Table of contents for 2022-05-17 in Mercury

THE R1 billion promised by the national government to be used for disaster relief to help KwaZulu-Natal recover from the floods has not yet arrived, a month after the natural disaster struck the province. This is according to the DA which also claimed that National Treasury had refused to release the funds because the provincial government had not provided a breakdown on how the money would be spent. The party held a press briefing yesterday on the government’s alleged failure to respond to the disaster. However, the provincial government rubbished the claims, with government spokesperson Lennox Mabaso accusing the DA of playing politics in order to distort the government’s work. DA KZN leader Francois Rodgers revealed yesterday that the province had not received one cent of the money promised by…

MY FAMILY and I spent a few nights in the central Berg, enjoying the scenic mountain splendour and breathing the cool mountain air. We hiked a little and had no qualms drinking the water from the streams. But further downstream, you wouldn’t dare want to drink the same water. As it flows past villages and towns and industries it becomes so heavily polluted it becomes more a sewer than a river. We stayed in a park-like resort at Cathkin Peak which had tarred roads and driveways. The self-catering chalets were comfortable, very neat and well-maintained. The resort had a dam, lots of trees and shrubs and birds. But except for a few aloes, most of the trees and shrubs were exotic. There was the maple, conifer, wattle and blue gum.…

The DA is deeply concerned by yet another rural attack in KwaZulu-Natal earlier this week, this time on a farmer and his family living near Newcastle. According to reports, the brutal incident took place after four armed perpetrators took advantage of the farmer’s goodwill and attacked him when he went inside to get them some water. What followed was horrific as the 67-year-old man was tortured with boiling water and his family members were severely assaulted and tied up. While it is a miracle that no one was killed as a result of this barbaric incident, the trauma that this family endured will live with them for ever. No arrests have yet been made by the SAPS. The DA has long called for a specialised rural safety unit in KZN…

“You often write that family reconciliation and forgiveness is important to the ongoing mental health of the members of a family. What if other people in your family don’t seem to care and won’t co-operate? This is how it is in my family. My older brothers (two of three) have all gone on with their lives in other countries and it feels like I am the only one trying to pull the family together.” Regarding your “growing-up family”, do the parts (the making right) that you yourself can do. Then leave it at that. Apologise for your flaws and failings within the family as you see them, take responsibility for your actions (or inactions) and try to move on with a clear conscience. Be careful not to judge yourself too…

CONSERVATION organisations such as Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife have to be well funded to enable them to carry out their mandate, especially fighting the scourge of rhino poaching. A well co-ordinated response involving all role-players in the conservation sector has to be implemented without delay to reduce the increasing incidents of rhino poaching in our game reserves. The latest figures have shown an upward trajectory in rhino poaching in KwaZulu-Natal, reinforcing the view that such intervention measures are long overdue. According to the KZN MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Ravi Pillay, since the beginning of the year, 106 rhinos have already been poached. In 2020, 93 rhinos were poached in KZN parks, while 102 were targeted last year. If these alarming figures are anything to go by, the…

Former Somali leader Hassan Sheikh Mohamud won the presidency again in voting by parliamentarians on Sunday in an airport hangar protected by blast walls from Islamist insurgents whom he must now fight for a second time. The 66-year-old, who ruled from 2012 to 2017, reversed the previous election to defeat incumbent President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed by 214-110 votes in a third-round runoff whose result was confirmed around midnight. “We have to move ahead, we do not need grudges. No avenging,” Mohamud said in his acceptance speech from the airport compound in the capital Mogadishu patrolled by AU peacekeepers. Supporters defied a curfew to pour onto the streets of Mogadishu, cheering and firing guns into the air. The former education campaigner and peace activist faces a daunting task in the nation…

Vatican City: Pope Francis has quipped that a shot of tequila would help him with a painful knee that has forced the 85-year-old Argentinian to use a wheelchair. “You know what I need for my leg? A little tequila!” Francis joked with a group of Mexican priests in a video posted on TikTok that went viral yesterday. The pontiff was doing the rounds in St Peter’s Square in the Vatican in his pope-mobile after the general audience recently when he stopped to say hello to the group of newly-ordained priests, one of whom asked him about his knee. “Very capricious,” replies a smiling Francis, who has had to cancel some audiences. | AFP…

