Table of contents for 2022-07-14 in Cape Times

ESKOM yesterday welcomed the arrests of two former employees of former contractor, the ABB Group (ABB), as well as their spouses, for corruption linked to Eskom contracts of R2.2 billion, following action by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), which claims to be much rejuvenated. “Eskom also hopes this is just the beginning and that more arrests will follow on this matter, and on the more than 100 other criminal cases lodged with the law enforcement agencies over the years,” the power utility, which is struggling operationally and financially, due in part to large-scale corruption in previous years, said in a statement yesterday. The four were arrested on Tuesday by the Investigating Directorate (ID) of the NPA, in a joint operation with the Hawks and the South African Revenue Service,…

THE POLITICAL economy of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s foreign currency loans and foreign climate finance deals can be traced to the Department of Finance’s first version of the economic policy document released in August 2019. As a policy tour de force for the control of money, and therefore the control of the government and demo- cracy by non-state actors (private capital), the document is revolutionary! Its effects on society, however, as were those of colonialism and apartheid, are callous. It is perhaps the most appalling hijacking of government by money since democracy. At its production helm, it could only have been peopled by those with highly loosened moral restraints. Vella Pillay, ANC/SACP economist, would not have been surprised. The document, which morphed into the government’s 2020 Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan,…

SOUTH Africa’s ranking in the global index of countries with gender parity has slightly regressed, though the country managed to remain among 20 of the world’s most gender-equal countries. The Global Gender Gap Index 2022 released yesterday by the World Economic Forum (WEF) showed that South Africa’s ranking in gender parity declined from 18 to number 20 this year. The country’s slight decline in rankings was not because of any regression experienced in key metrics, but because some of the countries had improved their scores. The Global Gender Gap Index measured the world’s progress towards gender parity in 146 countries across four key dimensions. These are Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment. In Economic Participation and Opportunity, South Africa’s ranking remained unchanged at number…

THE R93 million corruption matter involving ex Transnet Group exectives will be back in court next month after being postponed yesterday. The accused in the matter – former group chief executive Siyabonga Gama, former acting group chief financial officer Garry Pita, former group treasurer Phetolo Ramosebudi, Regiments shareholder Eric Wood, Trillian asset management current director Daniel Roy (Novum Asset Management) and Kuben Moodley Albatime Pty Ltd owner appeared at the Palm Ridge Specialised Crimes Court Earlier in the morning there was load shedding at the court in Ekurhuleni, but as soon as power was restored the case got under way. “The Palm Ridge Specialised Crimes Court deferred the R93 million Transnet corruption matter to August 29 for further investigations,” said Investigating Directorate (ID) national spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka. She said ID…

2 tbs unsalted butter 1 onion, chopped 450g beef, cubed 2 tbs flour, seasoned with salt and pepper 450g pumpkin, cubed 1 large potato, peeled, cubed 1 can (410g) chopped tomatoes 1 tsp sugar 1 cup beef stock 3 tbs dry white wine (or more stock) ½ tsp dried thyme Parsley, to garnish Heat the butter in a large pot – sauté the onion until soft – remove the onion and keep aside. Dust the beef cubes with the seasoned flour – brown in the same pot as was used for the onion. Return the onion to the pot and add the pumpkin, potato cubes, tomatoes, sugar, stock, wine and thyme. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer 25 to 30 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked.…

AN AMBITIOUS journey to develop the Urban African Youth Climate Change Manifesto has provided a comprehensive list of demands that young people in Africa have towards developing climate-smart cities. WWF South Africa, in collaboration with WWF Uganda and ICLEI Africa, under the One Planet City Challenge, recently embarked on the project with a cohort of youth from African cities, among them Kampala in Uganda, Nyamata and Kigali in Rwanda, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, Lusaka in Zambia, Durban and Polokwane in South Africa, Gaborone in Botswana, Harare, Polokwane, Tamale and Kumasi in Ghana, and Rabat in Morocco. Three workshops were held in drafting the climate manifesto, and addressed several issues including electricity provision, urban transport and food shortages. “Because Africa is recognised as the youngest continent, with 60% of the…

