-African real estate company that invests in and manages a portfolio of assets in carefully selected African countries. The bond was raised from Ethos Mezzanine Partners and BluePeak Private Capital. The total purchase consideration of $53.6m would be settled by way of $25m in senior debt finance negotiated with the International Finance Corporation and $28.6m through the perpetual note issuance, Grit said in a statement yesterday. Grit planned to…

Kylie Jenner has shared a gory video of fake blood dripping down her naked body to promote the Kylie Cosmetics x Nightmare on Elm Street collection. The 24-year-old beauty mogul teased fans about her brand’s Halloween drop with the Freddy Krueger-inspired visual, which saw her sensually rub the red liquid all over her skin to the soundtrack of One, Two, Freddy’s Coming For You from the 1984 Wes Craven horror classic. The reality star captioned the Instagram post: “Can you guess who we collaborated with this year for halloween? collection reveal coming today @kyliecosmetics” (sic). The collection is set to drop this week, in time for Halloween on October 31. Her latest line comes after the Keeping Up with the Kardashians star launched her debut baby, which has been “tested…

Staff writer GROOTE Schuur Hospital yesterday became the first public sector hospital in Africa able to perform Robotic Surgery for use in the treatment of a wide range of conditions, with the launch of the da Vinci Xi fourth generation Robot. The system represents four generations and nearly 20 years of learning how to enhance surgical performance by creating a natural extension of the surgeon’s eyes and hands. The da Vinci Xi can be used across a wide spectrum of minimally invasive surgical procedures and has been optimized for complex, multi quadrant surgeries. The new technology allows for minimally invasive surgery for complex diseases and conditions in gynaecology, urology, cardiothoracic, colorectal and general surgery. Groote Schuur Hospital chief executive Dr Bhavna Patel said the facility was proud to continue innovating with…

Francesca Villette and Chevon Booysen FOUR City law enforcement officers have been cleared of gross negligent conduct after the incident involving the eviction of a naked Bulelani Qolani from his Khayelitsha shack last year. The finding emerged during the Western Cape High Court hearing yesterday into the legality of landowners’ right to take possession of their land from occupiers without a court order. The City’s Anti-Land Invasion Unit’s (ALIU) actions in forcefully removing Bulelani Qolani from his shack while he was naked were previously found to be unlawful and unconstitutional by the high court, which also ruled that demolitions of homes could not be carried out during the national lockdown. The SAHRC and the EFF now want the order to be extended beyond the lockdown. During court proceedings yesterday, Sean…

Chevon Booysen Chevon.booysen@inl.co.za DOUBLE-murder accused Enver Hassim will remain behind bars until his next court appearance as he pursues a bail application. Hassim, an IT manager at Wynberg Campus of Schools, is accused of shooting and murdering Stephen Carrington, 81, and his son Robert Carrington, 56. A calm-looking Hassim wearing a black backpack, appeared briefly at the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court yesterday where his case was postponed to November 4 for a bail application. The State said they would be opposing the Schedule 5 bail application of Hassim, a first offender and who has no previous convictions. Hassim had handed himself over to police after he shot the father and son following an alleged altercation just after 1am at Tiverton Heights, Morton Road in Plumstead. Police spokesperson Wesley Twigg had said…

Odwa Mkentane odwa.mkentane@inl.co.za AS initiation forums prepare for the summer initiation season, the Provincial Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport says vaccination is not mandatory and initiates will not be turned away if they have not had the jab. This as forums including the Embo Initiation Forum in Langa have started the registration process for summer initiations. The forums are also screening the initiates for Covid-19 symptoms. Department spokesperson Tania Colyn said they would ensure that initiation forums and initiation school principals comply to Covid-19 Regulations and the Customary Initiation Act, Act 2 of 2021. “We are expecting a higher number of initiates for the summer season due to there not having been any winter or summer initiation last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic and regulations. We encourage…

Malusi Booi | Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements THE opinion piece “Integration poses threat to DA’s City of Cape Town” refers (Cape Times, 10 October). It is astounding how often the Good Party repeats the lie that the City of Cape Town has cancelled inner city housing projects. These projects are going ahead despite many challenges, including constrained national grant-funding, legislative red tape, and the co-ordinated building hijackings of two flagship properties by Ndifuna Ukwazi’s Reclaim the City campaign in 2017. Work on these inner city parcels of land, in fact, preceded mayor De Lille’s tenure, and has continued afterwards. Where the City has adjusted strategy for these properties, this has tended to result in a higher projected social housing yield, for example at Salt River Market.…

Farouk Cassim | Cope TUCKED away on page 10 of the Business Report on Monday was a great piece by Dineo Faku on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s acknowledgement that climate change indeed posed a crisis for our country. The move by the government to develop “detailed plans to enable a just transition to a low-carbon economy” is good news, except that it omitted to point out that urgency must be the driving force. Eskom, as we all know by now, is a disaster in many respects. According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, “Eskom emits more sulphur dioxide than the entire power sector of the EU, US and China combined”. What a disgrace. We must all hope that the president will make it his duty…