THE safety of eThekwini municipal staff has come under sharp focus once again after private security guards accompanying electricity unit workers were killed in an apparent ambush in KwaMashu yesterday. Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Nqobile Gwala said charges of murder, attempted murder and robbery were being investigated by KwaMashu SAPS. “Upon arrival at the scene, police found bodies of two security officials aged 35 and 47 inside the vehicle with multiple gunshot wounds. They were both declared dead at the scene. The other 31-year-old victim sustained injuries. The victims were also robbed of their pistols,” said Gwala, who added that the matter was under investigation. The municipality yesterday said it was aware of the matter and expressed its condolences to the families of the security guards who lost their lives. The…

About 13 years ago, the majority of residents and citizens of eThekwini respected the by-laws because they knew that there would be consequences if any by-laws were transgressed. Nowadays, everyone does as they wish because there are no consequences. The municipal law-enforcement department seems to have died a slow death until recently. It took a flood disaster to wake them up when they demolished illegal structures in Chats-worth. If one drives around eThekwini, there are thousands of illegal structures, such as informal settlements, that are built on river banks and RDP home extensions next to Eskom power lines, etc. The list goes on. The eThekwini Municipality allowed this culture of transgressing by-laws for the past 13 years and suddenly decided to destroy homes which are supposedly illegal structures. The municipality…

Murray Pitman’s letter “Hluhluwe/iMfolozi jewel doesn’t sparkle that brightly these days” (The Mercury, May 10) refers. I agree with much of what he says regarding the deterioration of the state of the park and other reserves in KZN. For my first visit in 1964, my DHS pal invited me to join him and his famous aunt, Joan Root, the renowned Kenyan conservationist, who had come to Zululand to see the white rhino. It was run by the Natal Parks Board then, arguably the world’s finest conservation body. The reserve’s boundaries were still largely unfenced and the tar stopped just short of Mtubatuba. Facilities at Mpila were clean, sparse and catered for the bare minimum. My impression as a 15-year-old was that tourists were viewed as necessary but not particularly welcome,…

The Department of Water and Sanitation has revealed that it recovered R270 million and saved R622m over a period of eight years from cases of corruption and financial misconduct. But, MPs say the amount is not enough, considering the billions of rand that were lost in the department over the years. This emerged when the department briefed the water and sanitation portfolio committee on disciplinary cases instituted against some officials. “R270m has been recovered, and an additional R622m has been saved by the department since 2014 as a result of civil, legal and criminal actions resulting from cases of corruption and financial misconduct,” head of department Sean Phillips said. Phillips said there were 147 financial misconduct cases involving its employees since 2013, with 118 cases finalised and 29 others being…

A truck driver who was driving dangerously on the R34 in KwaZulu-Natal has been found and arrested. The incident was captured on video by another motorist. The video, which was shared on social media, shows the truck driver driving his vehicle in the oncoming lane in order to overtake the vehicles in front of him. Mpumalanga Community Safety, Security and Liaison MEC Vusi Shongwe said traffic authorities in Mpumalanga had discovered that while the incident occurred in KZN, the truck had an Mpumalanga registration. Shongwe has condemned the incident, which has been widely shared on social media, saying the driver’s conduct “put many lives in great danger with that type of driving”. He added that such drivers should no longer be allowed on the road as they endangered other people’s…

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced many months before he even received the Zondo Commission report that he would enthusiastically implement the commission’s findings. Of course, at the time of his announcement, Ramaphosa knew that he had Justice Zondo by the proverbial balls. Justice Zondo desperately wanted to ascend to the soon-to-be vacant position of chief justice at all costs, and Ramaphosa could make his dream come true, subject to certain conditions. Zondo had to exonerate Ramaphosa in his report, even if some prominent ANC officials were sacrificed or thrown under the bus. For good measure, Justice Zondo also unquestionably crossed the line of judicial ethics by wading into a tussle with Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu over a newspaper opinion piece she published about a captured or untransformed judiciary. Justice Zondo sought…

