Table of contents for 2022-10-06 in Mercury

Gold mining may not be attracting the investment it once did in South Africa, but its other minerals still attract significant mining investment, delegates heard at the Joburg Indaba yesterday. Gold is a mature industry in South Africa, the opportunities are not the same as many of the other commodities in South Africa, said Gold Fieldschief executive (CEO), Chris Griffith. Griffith was part of a panel in the Indaba which took place yesterday in Johannesburg. Other panelists included Sibanye-Stillwater CEO Neal Froneman and Impala Platinum CEO, Nico Muller. Griffith said the opportunities to grow a company like his for safer, longer life, cheaper, lower cost more productive assets were not in South Africa, and for gold miners in South Africa, the opportuni- ties were international. “The more productive, shallow, open…

JASCO Electronics Holdings yesterday warned the viability of its listing may be compromised due to the possibility of it not meeting the free float requirements of the JSE in the event of a further capital raise. “Shareholders will be updated on the board’s decision in this regard,” the company said in its results for the year to June 30, 2022. “Jasco’s most pressing issue remains its high levels of debt and its financial underperformance. Further debt reduction will be required, either through another capital injection by its major shareholders or the potential disposal of another profitable business,” it said. “In the event of another capital raise, and if the group’s major shareholder invests further, either with limited or no equity contributions from the rest of the shareholders, the free float…

OUTGOING DA Member of the Provincial Legislature (MPL) and former KwaZulu-Natal party leader Zwakele Mncwango has been unhappy with the political decisions taken by his party at national level and this has prompted him to quit as an MPL. While he remains a DA member, in an interview with The Mercury yesterday Mncwango did not rule out quitting the party altogether. Asked whether the next step would be to quit the party, he said, “for now, anything is possible”. He announced yesterday morning that he had resigned as an MPL and the resignation is effective from October 15. His departure follows a string of resignations from the DA by prominent black leaders at provincial and national level. One of its young and prominent leaders, Mbali Ntuli, quit a few months…

What will it take for you and for me to become the people we aspire to be? Words are easy. I write them and say them every day. Promises, too, are easy. They can slip off the tongue without too much thought. Actions, attitudes, creating enduring patterns of new and chosen behaviours are where our aspirations are tested. I think a lot about such matters and I know why. Hypocrisy – my own, not yours, I try not to focus on yours – doesn’t sit easy with me. It nudges me, declares its presence, and, when I see it in myself, it disturbs everything about my day. The other day, I met a man who came to me for help. The young dad, who had his young daughter with him,…

In response to a letter in The Mercury, October 4, by Mr T Markandan, “Why did seasoned politician help ANC?” I think we as citizens should compliment politicians like Mr Visvin Reddy, leader of ADeC, because floor crossing is allowed in our democratic country. If more politicians from different political parties become party hoppers then it will change the dynamics of politics in this country and will probably shift the balance of power as well. There is a perception that floor crossing or party hopping undermines the fabric of our democracy. On the contrary, it shows that we have a mature democracy in which ethical and honest politicians will not tolerate any form of manipulation and corruption by their party leaders, and these politicians will not hesitate to show their…

As I tucked into the fresh caviar and some Bollie on the terrace, I opened The Mercury, Wednesday, October 5, and almost choked on the lot. I had to read it again as I realised the caviar had turned into Marmite on toast and the Bollie was none other than coffee. Yes, it clearly stated that “the flood victims who were moved from Truro House to temporary accommodation were yesterday booked into the Royal Hotel in the Durban CBD”. It also appeared that it was 50 “victims” who would be getting this “Royal treatment”. Further that, as per the KwaZulu-Natal government spokesperson, Mr Lennox Mabaso, the five-day stay was deserved as “human life is worth more than money”, and they had negotiated a “reasonable price” with the hotel. Comforting words…

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has vowed to take the legal wrangle with anti-gas exploration activists all the way to the Constitutional Court. Mantashe was speaking at the Africa Oil Week event, which saw politicians, bureaucrats, bankers and consultants arrive in Cape Town to discuss oil and energy prospects, while protesting eco-activists smeared fake blood on themselves and left splatters on the pavement at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. Mantashe said developments were unfolding in the upstream petroleum industry, and the government noted with interest lobby groups’ pushback. On September 1, the Makhanda High Court squashed Mantashe’s decision to grant Shell exploration rights for a seismic survey to explore gas and off the Wild Coast. The decision was granted in 2014 and renewed last year, but activists…

