Table of contents for 2022-01-27 in Mercury

Dieketseng Maleke dieketseng.maleke@inl.co.za IN AN EFFORT to reduce costs and maximise existing cash reserved for its Spanish Toral project, Europa Metals has announced that it has cut the salaries of three directors. The JSE-listed company said yesterday that the cost reduction programme started on January 1. “The company’s existing directors Myles Campion, Laurence Read and Evan Kirby have agreed to the deferral/accrual of 50 percent of their director remuneration (comprising consulting fees and/or salaries) in respect of the 2022 calendar year, with such accrued remuneration to then be settled via the issue of new ordinary shares,” Europa Metals said. Europa Metals chief executive Laurence Read said: “Our cost-cutting programme aims to ensure that our resources are directed as far as possible on project-related expenditure and existing operations, as well…

Lutho Pasiya lutho.pasiya@inl.co.za Summer’s fruit harvest is so bountiful, it’s hard to choose a favourite. But juicy, sweet mangoes are our pick – maybe because they taste like vacation, or maybe because they work in any dish, from chicken to fish to frozen yoghurt. If you’re new to the savoury mango scene, start with a fresh salsa – it will change the way you eat your braai meat forever. Small cubes of fresh mango, tomato, cucumber, corn, red onion, coriander or parsley, fresh chilli, you name it. Then a squeeze of lemon or lime and a splash of olive oil, salt and you’ve made mango magic. Mangoes also love to be baked – with chicken, with fish, even with feta and lentils. Their balance of sweetness and acidity, together with…

THYAGARAJ MARKANDAN | Kloof Time’s up for Virginia Airport. Built in 1959 and just a stone’s throw from the city centre, it has served the city well over the years. But its location has become problematic. Situated on a prime piece of land, between the M4 highway and the beach, the airport is holding up development north of the city. Sad as it may be, the iconic airport has to move out from its current location and re-locate elsewhere. Cities are always growing. As they get bigger and bigger, they need more and more land. An airport close to the city is a hindrance to the growth of this urban sprawl. It is for this reason that airports are often sited some distance from the cities. Take…

Meta (formerly Facebook) has built an AI supercomputer that it claims will be the fastest in the world when it’s fully ready in mid-2022. Called the AI Research SuperCluster (RSC), the machine is already being used by Meta researchers to train large models in natural language processing (NLP) and computer vision for research, with the aim of training models with trillions of parameters. “RSC will help Meta’s AI researchers build new and better AI models that can learn from trillions of examples; work across hundreds of different languages; seamlessly analyse text, images, and video together; develop new augmented reality tools; and much more,” Meta engineers Kevin Lee and Shubho Sengupta said in a statement this week. “We wanted this infrastructure to be able to train models with more than a…

D MOODLEY | Chatsworth. Another schooling year is about to commence in earnest, with parents paying exorbitant amounts for uniforms. In recent years we have experienced the unfortunate effects of the Covid- 19 pandemic. The opening of schools in late January is certainly a relief for most cash-strapped parents, particularly those from disadvantaged communities. With the cost of living spiralling upwards, parents have the added burden of providing school uniforms that are highly-priced. Many schools will insist that only a few limited school suppliers will provide uniforms. This is unjustified, considering the economic climate we are living in. School governing bodies, parents and school management should collaborate with suppliers in order to regulate the prices from an affordability point of view. I am amazed there has…

Lehlohonolo Mashigo lehlohonolo.mashigo@inl.co.za HUMANITARIAN and explorer Kingsley Holgate is embarking on yet another expedition, where he will take part in a world-first Hot Cape to Cold Cape, a 30 000km humanitarian journey of purpose through 30 countries in Africa and Europe – from the southernmost tip of Africa (Cape Agulhas) to the most northern part of Europe (Nordkapp in Arctic Circle in Norway). Holgate has said the principle of “using adventure to improve and save lives” will be a strong focus of this Defender Transcontinental Expedition and will undertake the following humanitarian and environmental work in sub-Saharan Africa. Malaria prevention: Distribution of effective, long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets. Support to the Goodbye Malaria indoor residual spraying operations. Mashozi’s Rite to Sight: Eye tests and reading glasses for mostly elderly people in…