LAST year, President Xi Jinping mapped out a three-point strategy for China’s diplomacy. The three points consist of the promotion of global vaccine co-operation, jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative, and practising multilateralism. The strategy charted a course for a world that has arrived at a historic crossroads. During the same year, addressing the World Economic Forum (WEF) Virtual Event of the Davos Agenda on January 25, Xi said: “China will continue to share its experience with other countries, do its best to assist countries and regions that are less prepared for the pandemic, and work for greater accessibility and affordability of Covid-19 vaccines in developing countries.” Xi has assured that “China will continue to promote trade and investment, liberalisation and facilitation, help keep the global industrial and supply…

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was to head to Singapore after fleeing to the Maldives yesterday, a government source in Sri Lanka said, as protests continued in Colombo. The source said Rajapaksa could send his resignation to the speaker of Sri Lankan parliament after landing in Singapore, bringing to an apparent end his family’s near two-decade dominance of the country after a massive popular uprising brought on by an economic collapse. But his decision to leave his ally Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in charge as acting president triggered more demonstrations, with protesters storming the premier’s office demanding that he go too. Police stationed outside the prime minister’s office fired several rounds of tear gas and a military helicopter briefly circled overhead, but protesters appeared undeterred and finally surged into the…

Suva: Climate-threatened Pacific islands are pushing for the International Court of Justice to throw its weight behind efforts to arrest climate change, with the initiative gaining support at a key regional summit in Fiji yesterday. The Pacific nation of Vanuatu is spearheading a campaign at this week’s Pacific Islands Forum in the Fijian capital, Suva, to ask the Hague-based tribunal “to protect the rights of present and future generations against the effects of climate change”. The plan will need the backing of a majority of countries at the UN General Assembly in September to be put to the world’s highest court. | AFP…

Shanghai: Shanghai roasted under some of its hottest temperatures ever recorded yesterday as a searing heatwave in China triggered a flurry of weather alerts and strained the farming and energy sectors. Swathes of the northern hemisphere have sweltered under extreme heat this week, with France and Britain set to endure soaring temperatures as firefighters in western Europe battle forest blazes. China has also suffered extreme weather, with record floods last month affecting hundreds of thousands of people, while other regions have simmered in road-buckling heat. Scientists say that heatwaves have become more frequent due to climate change. | AFP…

LOS ANGELES: Former US president Barack Obama earned a nomination on Tuesday for the 74th Emmy Awards for Netflix’s documentary series Our Great National Parks. The 44th US president will compete for outstanding narrator in the biggest event of the year for US television, along with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Black Patriots: Heroes Of The Civil War), David Attenborough (The Mating Game), W. Kamau Bell (We Need to Talk About Cosby) and Lupita Nyong’o (Serengeti II). This is the first Primetime Emmy nomination of Obama’s career. Our Great National Parks, a five-part documentary series about some of the planet’s most spectacular national parks, is a collaboration between Wild Space, Obama’s Higher Ground Productions, and Freeborne Media. It is the latest title in a multi-year agreement with Netflix the former US first couple,…

As social restrictions are lifted, the South African economy has an opportunity to apply key disruption learnings to small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs). As South Africa returns to a new-normal, Simone Cooper Head of Business Clients at Standard Bank South Africa (winner of the 2021 Efma SME Banker of the Year Award) discusses how women entrepreneurs are key to turning our economy around by creating sustainable, inclusive jobs growth. At the inaugural 2021 Women’s Economic Assembly, President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed his dissatisfaction with the level of participation of women-owned businesses in key sectors like steel, energy, mining and agriculture. The President vowed to prioritise female entrepreneurs in state procurement, especially since women are disproportionately impacted by the current unemployment crisis. As the full economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic…

