Table of contents for 2022-07-25 in Mercury

INDEPENDENT Power Producers (IPPs) under renewable energy independent power producer procurement programme bid window 5 (REIPPPP BW5) shot themselves in the foot with unsustainable rates now making it impossible to deliver power to Eskom, leading to the grid’s prolonged loadshedding. Speaking to Business Report over the weekend, South African Independent Power Producers Association chairperson Thomas Garner said the programme was in a quandary after producers indicated they could not continue with the current rate which required financial close before the signing of agreements with Eskom next month. Solar and wind energy IPPs reportedly bid 37.5 cents a kilowatt hour (kW/h) to secure business when the going rate should have been between 60 to 80c a kW/h. “This is a race to the bottom, not all the projects are…

Banyana Banyana players will each be more than R400 000 richer after winning their first Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) crown in Rabat on Saturday. Those were the words of South African Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan, who vowed that they would top up the bonus of R9.2 million they had promised the team if they won Wafcon. “We’re going to honour the commitment and even put in more than that,” an elated Jordaan told SABC Sport after Banyana’s 2-1 win over Morocco in the final. “Don’t worry about that, I spoke to the captain, when we get back (home) we’ll sit down and sort it out. They deserve the R400 000 (incentive) each and more. “And we are going to work hard to give…

A former Mexican beauty queen and a Romanian-Dutch accomplice have been arrested in Croatia over the theft of $1.7 million (R29m) worth of prestige bottles of wine in Spain after a nine-month chase across Europe, police said. In a statement, Spanish national police said that on October 27, 2021 in the western city of Caceres, 45 wine bottles were spirited out in a meticulously planned theft from the cellars of the famous hotel-restaurant El Atrio. Police investigators believe the woman, a 29-year-old Mexican, who according to Spanish daily El Pais had competed in a beauty pageant in her homeland, distracted El Atrio waiters by ordering room service from the Michelin-starred restaurant after its kitchen had closed. Meanwhile, her 47-year-old male accomplice slipped down to the wine cellar, opened it with…

AS IS general public knowledge – including to the ANC national executive committee – most, if not all, major state-owned entities (SOEs) have been a failure. If it is not embarrassing to the ANC, then one must ask the question – “what will embarrass them?” It is further an incontrovertible fact that cadre deployment has been the main factor that contributed to this fact. The Zondo Commission has now also confirmed that fact and added that it is unconstitutional, because the Constitution stipulates that the public administration should be independent – that is, independent of all party political formations. This should have been the case from the 1994 election onwards. Without supporting the unconstitutional policy implemented by the ANC one could, however, understand that the party would initially want to…

Try to use up to 20 words only and write about what you really want to do with your life. Once anyone knows what he or she really wants, he or she sets himself or herself in a direction that will graft purpose into even life’s most mundane challenges and tasks. Don’t be alarmed if you are unsure. There are days that I still don’t know. It is, nonetheless, always good to allow thoughts of what you want to do with your life to percolate within you. Having goals, even very broad goals, will help you to define yourself. Remember, if you do not define yourself, someone will and you probably won’t like what they come up with. I will remind you that everyone and everything (even trees) needs…

Two German nationals, who have been convicted for the illegal trade and possession of reptiles and controlled substances, have been rearrested on similar charges. Spokesperson for the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Albi Modise said Daniel Lohde and Marko Drescher were rearrested shortly after they entered a plea agreement admitting to the possession of and illegal trade in Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species -listed species. “The men were arrested last year near Askam in the Northern Cape following a multi-agency reptile undercover operation comprising the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment’s Green Scorpions and the Hawks, assisted by the Environmental Crime Fusion Centre, the police, SANParks environmental crime inspectors, the Northern Cape department of environmental affairs and the private sector,” said Modise. He said at…

The Msunduzi Municipality is clamping down on businesses and traders accused of violating its by-laws. This past weekend the municipality conducted a blitz, targeting businesses and traders along Berg and Retief streets in the city centre, to determine if these businesses are complying with the municipality’s by-laws. Mayoral spokesperson Zazi Nxele said the blitz would be ongoing; there were many areas the city would tackle as it had received complaints. “The mayor is pleased with the intervention. It is part of the city’s revitalisation campaign and to encourage business to be compliant. This is going to be ongoing as we have received many complaints, it is going to be sudden and unexpected.” In a statement posted on its Facebook page, the municipality said: “This week we visited businesses along Berg…