Nicola Daniels nicola.daniels@inl.co.za Five suspects have been arrested by the Cambridge police in the Eastern Cape after an ANC councillor was allegedly manhandled and dragged from her office by security. The suspects have been released on R500 bail each. A video of the incident involving councillor Nanziwe Rulashe from the Amathole District Municipality (ADM) has gone viral on social media. Eastern Cape police spokesperson, Thembinkosi Kinana said: “Cambridge police are investigating a case of common assault, malicious damage to property and intimidation after an incident that allegedly took place at the municipality offices in East London (Monday). The circumstances surrounding the incident are not clear at this stage, investigation continues. “Five suspects aged between 23 and 43 years were arrested and later released on R500 bail each.” The municipality distanced…

Yogashen Pillay yogashen.pillay@inl.co.za THE KwaZulu-Natal Agricultural Union (Kwanalu) has called on the police and relevant authorities to focus on and commit to implementing the Rural Safety Plan. Kwanalu was commenting after the murder of prominent Howick farmer Hedley James Brown this week. Brown was found murdered outside his home on Monday. The police said three firearms and a laptop were stolen from the home, and charges of murder and robbery were being investigated by the Howick police. Kwanalu CEO Sandy la Marque said farmers were often targeted by criminals. “We are unable to discuss the details of the incident. However, it is notable that farmers are often targeted by criminals. It is therefore essential that the SAPS and relevant authorities are focused on, and committed to, implementing the Rural Safety…

Ntombi Nkosi ntombi.nkosi@inl.co.za CORRUPTION Watch says there have been some positive developments in the attempt to expose and address corruption in South Africa. The organisation said the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture has been instrumental in uncovering the extent of corruption and greed that has taken hold of institutions and processes over the past decade and more. This after the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2021 report was released on Tuesday. The CPI is a global indicator of public sector corruption. It ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption on a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). “While the naming and shaming of individuals through the commission has been revelatory, giving rise to hopes that finally there will be…

Chinese president Xi Jinping speech at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) on 18 January highlighted that the policy of “common prosperity” was aimed at reducing income inequality within China by creating a larger cake to share rather than dividing up a small cake. “The common prosperity we desire is not egalitarianism,” Xi told WEF delegates via a video link. He said: “We will first make the pie bigger and then divide it properly through reasonable institutional arrangements. As a rising tide lifts all boats, everyone will get a fair share from development, and development gains will benefit all our people in a more substantial and equitable way.” The Chinese government has via its National Congresses and Five-Year Plans set out a phased approach of achieving modernisation and common moderate prosperity.…

Burkina Faso’s ousted president, Roch Marc Christian Kabore, “is physically well” and is being held by the army in a villa, a source in his party said yesterday. Kabore’s state and whereabouts have been a key issue since he was overthrown by mutineering soldiers on Monday, with the UN leading calls for his release. “President Kabore is physically well, but I cannot say anything about his state of mind,” said a source in Kabore’s People’s Movement for Progress party. Kabore “is still in the hands of the army, not in a military camp, but in a presidential villa under house arrest”, the source said. “He has a doctor available... (and) access to his mobile phone, but under surveillance, obviously,” the source said Kabore, 64, was elected in 2015 following a…

OSLO: Afghan women’s rights activists have submitted a paper to the Taliban delegation visiting Norway demanding rights. Hoda Khamosh, one of the women’s rights representatives at the meeting, called for the release of two women activists who disappeared last week, reported Tolo News. Another Afghan activist Mahbouba Seraj, who attended the meeting, said the Islamic Emirate should fulfil whatever they promise at the meeting. “If they continue this way, to tell us something and do something else, that’s when trust is going to break, completely … they should remember what happened to the ex-government of Afghanistan. We lost trust with them too.…

Zama Ngcoya zama.ngcoya@inl.co.za THE minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, said yesterday that recommendations had been made to the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) to reduce social distancing measures in classrooms. This comes amid growing calls for the department to scrap rotational learning in schools. It is the one-metre distancing requirement at schools, published in the Government Gazette, that compels them to have rotational schedules due to big class sizes. Last week, civil society organisations, including Equal Education, penned a letter to the ministers of Basic Education, Health, and Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs to call for a return to full-time classes. The DA said yesterday it had filed an application in the Gauteng High Court to enable and compel schools to open fully, immediately. Speaking on day one of…