THE historic World Health Organization’s recommended malaria vaccine marks the beginning of a promising era, especially for sub-Saharan Africa where it has stalked the region, causing immense suffering for centuries. Malaria remains a primary cause of childhood illness and death in the region, with more than 260 000 African children dying from it annually – most under the age of 5. Sub-Saharan Africa was home to 94% of malaria cases and deaths in 2019, according to the WHO. The announcement of the vaccine recommendation aims to change this in our lifetime. The WHO last week recommended the widespread use of the RTS,S/AS01 (RTS,S) malaria vaccine among children in sub-Saharan Africa and in other regions with moderate to high P. falciparum malaria transmission. Since 2019, researchers have been carrying out…

Activists from Insulate Britain, an environmental campaign group demanding the government insulate and retrofit homes across the UK, again blocked a major highway encircling London yesterday, infuriating drivers and causing traffic chaos during rush hour. The group said 40 people had returned to the streets for the 13th time over the past four weeks, fully aware their protest was in breach of the injunction granted to National Highways Authorities on September 22. “They (protesters) are demanding that Boris (UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson) gets on with the job of insulating Britain’s homes starting with the homes of the poorest people in the country,” it said. According to the group, 8 500 deaths on average during winter in the UK are a result of cold homes and thousands of families “have…

LONDON: Lockdown provided singer Matt Goss the break from live performance that his body needed and the chance to write an album, which he hopes will take him back on a world tour. The British-born musician, who found fame with his twin brother Luke Goss in the late 1980s, has spent the last decade performing in Las Vegas. Until the coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020, he was doing around 120 shows a year in Vegas, and says he knew he “was becoming fatigued … vocally as a musician and mentally”. So the unexpected time off was not wholly unwelcome. “I think that it was in a weird way exactly what my body needed and what my mind needed,” he told Reuters at The Dorchester Hotel in London during a visit…

MEXICO CITY: The Guatemalan Ministry of Culture and Sports has condemned acts of vandalism directed at historical monuments in the capital, after protesters against colonial legacy tried to demolish statues of Christopher Columbus and former president Jose Maria Reina Barrios. “We condemn the acts of vandalism and irreparable damage inflicted on several city monuments and historical heritage this morning,” the government said in a statement yesterday. Videos spread on social media show protesters trying to pull the statues off their pedestals with ropes, in one case breaking off a part of the figure.…

NEW South Wales: Two teenage boys have been charged after 14 kangaroos were beaten to death on the southern coast of Australia’s New South Wales state. Police were called to Long Beach, a sleepy beachside suburb about 275km south of Sydney, on Saturday in response to reports that a number of kangaroos had been killed. The officers found five adult kangaroos and one baby kangaroo dead, according to police. Police were told another seven kangaroos and one baby had been found dead in the nearby Maloney’s Beach area. The pair will appear in a children’s court next month on charges of killing animals.…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za FAMOUS Brands, the branded food services franchisor, said yesterday headline earnings per share (Heps) for the six months to August 31, 2021, were expected to increase between 329 cents and 349c when compared to the prior comparable period, after its operations started recovering from the impact of the pandemic across all its businesses. This would translate in Heps of between 89 to 109c, compared with the equivalent of a 240c per share loss reported at the end of the comparable period last year. “Across our trading markets, in South Africa, rest of Africa and the Middle East and the UK, the negative financial impact of the pandemic and resultant lockdowns and trading restrictions as well as the civil unrest in SA have materially impacted the group’s…

Nicola Daniels nicola.daniels@inl.co.za PROVINCIAL funding for athletics has shrunk from R180 000 for the 2015/16 year to R50 000 in 2020/21. For young talented athletes from disadvantaged backgrounds, the lack of funding in the sector has resulted in them being unable to make a career for themselves and forced to find any job after school to ensure their survival, a local coach said. The funding figures emerged following a parliamentary question by ANC MP, Ayanda Bans on the priority sporting codes that the Department was funding and how much each sporting code had received. Provincial Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport spokesperson, Tania Colyn said: “WP Athletics received R200 000 between 2015-2018 for admin, development and capacity building. The budget included marathon support.” For 2019/20, R10 000 went to one…

Okuhle Hlati and Siyavuya Mzantsi IN WHAT has been hailed as a victory for same-sex partnerships, a Namibian court has ruled in favour of a married couple, declaring that Dr Phillip Lühl and his Mexican husband, Guillermo Delgado’s first-born child was a Namibian citizen by descent. The couple’s son was born through a surrogate pregnancy in South Africa in March 2019. Although Lühl, born in Namibia, was reflected on the boy's birth certificate as one of his parents, the Namibian Home Affairs ministry had refused to acknowledge that his son was a citizen by descent. Aggrieved by this the couple, whose newborn twin girls were stuck in South Africa, turned to court to challenge the government’s decision. They slammed the Namibian government for refusing to acknowledge a legal document…