Kinshasa: Dozens of rights groups have urged the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to release a Congolese journalist detained last week, after intelligence agents set free a US reporter arrested with him. On July 13, the DRC’s intelligence service detained Joseph Kazadi and American journalist Stavros Nicolas Niarchos in the south-eastern city of Lubumbashi in Katanga province. A senior government official told AFP that the journalists had allegedly made unauthorised contact with armed groups. Niarchos, a freelancer who writes for American magazines, was released on Tuesday. |…

Hundreds of protesters gathered in Tunis on Saturday to demonstrate against a referendum to be held today on a new constitution that they reject as illegal. President Kais Saied published the draft constitution, giving himself far more powers, reducing the role of the parliament and judiciary, and removing most checks on his power, less than a month ago. The referendum is the latest move in what his foes call a march to one-man rule since he replaced the government a year ago to rule by decree in what critics call a coup. “Shut down the coup!”, “Stop autocratic rule!” shouted the protesters on Habib Bourguiba Avenue, the main street in Tunis. “The Tunisian people will deal a major blow to Saied on the day of the illegal referendum and will…

Muhsin Ertugral has lamented Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs’ signing sprees this winter, insisting that won’t help them knock Mamelodi Sundowns off their perch anyway. The two Soweto giants have raided the market in the ongoing transfer window, bolstering their squads with new signings. Pirates have signed six players, while Chiefs have snatched up seven. Tapelo Xoki, Nkosinathi Sibisi and Evidence Makgopa are some of the players that have joined the Sea Robbers, under the leadership of new coach Jose Riveiro next season. Meanwhile, rivals Chiefs, who’ll be coached by club legend Arthur Zwane next season, have lured to Naturena players such as Yusuf Maart, Ashley du Preez and Zitha Kwinika. The Buccaneers and Amakhosi are both looking to return to the pinnacle of local football after watching Tshwane giants…

FED up with an ANC leadership that appeared out of touch with the needs of KwaZulu-Natal residents, a lobby group began holding clandestine meetings to galvanise support among the ruling party’s rank and file in the province. Their undercover activities saw the group getting the nickname “Taliban” and so successful was their campaign, that they made a clean sweep at the ANC provincial conference on Saturday. Led by newly elected chairperson Siboniso Duma, the group took the top five positions, toppling the slate which was led by Sihle Zikalala, who was seeking to retain his position as provincial chairperson. The “Taliban” emerged as the conference’s surprise package as many had predicted the tussle for the top position would be between Zikalala and Nomusa Dube-Ncube. The grouping profited from a combination…

TEMPUS fugit et numquam revertitur, as the ancient Romans used to say so snappily – time flies and never may it return. We are all of us ageing. Some quotes on the process: “The older I get, the more I remember things that never happened.” – Mark Twain. “First you forget names, then you forget faces, then you forget to pull your zipper up, then you forget to pull your zipper down.” – Leo Rosenberg. “At 50 everyone gets the face he deserves.” – George Orwell. “At age 20, we worry what others think of us … at age 40 we don’t care what they think of us … at age 60 we discover that they haven’t been thinking of us at all.” – Ann Landers. “As you get older…

It is with interest that I heard that a pensioner was charged for “reverse-parking” his vehicle when he went to hospital. I drove past the Coastlands beachfront hotel on Thursday at about 8pm and I noticed numerous vehicles, espe cially double cabs with out-of-town KZN registrations. The catch is, all these vehicles were reverse-parked and in total contravention of the by-laws. Even worse was cars parked in front of these vehicles. Can the traffic chief verify the above allegation via the officers on the ground at that time and CCTV footage? Now ask, why is a poor pensioner driving a car that is “old” charged for reverse-parking, yet the vehicles parked outside Coastlands beachfront who totally violated the parking by- laws did not have their vehicles towed away? Incidentally, outside…