DHAYALAN MOODLEY | Mobeni Heights LET us celebrate the success of the matriculants, who will be basking in their glory. We need to fully support them as they enter the next critical phase in their lives. Last year was disruptive for all Grade 12 pupils. KwaZulu-Natal achieved a matric pass rate of 76.8%, which is a slight decrease from the previous year of 77.6%. I don’t think it will be fair to compare the results with previous years. In spite of the decrease, most achievers set high standards and through diligence and hard work they were able to attain excellent results. My plea to our MEC for Education, Kwazi Mshengu, is to surround yourself with top educationists to plan a way forward for far better results for 2022. I am…

“’ULLO, ’ullo, ’ullo! Wot’s bin goin’ on ‘ere, then?” The police investigation of events at No 10 Downing Street goes beyond the imaginative powers of any crime-writing novelist. Agatha Christie’s Inspector Poirot would himself have been baffled. The allegations of booze hijinks at No 10 during the Covid lockdown has touched a raw nerve in the British public, which has found the lockdown the most traumatic experience since the blitz of World War II. The mood is captured in a powerful newspaper cartoon. Queen Elizabeth sits alone in a pew, because of the Covid regulations, at the funeral of her husband, Prince Philip. Juxtaposed is the front door of No 10, bulging from the sound waves of unrestrained revelry within. What does it mean for Prime Minister Boris Johnson? Huge…

ALLAN LOFSTRAND | Hillcrest In answer to Tisetso Magama’s comment, “Success as Mogoeng ordered to apologise,” in the Mercury on Tuesday: This of course is the sort of decision that you would have expected in Nazi Germany before and during the World War II. So if Justice Mogoeng does not apologise within the 10 days prescribed, will they find some concentration camp to lock him up in? I fully agree with Pamela Ngubane’s comment from South African Friends of Israel, when she comments in the same edition: “Religious beliefs, and the freedom to express them, do not become controversial when a small, radical group of anti-Israel activists deem to be.” One wonders how any Bar can come up with a 66-page anti-Semitic decision like that in today’s…

Se-Anne Rall se-anne.koopman@inl.co.za A KWAZULU-Natal man who made a living as a hitman has been handed six life terms and 39 years’ imprisonment. He was convicted in October 2021 on six counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, two counts of possession of a prohibited firearm and two counts of unlawful possession of ammunition. Fisokuhle Nkani Ntuli's murderous spree lasted three years, between 2015 and 2018. The National Prosecuting Authority's Natasha Kara said that in April 2015, Ntuli killed Bhutiza Sandisa Mahlobo, and in May 2016, he killed Goodwill Bheki Nyembe and attempted to kill Nyembe’s wife, Nolwazi Ngomezulu. “In January 2017, Ntuli killed brothers Sibusiso Phiwayinkosi Zulu, Mcebisi Zulu and Sibusiso Elvis Zulu, who were going to be witnesses in Nyembe’s murder case. “He then killed Sphamandla Mthokozisi…

Zama Ngcoya and Karen Singh Two people were found dead in a burnt out car in Mayville in the early hours of yesterday. Provincial police spokesperson, Colonel Thembeka Mbele has confirmed the deaths. She said police officers received a report of a car that had caught alight near the corner of Blinkbonnie and Wiggins roads in the Enkanini area in Mayville yesterday. She said when officers got to the scene they found a burnt vehicle with the rear doors opened. “Two bodies were discovered in the back seat of the vehicle burnt beyond recognition. The motive surrounding the incident is unknown and cases of murder have been opened at Cato Manor SAPS for further investigation.” Meanwhile, a 30-year-old security guard has been left seriously injured after he was shot…

Nokwanda Ncwane nokwanda.ncwane@inl.co.za THE SANDF has completed its preliminary investigation into the fire that broke out at Air Force Base Waterkloof on Sunday. Brigadier-General Andries Mahapa said the report would be compiled and given to the Chief of the SANDF, Lieutenant-General Rudzani Maphwanya. “When the Chief of the SANDF has fully studied the report, and given his guidelines, it will then be communicated to all members of the media,” he said. The fire broke out on Sunday night and sparked speculation of sabotage targeting state resources after Parliament was damaged by fire and the Constitutional Court was also targeted. However, the SANDF said the incidents were not linked. Mahapa yesterday cautioned against making unfounded assumptions and shot down the possibility of foul play as the cause of the fire. He…