LOGISTICS firm Imperial Holdings’ market access business has acquired a controlling stake in Africa FMCG Distribution (AFMCG), which is part of the Chanrai Group of companies. Imperial is owned by Dubai-based DP World, one of the world’s biggest opera- tors of marine ports and inland cargo terminals, with gateways from London to Antwerp as well as hubs in Africa, India, Russia and the Americas. AFMCG is a multi-faceted business, distributing products that positively impact the lives of consumers in Africa every day. Repre- senting some of the world’s leading multi- national FMCG compa- nies and their brands, AFMCG has a wide-rang- ing roduct portfolio and is managed by an exper- ienced and professional team, supported by robust technology and infrastructure, it said. | Dieketseng Maleke…

THE family of murdered IT entrepreneur Hillary Gardee has approached the Gauteng High Court Pretoria on an urgent basis, seeking to have her case docket transferred to the Hawks due to “police incompetence”. The victim’s father, Godrich Gardee, filed a notice of motion, arguing that the Hawks would be better placed to interview “persons of interest” on information that the family has handed over to police investigators. According to EFF spokesperson Sinawo Thambo, police have failed to arrest other individuals suspected to have been involved in the abduction of 28-year-old Hillary. "The application stems from numerous family efforts to assist the police, in vain, due to inexplicable reasons and dismal failures by the detective unit of the SAPS. “Now that the prosecution has announced additional charges of conspiracy to…

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has refused to provide evidence during suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s impeachment inquiry of public funds that were used during his CR17 party political campaign. The inquiry marked its third day yesterday into the fitness of Mkhwebane to hold office. The presidency issued a statement rejecting UDM leader General Bantu Holomisa’s statement that Ramaphosa should give evidence on his 2017 party political campaign. “Section 194(3) (a) of the Constitution provides that the President may suspend the Public Protector (or any member of a Chapter 9 institution) ‘at any time after the start of proceedings by a committee of the National Assembly for (their) removal’. “Accordingly, President Ramaphosa rejects the suggestion by the Hon. General Bantu Holomisa that he should give evidence on his 2017 party political campaign…

THE City of Cape Town is making available a free MyCiTi shuttle service for ticket holders to travel to the DHL Stadium as South Africa takes on Wales this Saturday in the final rugby Test match of the Incoming Series. With the national restrictions on gatherings lifted, the DHL Stadium is expected to be at full capacity with a crowd of about 60 000. Parking will be limited in the stadium precinct, and the City has encouraged rugby fans to make use of a park and ride system as well as the Fan Walk to get to the stadium. “I want to say a warm welcome to the Welsh rugby team, their support staff, and the many fans who have come to watch their team play in one of the…

THE Department of Environment, Forestry & Fisheries (DFFE) is calling on the public to comment on proposed regulations pertaining to the exploration and production of onshore oil and gas requiring hydraulic fracturing. DFFE is also publishing, for consultation, the intention to prescribe minimum requirements to submit applications for an authorisation, right, permit or licence for the onshore exploration of oil and gas intending to utilise hydraulic fracturing. The publication of the proposed regulations comes four years after the Supreme Court of Appeal halted plans to roll out hydraulic fracturing/fracking in the Karoo. The court had set aside the regulations for Petroleum Exploration and Production that were intended to set standards for the use of hydraulic fracturing technology. “General and specific requirements are set for ongoing environmental monitoring of hydraulic fracturing…

CITRUSDAL residents picketed along the N7 at the gates of a farm yesterday, demanding the Agricultural Research Council’s (ARC) help to utilise the land for agriculture. The executive director of the Rural and Farm Workers Development Organisation, Billy Claasen, said the ARC stopped their activities in 1990 on the Proefplaas Farm, then the farm was leased to a commercial farmer. “According to the people, there were retrenchment agreements between some of the workers and the ARC. Some of them received packages and went off the farm and they received help from the ARC to get houses in town. According to them, the ARC agreed to pay half of the housing subsidy or loan for a period of 20 years. “This agreement apparently… was broken by the ARC and because of…