The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa) and the South African Medical Association (Sama) say the Health Department needs to tackle the growing problem of the scarcity of health-care workers. Health Minister Joe Phaahla said the shortage of health-care workers was threatening the quality and sustainability of health systems in Africa and worldwide. “Health care is a fundamental human right. But without health workers, there cannot be health services,” he said. The minister was speaking at the Association of Medical Councils of Africa international conference recently. The chairperson of Sama, Dr Mvuyisi Mzukwa, said the shortage of doctors at public hospitals in South Africa was at a critical stage where the ratio had widened to 0.8 doctors per 1 000 patients. “The placement of interns and community service doctors…

THE payment of R350 grants to people who were not entitled to them has come back to haunt the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa), with Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke wanting the entity to implement remedial action. This came to light in Sassa’s audited financial statements tabled along with the 2021-22 annual report in Parliament recently. In the report, Maluleke said she found irregularities, including R350 grant payments made to people who were not entitled to them. Sassa previously said irregular payments were made to more than 40 000 people, including civil servants. Maluleke said the irregular payments were because internal controls were inadequate to perform validations. “The non-compliance is likely to result in a material financial loss for the Department of Social Development, on whose behalf the entity administers the…

Debunking myths and misinformation are key to developing an effective response to addressing xenophobia in South Africa, but this needs to be accompanied by strategies that address the drivers of xenophobic violence. Xenophobia is defined in the National Action Plan to Combat Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, as an attitudinal orientation/hostility towards international migrants. Xenophobia manifests in different ways – the most visible being violence. Research paints a dim view of the myths and attitudes most of the population holds towards international immigrants, but what is even more disturbing are findings of increasing levels of participation in anti-immigrant violence and support for vigilantism. Research and population data have dispelled myths informing xenophobic attitudes towards international migrants. Findings of public opinion surveys conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council…

THE WORLD Bank has warned that South Africa’s aggressive interest rate hikes could hamper economic growth prospects, affecting the country’s ability to respond to socio-economic challenges. This comes as the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) on Tuesday indicated that it would continue raising interest rates well into 2023 in a bid to stabilise monetary policy and restore price stability amid persistently high inflation. Headline inflation in South Africa remains persistently high at 7.6% in August after easing from a 13-year high of 7.8% in July, having breached the upper limit of the Sarb’s 3 to 6% target range in May. This has forced the SARB to adopt a hawkish monetary policy stance, and increase interest rates by 75 basis points in two recent successive meetings, taking cumulative hikes to…

EQUITES Property Fund said there has seen a sharp rise in the number of development opportunities in SA in the past six months due to record levels of demand for warehousing space. Chief executive Andrew Taverna- Turisan said at the release of the group’s results for the six months to August 31, 2022, that they were well positioned to capitalise on these opportunities, given their strategic land bank – there is a shortage of suitable land for large warehousing and distribution developments, in Durban and Cape Town in particular, he said in a telephonic interview. Equites’ existing development pipeline will add 228 000m² of prime logistics space over the medium term, with a combined capital value of R2.7 billion. He said given the strong demand, the group might…

SUEZ together with Royal Bafokeng Holdings (RBH) and African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) have completed the acquisition of Enviro- Serv Holdings and its subsidiaries after approval by antitrust authorities. Suez has built more than 500 drinking water and sanitation plants that service most African capitals. Suez is present in Morocco, Egypt, Senegal, Tunisia and Ivory Coast. “This acquisition will enable Suez to reinforce its positioning as an international leader in industrial and municipal waste treatment activities and to strengthen its position on the African continent,” Sabrina Soussan, chairperson and chief executive of Suez said in a statement yesterday. “I am thrilled by EnviroServ joining Suez Group: this is a team with a unique track record over the last 40 years, which enabled the company to become the leader in…

THE expulsion of 24 students fingered for the recent torching of one of the buildings at the Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) should serve as a warning that the institution will not put up with any form of violence and destruction of property. This was said by university Vice-Chancellor Professor Marcus Ramogale this week. He said tertiary institutions needed to stand together to protect the education system from what he labelled as “welfare seekers”, students that enter the system in order to access the National Students Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and other student packages without the intention of pursuing their studies. He said the recent unrest had strengthened the university management’s resolve to not allow mayhem on campus. “We will not allow ourselves to be derailed by troublemakers and for…