The ANC’s KZN elective conference this past weekend, which saw a clean sweep of all “Taliban” candidates, was held at Durban’s Olive Conference Centre, aka The Durban Ice Rink building, of all places. Interestingly, it was also above an ice rink (at Johannesburg’s Carlton Ice Rink way back in 1977) that the old washed-up and disbanded United Party also morphed into the tragic but well-deserved short shelf life New Republic Party. I’m not for a moment suggesting that Siboniso Duma looks or sounds anything like the late NRP leader Vause Raw, but I do wonder if there is any lesson there for our new local “Taliban” victors? I do hope so. There’s a good reason, after all, why premiers and leaders shouldn’t steal water tankers destined for needy communities and…

FREE health care for pregnant women and children under 6 is set to come under the spotlight in the Johannesburg High Court. Section27, together with women who were denied medical care, will ask the court to confirm access to free health care for all these women and children. This, it said, should include foreigners seeking asylum and those undocumented or affected by statelessness. Section27 will ask the court to find that relevant Gauteng legislation, regulations and policies are unlawful to the extent that they fail to provide access to free health services to all pregnant women and young children who are not on medical aid. This was in contravention of the National Health Act, it argues. It will also ask for an order that the Health Department issue a circular…

The police in Gauteng are appealing for information that will help in tracking down gunmen who opened fire outside a tavern in Ga-Rankuwa, north of Pretoria on Friday. Two people were killed and seven wounded in the shooting before midnight on Friday. The assailants were travelling in a silver Volkswagen Polo. Police in Gauteng are investigating two cases of murder and seven of attempted murder. “Anyone who may have information is urged to report at the nearest police station or on the Crime Stop Hotline at 08600 10111. Anonymous tip-offs can also be reported via My SAPS app,” the police said. Last week, a man, 33, was shot dead in another shooting at the Monaco tavern in Mamelodi, east of the city. The police said three armed suspects wearing balaclavas…

POLITICAL analysts have warned of the possible recall of KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala following the defeat of his slate at the ANC provincial conference at the weekend. Zikalala and his secretary, Mdumiseni Ntuli, along with Human Settlements and Public Works MEC Jomo Sibiya were defeated in the hotly contested election of the top five positions. Political analyst Professor Sipho Seepe said the removal of Zikalala would depend on the relationship he has with the newly elected leadership, adding that this would have a direct impact at the national level of the ANC. The new leadership “will also have to reflect on whether the poor performance of the party in last year’s municipal elections can be attributed to his (Zikalala’s) administration. This is important since whatever the new leadership does will…

London: Unions, port officials and the French authorities blamed Brexit at the weekend as thousands of holidaymakers faced long delays trying to reach Europe via the English Channel port of Dover. But UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss laid the blame squarely on Paris, telling her French counterpart Catherine Colonna that “the French authorities have not put enough people on the border”. The situation has added to the bad blood between London and Paris in the wake of Brexit, scotching hopes of a reset after Boris Johnson said earlier this month he was stepping down as UK premier. |…

At least 16 people were killed and 52 wounded in fighting between armed groups in Tripoli, the health ministry said, following the latest political violence to hit the Libyan capital. The fighting began on Thursday. The clashes were between two armed groups with major clout in the west of the war-torn country: the Al-Radaa force and the Tripoli Revolutionaries Brigade. Several sources said one group’s detention of a fighter belonging to the other had sparked the fighting, which extended to several districts of the capital. On Friday, another group called the 444 Brigade intervened to mediate a truce, sending its own forces into a buffer zone before they too came under heavy fire, an AFP photographer reported. Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah’s government suspended interior minister Khaled Mazen after the fighting,…

Newly elected ANC KwaZulu-Natal chairperson Siboniso Duma faced his first test last night when he calmed a hostile crowd of party delegates at the Olive Convention Centre to allow party president Cyril Ramaphosa to address them. While it was uncertain for most of yesterday whether Ramaphosa would address the conference, he finally arrived but was met with a frosty reception. When Ramaphosa entered the venue delegates erupted in song, singing “Wenzeni uZuma?” (what has former president Jacob Zuma done?). The song has been a recurring theme throughout the three-day gathering. Duma appealed to delegates to give the ANC president an audience, warning that failure to do so would paint an unfair picture of what had been a well-run conference. “If you do not demonstrate the kind of discipline that you…