THE recent outbursts leading to Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan and Police Minister Bheki Cele losing their cool during public engagements is to be expected, given this administration’s failures and arrogance. Cele lashed out at Action Society’s Ian Cameron during a recent community meeting in Gugulethu, shouting at him to shut up before ordering him to leave. The minister had been asked to account for his failure to make communities, particularly townships where mass killings have become the order of the day, safe. A day later, Gordhan displayed his unwillingness to take responsibility for the mess that is our state-owned entities when the audience at a Wits Business School event demanded that he also account for the so-called nine wasted years he was part of under Jacob Zuma. He, too,…

Six candidates remain in the running to replace UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson after yesterday’s first round of voting, the Conservative Party announced, with finance minister Nadhim Zahawi and former foreign minister Jeremy Hunt eliminated. Rishi Sunak, who quit as finance minister last week to trigger Johnson’s downfall, leads the pack with the support of 88 Tory MPs, followed by Penny Mordaunt, on 67, who polling shows is most popular with the party membership that will ultimately decide the race. A series of votes will be held into next week until there are just two candidates left in the race. Johnson yesterday hinted that the race could be curtailed to last days rather than weeks. “I will be leaving soon with my head held high,” Johnson said at his penultimate…

PORT-AU-PRINCE: Haitian protesters blocked roads and shots rang out in the downtown area of the capital of Port-au-Prince yesterday as anger mounted over fuel shortages that have intensified in recent days as a result of gang violence. Gas stations across the country are mostly closed as fuel deliveries have halted due to a bloody turf battle between rival gangs that has killed at least 50 people and forced an important fuel terminal to halt operations. Groups of motorcycle drivers were blocking intersections in Port-au-Prince, some of whom were lighting tyres on fire, witnesses said. There have been gun battles between gangs for control of the town of Cite Soleil. | Reuters…

LOS ANGELES: California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a new law that empowers gun violence victims to file civil suits against the companies that manufactured the firearms used in the crimes, as the state finds newer ways to end gun slaughters and mass killings. The move tightens gun laws in California, which has the strictest gun safety measures in the nation. A 2005 federal law protects gun manufacturers and dealers from lawsuits. In California, Assembly member Phil Ting, who co-authored the bill, said hitting the bottom line of gun manufacturers “may finally compel them to step up to reduce gun violence by preventing illegal sales and theft”. | IANS…

CONSUMERS are steering clear of committing to big-ticket items such as furniture and appliances as higher food, fuel, and energy prices have started weighing on household incomes amid prevailing weak economic conditions. Data from Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) yesterday showed that retail trade sales rose by just 0.1 percent year-on-year in May, slowing down substantially from an upwardly revised 4.3 percent in April. This retail sales print markedly missed market forecasts of a 1.5 percent growth, and was the smallest gain in retail activity since February. StatsSA said sales increased only in 2 out of 7 retail divisions, namely general dealers which include supermarkets, and all other retailers which include online stores and retailers specialising in jewellery, stationery and sports goods. StatsSA’s deputy director for distri- butive…

RACISM continues to plague the nation, with complaints of discrimination, especially hate speech, among the most recorded by the South African Human Rights Commission (Sahrc) over the past financial year. The findings were part of the Sahrc’s latest trend analysis report for 2020/2021 released yesterday. A total of 5 464 complaints were received by the commission in the past financial year alone, with equality complaints being the highest rights violation. “Violations of the right to equality on the grounds of race continue to be the highest reported ground of unfair discrimination, with a significant number of such complaints constituting race-based hate speech.” On average, the highest number of equality-related complaints were received in Gauteng, followed by the Western Cape. The commission added that while Equality Courts had become increasingly accessible,…