The first European female commander on the International Space Station (ISS), Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, answered young girls’ questions – accompanied by a lookalike Barbie doll. Cristoforetti recently described some of the experiments conducted aboard the ISS, and answered questions from five girls aged 8 to 11 from across Europe. Asked why she became an astronaut, the 45-year-old said: “Growing up I was fascinated by the night sky, and the idea of flying to space, and the sense of adventure and exploration. “And then I became interested in science and technology, and then I really loved flying; I became a pilot. And being an astronaut kind of brings all those passions and interests of me together,” she said. The video conversation, excerpts of which were released this week, was part…

It happened in the Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament in Cleveland, Ohio, according to Sky News. (The walleye is a type of fish.) Jacob Runyan and Chase Cominsky were both disqualified and are now being investigated by Ohio’s Department of Natural Resources. The two had racked up a long string of wins in fishing tournaments over the past year to the point where it just “doesn’t happen”, according to Wisconsin fishing guide Troy Krause, who did not compete in the contest. But Krause was there to film the weigh-in where tournament director Jason Fischer opened up a catch before shouting: “We got weights in these fish!” Fischer tossed the balls out of the catch as people off-camera were heard shouting in disgust. Krause put the footage on social media, where…

DA Joburg mayor Dr Mpho Phalatse was unceremoniously removed from office after the coalition that initially supported her collapsed. As the ANC begins losing power in metros throughout the country, there is no single political party bigger than the ANC that can take over. This means coalitions of smaller parties become kingmakers in these municipalities, albeit temporarily. A coalition, by its very nature, requires a particular skill to manage. Each of the parties that make up these arrangements have their own manifestos and have campaigned around specific issues, some of which are in conflict with their coalition partners’. It takes a politician with experience and a thorough understanding of the political space to manage a coalition that cannot be manipulated by the ANC. The DA is keen to challenge the…

An Irish woman who has been wanted by the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) has been located and arrested in South Africa by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) in the Free State. Ruth Lawrence, 37, was arrested on Tuesday in Bloemfontein. According to the provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, Captain Christopher Singo, her arrest came after Interpol issued a warrant. “Her arrest comes after Interpol issued a warrant of arrest against her regarding the murder of Eoin O’ Connor, 32, and Anthony Keegan, 33, who were found murdered in Ireland in 2014. “After the murder of the deceased persons, the suspect then fled the country,” Singo said. He said information was received on Wednesday, September 28, about Lawrence being in the Bloemfontein area. She was subsequently arrested in…

A DILAPIDATED school in rural Dududu, Ugu District, on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast will be rehabilitated through a partnership the Department of Education has entered into with a local charity. Islamic Relief, a faith-based non-profit organisation, and the KZN Department of Education signed a Memorandum of Understanding in regards to the overhaul and refurbishment of the Thandokwethu Primary School. The acting principal, Ngenzeni Zulu, said the school was overcrowded, with more than one grade being taught in one classroom at the same time. Zulu said the school didn’t even have toilets or running water. “When I started teaching at the school in 1998, I found pit toilets, those toilets are still there and no longer functional. We have had one incident with the walls of one of those toilets falling…

The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure has withheld payments to the companies that undertook repair work after the KwaZulu-Natal floods pending an investigation into the procurement process followed by the department. This was revealed by Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille when she was responding to parliamentary questions from IFP MP Sanele Zondo. Zondo enquired about steps the department was taking against companies flagged for corruption and looting of funds related to the rebuilding of infrastructure in KZN following the floods. He wanted to know whether any contract had been cancelled after Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke red flagged dubious contracts linked to the rebuilding efforts. In August, Maluleke said procurement irregularities delayed delivery of repairs in the government properties overseen by the department. “The process of procuring highlighted…

ANY government official, including a Cabinet minister, who has to be forced to do a job they signed up for should be fired on the spot, especially in cases involving the safety of citizens. That is certainly the expectation in the private sector, where negligence can hardly be tolerated and the only way out is dismissal. In government boardrooms the opposite is true, starting right at the top, including ministers. That a judge had to intervene and direct the Eastern Cape Transport MEC and Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula to fulfil their obligations to maintain law and order relating to attacks on long-distance bus company Intercape, is beyond shameful. If it were not for Intercape’s strong conviction, Mbalula and the Eastern Cape government would continue ignoring the plight of thousands of…