ESSA Ebrahim’s letter (The Mercury, July 22) is on the right track, albeit a bit convoluted. Were the tavern owners guilty of serving under-age children the lethal drinks? If this is the case they should be charged with culpable homicide, and jailed. Should the parents share some of the blame for not monitoring the whereabouts of their children? Absolutely. One parent said his 14-year-old daughter often came home at 4am after a night out. This is totally unacceptable and irresponsible parenting. After the news of this tragedy broke I suspected that methanol was involved as the owners allegedly offered free drinks to attract customers. Ethanol is normal drinking alcohol but is refined, branded and therefore more expensive. Did the tavern owners concoct their own drinks containing methanol, which is…

The letter from Thyagaraj Markandan (The Mercury, July 22) concerning what I regard as The Greatest Mystery, namely the evolution of the universe, has me agreeing with him. Don’t ever hold anybody back in his or her quest for knowledge. After all, it is precisely this which has afforded mankind every amenity and comfort, without exception, over the millenia. However, while I am already on record as being supportive of evolution rather than creation – simply because of the overwhelming evidence which has been amassed – I am equally ada mant that such absolute rejection of religious argument by the Darwinian Force is not becoming of a reasonable, polite and open-minded person. Markandan infers all manner of “brilliant minds” at Nasa (and elsewhere?) have sought before, are seeking now and…

THE recent killing and eating of six escaped lions from the Hluhluwe-Mfolozi Park (HIP) is a political problem. One which exists despite ongoing vociferous calls by the DA for annual budgets to be adjusted in order to fix fences and protect critically endangered species. This latest incident is also certainly not the first and has again proved that KwaZulu-Natal’s ANC Provincial Executive and its litany of MECs are unable to manage public entities. Incompetence and uncaring are two words that spring to mind when analysing more than 10 years of broken boundary fences and animal escapes at HIP. KZN residents and our animals deserve more and we cannot continually keep bumping our heads against the same obstinate political wall and expect a different outcome. Fencing, proper wildlife preservation and accountability…

SA prisons were over capacity by 33.21% in June, an increase from 5% of the prison population recorded four months earlier. This was revealed by Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola in reply to parliamentary questions. He said approved bed space in prisons was 108 804 but the prison population was 144 938 as at June 1, up from 141 221 in February when overcrowding was at 27.41%. The Eastern Cape has the highest overcrowding (63.03%; 20 265 prisoners), the Western Cape (49.51%; 26 633 prisoners), Gauteng (45.6%; 34 405 prisoners), and KwaZulu-Natal (23.74%); 22 414 prisoners). The prison staff to prisoners ratio is 1:4. A total of 99 146 prisoners had been released on parole since March 2019 with 16 112 breaching parole conditions, of which…

Some Durban residents who have sold their homes are frustrated by eThekwini Municipality’s failure to refund them their electricity deposits. In response to the criticism, the city said although it was not aware of the problem, the process to refund customers often took time. It said this could be the case in instances where city workers encountered challenges when accessing the property. DA councillor Warren Burne, who also deals in property conveyancing, said there was definitely a problem, and people who did not think so were kidding themselves. He said he had to deal with such complaints in his capacity as a councillor and in his business. One affected customer recently posted about her experience on social media. “I am just throwing this out there in the hope that someone…

GENEVA: Public Health Emergency of International Concern (Pheic) is the rarely used top alert available to the World Health Organization (WHO) to tackle a global disease outbreak. The WHO on Saturday declared the surge in monkeypox to be a Pheic after experts reviewed the situation at an emergency committee meeting two days earlier. The rapidly spreading monkeypox outbreak represents a global health emergency, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. The alert is designed to sound an alarm that a co-ordinated international response is needed and could unlock funding and global efforts to collaborate on sharing vaccines and treatments. |…

Ukraine pressed ahead yesterday with efforts to restart grain exports from Odesa and other Black Sea ports after a missile attack that cast doubt over whether Russia would honour a deal aimed at easing global food shortages caused by the war. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy denounced the strikes on Odesa as blatant “barbarism” that showed Moscow could not be trusted to implement Friday’s deal, mediated by Turkey and the UN. However, a government minister said preparations to resume grain shipments were ongoing, and public broadcaster Suspilne quoted the Ukrainian military as saying the missiles had not significantly damaged the port. The deal signed by Moscow and Kyiv was hailed as a diplomatic breakthrough that would help curb soaring global food prices, but as the war entered its sixth month on Sunday…