Chevon Booysen Chevon.booysen@inl.co.za VICTIM Maggie Ndlovu, who was allegedly raped by a South African National Defence Force (SANDF) officer, said she felt further victimised by the justice system after she faced her alleged perpetrator in Wynberg Magistrate’s Court yesterday. This as Womens Rights Defenders activist group called for the suspension of the accused, Mpumelelo Gcakasi. Gcakasi, 40, who faces two counts of rape, is currently out on bail and understood to still be in the employ of the SANDF. Visibly shaken after the brief court appearance, Ndlovu said she was “triggered again”. “At this moment I am struggling to describe the way I feel. I have mixed emotions but when he went to stand (in the dock) ... the man is very arrogant. Even when the magistrate had suggested a…

Odwa Mkentane odwa.mkentane@inl.co.za THE Vusa Rugby and Learning Academy’s new Atlas Digibus, a high-tech mobile classroom, will assist five schools in Langa. More than 1 000 pupils will benefit from the 42-seater Scania bus which includes 40 laptops, two teaching stations and an online tracking system. The project, due to launch in 2022, is Vusa Academy’s latest initiative to make a difference in the lives of children at Mokone, Siyabulela, Moshesh, Thembani and Zimasa primary schools and support their development with an online literacy programme. Founder and director of the Vusa Academy, Brendan Fogarty, said the project is in partnership with Coronation Fund Managers who will partially fund the programme. “The Atlas Digibus will offer children access to excellent academic support, utilising the expertise and materials of leading school, Bishops…

Angel Khanyile | DA Member of Parliament ANC-run municipalities have hurtled from one crisis to another for the past 27 years, culminating in a complete collapse for some in the North West. Yet the ANC leader, Cyril Ramaphosa, wants South Africans to give his party another chance based on a promise that it would do better. It is an empty promise because the ANC has done nothing to show that it is committed to clean and corruption-free governance at local level. Instead, the ANC’s business as usual approach, if they get re-elected, will still lead to the same results where tenders go to politically connected comrades, service delivery remains shambolic and infrastructure decay continues unabated. South Africans deserve a break and the 2021 local government elections have provided…

PA van Wyk | Parow East WHAT happened on Saturday morning in Sea Point when a group of approximately 60 people, consisting mostly of women were peacefully protesting for freedom of choice, was shocking, disgusting and criminal. Without any reason whatsoever, and we have the video material to prove it, SAPS officers targeted and violently assaulted women – some of whom were elderly – by hitting them with batons and shields and shouting sarcastic remarks and threats to use their water cannon. The group was within their rights, did nothing wrong and was in nobody’s way. One lady suffered a severe cut under her eye where she was hit by a police officer and blood was running down the arms of another one who tried to protect her…

Fears are understandable, but unfounded, and can cost lives IT IS understandable that people some people are hesitant to be vaccinated against Covid-19. In the age of social media and mobile communication, when information on any topic is available at our fingertips, it is almost impossible to avoid misinformation. It is all too easy for knowledge to be contested and myths to be propagated. When this happens, it can be very difficult to know what to believe and what to do. And yet, in the case of Covid-19, the stakes could not be higher. South Africa’s local government elections are taking place on November 1. There are fears that the preceding political rallies could become “super-spreader” events that usher in a fourth wave of the pandemic. At the same time,…

California firefighters scrambled overnight yesterday to battle a fast-moving blaze that has scorched more than 5 400 hectares and prompted evacuation orders since it started on Monday. Burning in a dry, scrub-filled canyon about 30km northwest of Santa Barbara, the Alisal Fire was just 5% contained, according to the US Forest Service. More than 765 firefighters have been assigned to the blaze, the latest in what has already been a devastating wildfire season. “The main constraint has been heavy winds that have limited safe access to suppress the fire and limited the use of aircraft to engage and support fire suppression,” a report said. The cause of the fire, which began near the Alisal Reservoir on Monday, remains under investigation, the state’s fire agency Cal Fire said. By late July,…

Fighting has resumed in northern Ethiopia’s Afar region after a month-long lull, humanitarian and rebel sources said yesterday, as the government appeared to be pressing a new offensive. There were reports of an armed clash on Tuesday in the town of Awra, in Afar’s Fenti zone, including the use of heavy weapons by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) that killed many civilians, the humanitarian sources said. The reports could not be independently verified and officials in Afar could not be reached for comment. TPLF spokesperson Getachew Reda denied claims the rebels had used heavy weapons against civilians but confirmed there had been fresh hostilities in Afar. “Enemy forces are crumbling and in disarray in parts of Afar,” he said, describing fighting along the border between Afar and the Amhara…

ANKARA: Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said yesterday that Turkey would “do what is necessary for its security” after what it said was a rise in cross-border attacks by Syrian Kurdish YPG militia. President Tayyip Erdogan said early this week that an attack that Ankara blamed on the US-backed YPG that killed two Turkish police was “the final straw” and that Turkey was determined to eliminate threats originating in north Syria. Turkey said police in northern Syria’s Azaz region were hit in a guided missile attack on Sunday launched by the YPG, which Turkey says is a terrorist group.…

MOSCOW: The creation of the Aukus security alliance poses a threat to the provisions of the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and jeopardises security structures in Asia, Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said yesterday. Aukus is a trilateral platform between the US, the UK and Australia. “For the sake of implementing another White House adventure – I mean Aukus – the entire security architecture in Asia is being put at risk, the background is being created for undermining the authority of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and other regional associations,” he said.…