THE Sharks’ Springbok contingent is hard at work at Hollywoodbets Kings Park and awaiting the return of the team from their United Rugby Championship (URC) tour but given the malfunction of the line-outs overseas, there surely would have been a temptation to get Eben Etzebeth on a plane to make his debut against Leinster in Dublin on Saturday. That s not going to happen and Eben the Angry’s Durban debut is set for their home game against the Glasgow Warriors on October 15. Last week, coach Sean Everitt explained that his Bok players had been given a week’s vacation following the end of the Rugby Championship and since then have been getting up to speed with the Sharks’ processes under coaches Joey Mongalo and Etienne Fynn. Everitt said…

THE Springbok women’s team to play France in their opening Pool C match of the World Cup in New Zealand has a familiar and experienced look to it, with only prop Sanelisiwe Charlie not a regular starter in the 2022 season. Bok coach Stanley Raubenheimer named both of his World Cup veterans, Nolusindiso Booi and Zenay Jordaan, in the squad, with Booi to captain the team at Eden Park on Saturday. Jordaan is named on the bench and will equal the Bok record of 34 Test caps held by Zandile Nojoko. Raubenheimer also named Tayla Kinsey at scrumhalf and prop Asithandile Ntoyanto on the bench, meaning that all four players with previous World Cup experience will be involved on Saturday. Charlie will make a first start since August…

THE ECONOMY waits with baited breath as the grim spectre of a lengthy industrial action unfolds over a 9% gap between Transnet and unions Untu and Satawu that is likely to halt the rail network and cause bottlenecks at South Africa’s ports to goods moving over rails and processes. Concern has been sounded by all sectors of an economy already besieged by load shedding over the past months, with fears rising that a protracted strike at Transnet has a telling effect on agricultural imports and exports, the motor vehicle sector and mining, among others, which are all heavily reliant on an efficient logistics chain. “Transnet is a critical player in an export orientated sector like agriculture. So the wage negotiations are key area of interest and we hope…

THERE is no better moment to remind us of our country’s precarious energy security than the current streak of load shedding, which at some point escalated from stage 2 to stage 6 and came perilously close to breaching stage 8. The cost to the economy varies between R2 billion and R4bn a day, depending on which industry expert you speak to. One thing is certain, though, businesses and households are counting their losses daily, suffice it to add it is near impossible to quantify the actual cost of load shedding to the economy. Flashback: many intensive energy users, including small businesses, have not forgotten the infamous load shedding in 2008. And one can forgive them for nursing a heightened sense of déjà vu. Such was…

A FATHER of four who brought his children to South Africa from the US and faces parent kidnapping charges in that country, has been denied leave to appeal a bail ruling which went against him. The man, who is facing extradition to the US over the kidnapping charges, came to the country on a visitor’s visa at the end of October 2021, which expired in January this year. Three of his children were minors, and one was 18. After not returning the children to their mother, with whom he had a custodial agreement, a warrant was issued for his arrest and he was apprehended in Upington in March this year. “(He) was staying with the children in tents, together with a group referred to as a missionary group praying together…

It is heartbreaking that it took the tragic death of 7-year-old Rayan Suleiman, who died of a heart attack after being chased by Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank, to massively jolt the consciousness of the entire world. Innocent children are killed in Palestine on a monthly basis. The world was in revolt when a young woman died in Iran; it’s deafening silence regarding the death of Rayan is sickening. The Muslim world, all 56 nations, have been on auto-pilot amid this global crisis. The death of Rayan means nothing to them. They are merely statistics. Shame on the entire Muslim world. History will immortalise this small child and others for centuries to come. The entire world is guilty of culpable homicide, a blistering indictment of man’s inhumanity to…

They say stress is a killer. And we begin to imagine that it’s to do with things such as the loss of a loved one, insufficient funds to meet debts, a robbery, a hijacking, an exam failure or a loss of employment. Few realise that there are other dark, seemingly invisible but equally menacing potential vampires that can strike suddenly from apparently nowhere. An uncle of mine was given a ticket for ignorantly displaying his (legal) licence disc on the right-hand side of the windscreen, which just happens, of course, to be the wrong side. A hot argument followed. My uncle had a heart attack and ended up in cardiac ICU that same evening. Fortunately he escaped sudden death. Of course, he already had a history of cardiac problems, but…