Ukrainian troops have pushed Russian forces back from the north- eastern city of Kharkiv and some have advanced as far as the border with Russia, Ukrainian officials said yesterday. The developments, if confirmed, would signal a further shift in momentum in favour of Ukraine nearly three months into a conflict that began when Russia sent tens of thousands of troops over the border into Ukraine on February 24. Sweden meanwhile was to take a formal decision to apply to join Nato following a similar move by Finland – a change in the Nordic countries’ long-standing policy of neutrality brought on by the Russian invasion and concern about President Vladimir Putin’s wider ambitions. “Europe, Sweden and the Swedish people are living now in a new and dangerous reality,” Swedish Prime Minister…

Around 40 people, many of them civilian volunteers with the army, had been killed in suspected jihadist attacks in Burkina Faso, local sources and security officials said yesterday. In the northern region of Sahel, around 25 people were killed in two assaults on Saturday, including 13 members of the Volunteers for the Defence of the Fatherland (VDP), a leader of the force said. In Kompienga, near Burkina’s south-eastern border with Togo and Benin, about 15 civilians were killed on Saturday when their convoy was attacked while under VDP escort, a security source said. A local inhabitant said three volunteers also died in this attack, and called for help for the wounded, which he said numbered nearly a dozen. In another raid on Saturday, assailants attacked police and gendarmes’ posts in…

PYONGYANG: North Korea’s Kim Jong Un criticised “irresponsible” officials over the country’s pandemic response and ordered the army to help distribute medicine, state media said yesterday, as Seoul offered Covid-19 aid. More than 1 million people have been ill with what Pyongyang calls “fever”, despite Kim ordering nationwide lockdowns to slow the spread of disease through the unvaccinated population. In a sign of how serious the situation may be, Kim “strongly criticised” healthcare officials for “a botched response to epidemic prevention” and ordered the army to work “on immediately stabilising the supply of medicines in Pyongyang”, where Omicron was detected last week in North Korea’s first reported Covid-19 cases. North Korea has one of the world’s worst healthcare systems, with poorly-equipped hospitals and no Covid drugs, experts say. Kim’s public…

Surabaya: At least 14 people were killed and more than a dozen injured when a bus carrying domestic tourists crashed into an advertising sign in Indonesia’s East Java province early yesterday, police said. The bus, which was carrying 31 passengers, the driver and a crew member, hit the pole and then rolled over on a toll road connecting the town of Mojokerto to the country’s second city, Surabaya. The victims were from Benowo, a village near Surabaya, and were returning home after a long weekend at popular holiday destination Dieng Plateau, about 400km away in Central Java, local official Ridwan Mubarun told Indonesian television station Metro TV. | AFP…

The Stormers, Sharks and Bulls have everything to play for in the final round of United Rugby Championship matches this weekend. The three South African franchises booked their spots in the playoffs with home victories in the penultimate round of regular-season action, setting up what should make for thrilling action abroad given the permutations. Having already secured a place in the quarter-finals, the goal for the Sharks, Bulls and Stormers now shifts to finishing in the top four and earning hosting rights to a home playoff. The Sharks will face Ulster in Belfast, while the Bulls clash with Ospreys in Swansea on Friday. On Saturday, the Dragons host the Lions in Newport before the Stormers take on Scarlets in Llanelli. In-form Leinster have a tally of 62 points after bagging…

AUDIT firm KPMG South Africa has been roped in to clean up the struggling Ubank’s balance sheet as the bank’s capital resources are on the brink of drying up. The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) yesterday placed the Ubank under curatorship with immediate effect while the finance minister appointed KPMG as the curator. Ubank Group Limited is owned by Teba Fund Trust and administered by the National Union of Mineworkers to service the unserved and underserved market. It operates in the microfinance sector which mainly targets lower- income blue-collar workers in the mining industry, with more than 4.7 million active accounts. SARB governor Lesetja Kganyago said Ubank has had significant challenges over the years. He said the SARB’s Prudential Authority had been monitoring corporate governance concerns at Ubank…