University of the Free State (UFS) Department of Physics Affiliate Professor David Buckley recently published an article in prestigious science journal Nature Astronomy, together with an international team of authors, on the detection of an extremely slowly rotating pulsar using MeerKAT. The article, titled “Discovery of a radio-emitting neutron star with an ultra-long spin period of 76 seconds”, explores the discovery made using MeerKAT (originally the Karoo Array Telescope). “When it was discovered, it was the slowest rotating single radio pulsar,” said Buckley, explaining that pulsars are neutron stars (stellar corpses; the leftover remains of a star), only 10km in radius, with a typical spin period of less than a second. He said it is only in some high-mass X-ray binary systems that such slowly rotating neutron stars are seen,…

POLICE are investigating a crimen injuria complaint lodged against Central Karoo District mayor Gayton McKenzie involving murder accusations. The case was brought by an activist. McKenzie has denied the allegations, saying he “only repeated what he was told”. McKenzie is alleged to have made the remark implicating community activist Brian Jooste during an interview with a radio station earlier this month. "I never accused him of murder. I said in my interview that people told me he murdered someone and that I shouldn’t see him, and I saw him still. It is there on the interview,” McKenzie said. Jooste said he felt compelled to lodge the criminal complaint because the accusation had damaged his reputation. Jooste yesterday said he wanted the law to take its course.“During the interview, Mr…

He exuded the values of a people bound together by a common grief PATRICE Emery Lumumba was born in 1925 into a country and continent already ravaged by centuries-old colonial invasions – the aftermath of the cross-Atlantic slave trade which led to millions of Africans being sold into slavery in the Western metropolis and Europe. This was a time when Europe was already enriching itself at the expense of millions of African people. The long shadow and unnatural years of colonial rule had already sunk the continent into a never-ending morass of extreme poverty in many parts of the continent, particularly in the Congo. Frantz Omar Fanon explains this colonial zeitgeist even better when he argues that the “European opulence is literally scandalous, for it has been founded on slavery,…

US President Joe Biden arrived yesterday in Israel, which embraced him as an old friend on the first leg of a high-stakes trip dominated by efforts to bring it closer to Saudi Arabia and to persuade Washington’s Gulf allies to pump more oil. Arriving on Air Force One at Ben Gurion Airport, whose tarmac he first trod in 1973 as a senator, Biden bumped fists with Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and, in a speech, described the US connection with the country as “bone-deep”. “You do not need to be a Jew to be a Zionist,” Biden said, while restating his support for a two-state solution which he described as “the best hope for Israel and the Palestinians”. It is Biden’s 10th visit to Israel, which has stepped carefully around…

Russia and Ukraine met UN and Turkish officials yesterday in a bid to break a months-long impasse over grain exports that has seen food prices soar and millions face hunger. The meeting in Istanbul came with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine showing no signs of abating and the sides locked in a shooting battle that is destroying towns and leaving people with nothing. Ukrainian officials said at least five people were killed in Russian shelling on the region surrounding the Black Sea port city of Mykolaiv. The first face-to-face talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations since another meeting in Istanbul on March 29 comes with the threat of food shortages spreading across the poorest parts of the world. Ukraine is a vital exporter of wheat and grains such as barley and…

Geneva: Pakistan has been ranked as the second-worst country in terms of gender parity, placed 145 out of 146 states, in the latest Global Gender Gap Report released by the World Economic Forum yesterday. The report ranks 146 countries, of which the top five are Iceland, Finland, Norway, New Zealand and Sweden, while the five worst ones are Afghanistan, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran and Chad. It says the global gender gap has been closed by 68.1% in 2022. “At the current rate, it will take 132 years to reach full parity. This represents a slight four-year improvement compared to the 2021 estimate (136 years to parity).” | IANS…

LONDON: Boris Becker is said to be working in prison teaching sports science to inmates. The three-time Wimbledon champion, 54, housed at Huntercombe prison in Oxfordshire, has a part-time role as a classroom assistant, sharing his knowledge of PE theory and exercise benefits. The move has sparked claims of favouritism in Becker’s jail treatment. He was jailed in April for two-and-a-half years after he tried to hide assets of more than £2.5 million (about R50.6m) to avoid paying his debts. He must serve half his prison term and faces being deported. | Bang Showbiz…