Work on the establishment of 80 sexual offences courts (SOCs) across the country as part of the fight against gender-based violence is at an advanced stage. Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola said the draft gazette notice for the designation of SOCs had been vetted by the office of the Chief State Law Advisor and was awaiting his approval. “The SOCs will be established as soon as the gazette notice is published, as required by the act,” Lamola said. He was responding to parliamentary questions form DA MP Werner Horn, who asked what progress had been made to designate and establish 80 SOCs. In terms of the law, the minister is required to designate any division of the high court or any magistrate’s court where the sexual offences courts…

THE Road Accident Fund (RAF) has faced many criticisms during past and present litigation for the way in which it is run, but a judge in a recent judgment commented that “money in the coffers of the RAF must never be deemed easy money”. Judge Mareena Opperman of the Free State Division of the High Court remarked that “claims must be proven with integrity”. “It is not a get-rich-quick opportunity and claimants must diligently and with integrity ensure that their costs are limited and proven to be the damages caused by the incident,” the judge said. Her remarks were sparked by an application by a now 54-year-old man who was in an accident six years ago when the vehicle he was travelling in collided with a trailer being pulled by…

The DA and ANC tit-for-tat continues unabated amid a pending court action to challenge the election of Dada Morero as the new mayor of the City of Joburg. In the latest attack, ousted DA mayor Dr Mpho Phalatse addressed the media virtually and called the election of Morero a “sham” while referring to herself as the reigning first citizen of the country’s city of gold, despite the outcome of the council meeting last Friday. Phalatse said: “I introduced myself as Johannesburg’s mayor – despite the council having appointed an ANC mayor in my place last week Friday – because I believe that the sitting was a sham and the decisions taken there, unlawful. “I believe a court will soon confirm this view. As far as I’m concerned, I still have…

TEACHER unions said there was little to celebrate as World Teachers’ Day was marked yesterday. South African Democratic Teachers’ Union (Sadtu) provincial secretary Nomarashiya Caluza said the morale of teachers was low due to violence in schools, the killing of teachers and the general lack of safety and security. “We believe as Sadtu that as long as education is still trusted to deal with the rising unemployment rate, inequalities and poverty, the government has to prioritise education funding.” National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa KwaZulu-Natal chief executive Thirona Moodley said that celebrating World Teachers’ Day was a time to review how much teachers were valued. “Sadly, teachers are receiving the raw end of the deal in terms of working conditions due to large classroom sizes and violence in schools…

Two suspects received hefty jail sentences for the robbery and attempted murder of a family of three in their Durban North home two years ago. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson, Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, said the Durban Regional Court sentenced Linda Mfeka, 33, and Smanga Sibisi, 33, to 30 and 28 years imprisonment, respectively, for the robbery and attempted murders they committed in July 2020, in the Durban North area. Ramkisson-Kara said the victims were at home, when the men accosted them, armed with firearms. “The men stole their items, while the family were left in one bedroom,” she said. After some time, she said the family realised the men had left, and they called their private security company. “The security company was able to track the location of one of…

Lessons in what writers can do if properly supported I was recently invited to the African Book Festival, from August 26-28 in Berlin by Stefanie Hirsbrunner, one of the organisers and a publisher. I met Stephanie in 2021 when she was visiting South Africa and we had a long chat about what the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) is doing in the language space. I shared with her in detail our project of intellectualising African languages, with a particular emphasis on South Africa’s previously marginalised official languages. I shared with her how literature development is central to this project. Both of us agreed that this is a mammoth task that needs collaboration. We also agreed that there was a dire need for African writers to be developed and given international recognition…

AmaZulu (0) 0 Richards Bay (0) 1 Mothwa (OG) 93' RICHARDS Bay snatched an injury-time winner to claim a famous 1-0 victory over AmaZulu and climb up to second on the Premiership standings at Moses Mabhida Stadium yesterday. The Natal Rich Boyz grabbed the win as AmaZulu goalkeeper Veli Mothwa had the unfortunate last touch before the ball ended up in the back of his net, handing the visitors their fifth win of the season. A greatly beleaguered AmaZulu team rang the changes ahead of the difficult encounter with Richards Bay with coach Brandon Truter forced to make do without a few of his most trusted players through injuries and suspensions. Following their MTN8 semi-final clash against Kaizer Chiefs on Sunday, Truter cut a dejected figure as he…