The ANC’s radical economic transformation (RET) faction is biding its time in choosing a presidential candidate as it waits for the outcome of court processes before making a decision ahead of the party’s national elective conference. Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu and former health minister Zweli Mkhize both have received support from branches. They have been on the campaign trail as they seek to challenge the position of party president Cyril Ramaphosa. RET sources say suspended secretary-general Ace Magashule is a third option, although he is “technically unavailable” because of the party’s step-aside resolution. Mkhize has his own legal matter. The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) found that the Department of Health, under Mkhize, irregularly approved tenders to communications company Digital Vibes worth R266 million. Mkhize has gone to court to have…

THERE’S a big wobble in Britain over a sports bra advertisement by adidas in which the naked breasts of 20 women are shown in all shapes, sizes and skin colours. To which connoisseurs say: “Bravo!” The advert appeared on Twitter. The company says the ad is meant to “reflect and celebrate different shapes and sizes (bravo again!), illustrate diversity and demonstrate why tailored support bras are important.” But the advert has been banned, according to the BBC, after Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received complaints that it “objectified women”. How many complaints? Er, 24 – out of a population of how many millions? Twitter says the advert was reported by some users, but was found not to be in breach of the site’s content policy. However, the ASA says the…

EThekwini Municipality glibly tells us that the R450 million Durban Eye Project will generate rentals over the next 30 years after which the council will inherit the asset and all building improvements. Given the fact that the much-vaunted Moses Mabhida Sky Car has failed within 10 years of its installation does not bode well for the prospects of the Durban Eye vanity project and makes one question the thinking of the council – as we have seen with the white elephant GO!Durban project.…

If one looks at the various items making headlines in the past couple of days involving millions of rand and all linked to government and local government, there just doesn’t seem to be any rationale in their thinking when the majority of the population are in dire need of housing and health care. A ferris wheel in Durban that will cost R450 million while allegedly a developer is involved – one wonders with all the corruption that is going on, who this developer is and whether they are ANC-linked. It would be so very highly unlikely that there was no corruption involved in this project. The government to spend R22m on a huge flag that is 100m tall – is this really necessary in these times when there is…

The extreme weather events surrounding the deadly flooding in KwaZulu-Natal had not only scientists, but the general public, curious about how the severe rainfall was able to cause the extent of destruction it did and what role climate change played. Now a new study by the World Weather Attribution (WWA) project has shed light on the matter. The WWA project was an international collaboration that analysed the possible influence of climate change on extreme weather events. Their new study, “Climate change exacerbated rainfall causing devastating flooding in Eastern South Africa”, was conducted by a team of more than 15 climate scientists from South Africa, France, the Netherlands, the UK and the US. The study said on April 11-12, the eastern coast of the provinces of KZN and Eastern Cape witnessed…

There was nothing unlucky about Friday the 13th for a Gauteng resident who bagged millions – R28 million – in the Powerball Plus jackpot. Ithuba said the winner spent R30 on a quick-pick ticket on May 13. Ithuba CEO Charmaine Mabuza said they were yet to claim their prize. The Powerball jackpot rolls over for the 16th time with an estimated R120 million up for grabs in tonight’s draw. The last Powerball winner was a Ballito businessman, 67, who bagged R167 million in the February 11 draw. He had spent R150 on a quick pick and planned to use his winnings to settle debt, invest and donate to charity. In the Lotto, the latest winner was a Durban woman who won R39 million in the April 30 draw. She played…

FORMER president Jacob Zuma’s legal team is expected in court today as discussions will again turn to the former president’s request to have state advocate Billy Downer recused from the case. Last month, Pietermaritzburg High Court Judge Piet Koen adjourned Zuma’s arms deal trial, to allow Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) Judge President Mandisa Maya to decide on his reconsideration application. Zuma has asked Judge Maya to reconsider the SCA’s dismissal of four of his special pleas – all dealing with his attempt to force Downer to recuse himself from his corruption trial. Last month, Judge Koen had said that today was a holding date for the continuation of the case, and if the reconsideration application at the SCA was not finalised by then, the trial would reconvene so another…