Attorneys general from Washington DC and three states are suing Google, arguing that the internet search giant deceived consumers to gain access to their location data. The lawsuits, filed in the District of Columbia, Texas, Washington and Indiana, say the company made misleading promises about its users’ ability to protect their privacy through Google account settings, dating from at least 2014. The suits seek to stop Google from engaging in these practices and to fine the company. The complaints also allege the company has deployed “dark patterns,” or design tricks that can subtly influence users’ decisions in ways that are advantageous for a business. The lawsuits say Google has designed its products to repeatedly nudge or pressure people to provide more and more location data, “inadvertently or out of frustration.”…

THE suspension of ANC MP Mervyn Dirks for demanding accountability on the part of President Cyril Ramaphosa is problematic for three reasons. It breaks the law, undermines the role of Parliament in holding the executive accountable, and rips through the foundation of our constitutional democracy. ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina suspended Dirks last week, removing him from his position as the party’s whip on the standing committee on public accounts (Scopa), and stripping him of all party roles in the National Assembly. Dirks’ sin was to write to Scopa chairperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa asking the committee to summon Ramaphosa to explain his utterances at an ANC national executive committee (NEC) meeting in which he said that he was aware of people who abused public funds for party political purposes, but would…

A BENT-toed gecko and a Cardamom leaf-litter frog in Cambodia are among the 224 newly discovered species in the Greater Mekong subregion in 2020, said a World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) report released yesterday. A total of 155 plants, 16 fishes, 17 amphibians, 35 reptiles and one mammal were discovered in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, the report said, adding that this brought the total number of vascular plants, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals described in the Greater Mekong since 1997 to 3 007. “With over 3 000 new species in the past 24 years, the Greater Mekong region is no doubt a world heavyweight contender for species discoveries,” Xinhua news agency reported, citing K Yoganand, WWF-Greater Mekong’s regional lead for wildlife. “These species are extraordinary, beautiful…

Montreal: An Indigenous community in Canada has identified nearly 100 “potential” graves at a residential school site, months after the discovery of hundreds of children’s remains at former boarding schools rocked the country. The Williams Lake First Nation (WLFN) community said on Tuesday that a geophysical survey revealed “93 reflections” with characteristics “indicative of potential human burials” at the former St. Joseph’s Mission residential school in British Columbia. Investigators “surveyed approximately 14 hectares of the broader 480-hectare site,” WLFN said.…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za HARMONY Gold Mining said yesterday that production of the yellow metal had remained steady in the six months to end-December 2021 at 22 355kg (718 726 ounces) compared with 22 031kg produced during the previous six months period ended June 30, 2021. The mining group said in an update ahead of the interim results to be announced on February 28 that gold production over these specific periods was compared because they included a full six months’ production from Mponeng and related assets, whereas the same six-month period a year before included only three months’ production from Mponeng. Rand per kilogram costs for the South African operations remain broadly in line with what was originally guided at about R765 000/kg to R800 000/kg.…

John Legend recently announced his forthcoming skincare line and spoke about the same in a recent interview, reported People magazine. He shared with Fortune that while his career gives him a vested interest in having healthy skin, it was the notion that “everybody cares about presenting themselves well,” that served as inspiration for his latest venture, which is currently unnamed. “Of course, I’m in the public eye, and so there’s a bit more of a premium placed on making sure we take care of ourselves and present ourselves well to the public,” he shared. “But everybody has skin, and everybody cares about their skin, and everybody cares about presenting themselves well in every situation, whether it’s, you know, family, community, or wherever they are.” He continued: “It’s such an important…

VIJAY SEWTAHAL | Clare Estate SOUTH African farmers face a daunting task to grow their crops to ensure the country’s food security. There are periods of drought that have a devastating impact on crops and livestock. The recent heavy rains saw farmers’ crops being washed away. The Cape is experiencing swarms of locusts that the farmers have to contend with. To add to these woes, it was recently reported that our potato farmers are complaining about the dumping of potatoes from abroad. This is having a negative impact on their livelihoods. It is long overdue for the government to intervene and protect our farmers with hefty import duties. Agriculture is a labour-intensive industry that employs thousands of workers. Look at what happened to other labour-intensive industries such…

“My brother and sister (one divorced, one married) find relating to my husband very difficult. “When I first met the man I married they were both good to him. After two years they have stopped trying and are openly rude to him. This hurts me more than it hurts him. “It also hurts our parents when I want to avoid family events. “They say my husband is too intense, talks too much and ‘hogs’ people at parties. They want him to ‘loosen up’. “I agree he is oblivious to some social cues.” You and your husband form your primary relationship. Your marriage must take pre-eminence over all other family relationships. That said, your brother and sister, if they observe similar patterns about how your husband relates to others, are probably…