When one of the contenders for the Eastern Cape ANC chairperson position, Babalo Madikizela, was reminded of the 2017 provincial conference, which was dubbed the festival of chairs, he was quick to dub the 2022 one as “the festival of ideas”. The “festival of chairs” was when the 2017 conference degraded into chaos, with delegates throwing chairs at each other. “Festival of chairs” was not the desired outcome the ANC expected. Many people were hurt physically and emotionally. Some, members and supporters, were disappointed and the cherry on top was the reputation of the ANC. It was gravely tarnished. This was the result of greedy members who dragged the ANC’s name through the mud. This is because they use the organisation for a living, and corruptly enrich themselves. Some still…

The Roman Catholic archbishop in Jerusalem yesterday strongly criticised Israel’s “police invasion” last week of a Christian hospital ahead of the funeral of slain Al Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh. An organisation representing 12 Christian denominations also condemned the Israeli riot police charge, describing the actions as a violation of freedom of religion. The veteran journalist was shot dead during an Israeli army raid in the West Bank. Palestinians and the TV network said Israeli troops killed her, while Israel said Palestinian gunfire may be to blame. Anger over her death was compounded on Friday when baton-wielding Israeli police in annexed east Jerusalem beat pall- bearers carrying Abu Akleh’s coffin, covered by a Palestinian flag. The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, yesterday condemned “Israel’s police invasion and disproportionate use…

An investigation into the weekend shooting of more than a dozen people at a western New York supermarket turned yesterday to whether authorities missed telltale signs and red flags left by the teenage gunman prior to his racist killing spree. Authorities said Payton Gendron, 18, carried out an act of “racially motivated violent extremism” when he opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle on Saturday at the Tops Friendly Market in Buffalo, where 11 of the 13 wounded were black. “The evidence that we have uncovered so far makes no mistake this is an absolute racist hate crime that will be prosecuted as a hate crime,” Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia told reporters on Sunday. Besides seeking a clearer understanding of the motives for Gendron’s attack, authorities will focus on what…

KATHMANDU: A total of 22 climbers, including four Chinese, scaled Mt Qomolangma from the Nepali side yesterday along with Nepali mountain guide Mingma Gyalje Sherpa who did not use supplemental oxygen this time. Dawa Futi Sherpa, manager of the Imagine Nepal Trek and Expedition which organised the expedition, said Chinese climbers Liu Wenwei, Hai Qiannan, Feng Jianfei and Zhan Xiongchang reached the top of the peak that straddles Nepal and China with 18 other team members. Dawa wrote on Facebook that in addition to the Chinese, Abdul Muhammad from Pakistan, Anna Surysheva from Russia and Nathan Peter Longman from Australia, and 15 Nepali guides summitted. | Xinhua…

Beijing: China has come to India’s defence after the G7’s criticism over the decision to regulate the export of wheat, saying that blaming developing countries like India won’t solve the global food crisis. Last week, the Indian government amended the export policy of wheat by putting its export under the “prohibited” category. The order that was rolled out by the Ministry of Commerce stated that the government has banned the wheat exports with “immediate effect”. But what came as surprise was the Chinese state media’s defence of India after criticism from Group of Seven (G7) nations. | ANI…

Richards Bay FC secured promotion to the DStv Premiership for the first time in the club's history after playing out to a goalless draw in their final match of the season and were crowned GladAfrica Championship winners of the 2021/22 season on Sunday. In the midst of all the celebrations at the King Zwelithini Stadium, the Natal Rich Boyz owner, Sfiso 'Jomo' Biyela, took time to address the club's supporters and assured those present that the club was not up for sale at any price. "This club is not for sale, this is my club and there's no offer on earth that I could possibly consider. Therefore, to anyone that's even dreaming about making an offer for this club, I can assure you now that you're are wasting your time,"…

Liverpool are still assessing the fitness of Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk ahead of tonight’s Premier League trip to Southampton where they could close the gap on leaders Manchester City to one point, manager Jurgen Klopp said yesterday. Forward Salah and defender Van Dijk were substituted during Saturday’s FA Cup final against Chelsea, which Liverpool won on penalties to lift their second trophy of the season. “The process is not finished yet because we only played the 120 minutes two days ago ... We have a lot of decisions,” Klopp said. “Those extra 30 minutes made a big difference ... We will have to make changes, I don’t know how many.” Klopp added that defensive midfielder Fabinho, who missed the win over Chelsea with a hamstring injury, will remain…