COLIN BOSMAN | Cape Town IF PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa is waiting for a “Hail Caesar” from a united ANC he is living in Noddyland. His enemies want him out in order to return the country into the hands of the money grabbers. The R1.7 trillion stolen during the Zuma years made a lot of people seriously wealthy and they miss that and want it back. Offering to fall on his sword should he be found guilty of any offence gave the ammunition to Ramaphosa’s enemies that they were looking for after CR was recorded making an off-the-cuff comment about ANC funding. Mervyn Dirks of the ANC jumped at the opportunity to stick CR away by writing to Scopa about the comment. Dirks showed his hand as being a…

Ntombi Nkosi ntombi.nkosi@inl.co.za THE LEGAL department of Nehawu is currently drafting papers to file at the high court to make sure that the ANC pays salaries to its members. Speaking to Independent Media yesterday, Nehawu acting national spokesperson Lwazi Nkolonzi said the union was looking at other avenues to make sure the ANC paid workers. Staff are currently on an indefinite stayaway since January 17 due to non-payment of salaries. Employees of the governing party have not been paid for close to four months. Towards the end of last year, management promised to pay all amounts owed to them but failed. “Recently, we wrote to the ANC enquiring when will they pay our members and we have not got any response from them – hence we support the struggle of…

Rapula Moatshe rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za THE Department of Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation in Gauteng has hit back at claims by the DA that it spent a staggering R7 million on a provincial sports awards event. The DA this week put pressure on MEC Mbali Hlophe to explain how her department spent R7m on the event, hosted on November 13 last year at Gallagher Convention Centre. According to the DA, the money should have been disbursed to struggling athletes and artists who did not receive the Covid-19 relief grant. Hlophe’s spokesperson, Nkosana Mtolo, said the DA’s claims were based on “gossip” and therefore not “productive”. He said it was a lie that the department had not spent on Covid-19 relief for artists and athletes, as suggested by the party. The DA’s Kingsol…

President needs to urgently address ex-combatants’ discontent over prescribed benefits President Cyril Ramaphosa must address the question of military veterans’ benefits if he wants peace and stability. In October last year, a group of military veterans held two government ministers and a deputy minister hostage. They demanded government jobs, R4.2 million compensation each, land for housing, and free education for their dependants. The group, which called itself the Liberation Struggle War Veterans, consists of former members of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), Azanian People’s Liberation Army (Apla) and the Azanian National Liberation Army (Azanla), allied to the Black Consciousness Movement. In 2011, the Military Veterans Act was promulgated and obliges the state to provide military veterans access to health care, subsidised public transport, education, skills and job training as well…

BEIRUT: A decision by Sunni Muslim leader Saad al-Hariri to step away from Lebanese politics opens the way for Shia Hezbollah to extend its already deep sway over the country, rendering it ever more a bastion of Iranian influence on the Mediterranean. Three times prime minister Hariri declared on Monday he would suspend his role in public life and boycott a general election in May, citing Iranian influence as one of the reasons he saw little hope of positive change. It opens a new phase in Lebanon’s sectarian politics, governed by a system of power-sharing among its sects, and adds to the uncertainties facing a country suffering a financial meltdown that marks the biggest threat to stability since a 1975-90 civil war. Hariri’s move will accelerate the fragmentation of the…

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) yesterday said it was assessing risks that funds for banned weapons could be funnelled through the regional commercial and trade hub, part of its efforts to avoid making a dirty money watchlist before a review in March. The UAE and the Financial Action Task Force, a global financial crime monitoring group, will hold meetings in Paris next month before the watchdog in March updates its list of high-risk jurisdictions. “The risk assessment will cover how financial resources may be used to develop nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and dual-use goods used in their delivery,” said a media statement.”…

Cheryl Waterman IN a lawn bowls singles game technique and consistency play a major role in whether the game is won or lost but, given two bowlers with equal technical ability, mindset comes into play. Saturday’s Port Natal Bowls Champion and Champion semi-finals and finals were a clear demonstration of this as the four semi-finals developed into marathon events in which the biggest winning margin was a mere four shots. The eight semi-finalists treated supporters and spectators to displays of consistent mat position, step, square shoulders and straight arms with every delivery to create situations in which either competitor could have taken the game. Taking the mat for the men’s final were Wade Marshall from Hillary Bowling Club and Troy Garland from Wentworth Bowling Club. The women who faced…