Table of contents for 2023-08-28 in Mercury

Members of the Shembe Church in KwaZulu-Natal, one of the largest churches in the country with hundreds of thousands of followers, yesterday launched a political party in Inanda, Durban, potentially altering the province’s political dynamic. The church has several branches. A succession battle emerged in eBuhleni in 2011 soon after the death of its leader, Inkosi Vimbeni Shembe. The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ruled in 2019 that the late Vela Shembe was the church’s leader. However, this was rejected by members of the eBuhleni branch who regard Mduduzi Shembe as the true leader. The political party, Afrika Unite Congress (AUK), which was launched yesterday, was founded by church members from eBuhleni. Lizwi Ncwane, AUK president, said the party was an independent organisation and the only link with the church…

Be careful who you talk to about the deeper things. Some people are unsafe. Unsafe people are seldom intentionally unsafe. People are unsafe as a result of their own unaddressed, unresolved or unidentified traumas. Your trauma, abandonment, whatever, ignites theirs. This is what makes them unsafe. Yes, it’s that simple. The unsafe are so because their lives feel or are unsafe. A person recently betrayed or abandoned, is not better equipped to listen to you if you face something similar, while said person remains angry or bitter. This person will become safe if and when he or she has achieved some objectivity about the experience and is able to see that his or her experience is as unique as yours is. It is at this point that your unsafe person…

Oh my island in the sun, The Boks five tries, the Kiwis one … FRIDAY night’s warm-up Test surpassed the most wildly optimistic predictions. It was exactly the tonic the Springboks needed – psychological as much as anything – as they go into the World Cup proper. Where it leaves the All Blacks we shall have to see. They have urgent repair work ahead. The Springboks played like demons – forwards and backs – for lengthy phases camping in the All Blacks’ 22m territory. Manie Libbok certainly had his kicking boots on. With his conversions – one from the touchline – he added 10 points to the total. One small niggle though. When you’re camped close to the opposition’s posts and you get a penalty, go for posts and bank…

A LEADING skin-care manufacturing company has to pay one of its employees two months’ salary after the woman was fired because of poor performance. She had said she had struggled to cope with the work and its deadlines. The employee turned to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) as she felt that her dismissal was unfair. She said it had not been a question of her not wanting to do the work, but she had genuinely struggled with the demands and simply could not cope with what was expected of her. The company said another employee, who was appointed around the same time as the complainant in this case, managed just fine. But the CCMA commissioner said it was normal that one person might cope better than another…

The Durban High Court has postponed the case involving businessman Thoshan Panday, along with eight other individuals, to later this year. A pre-trial conference is set for November 29. The accused made an appearance in court on Friday. While it was anticipated that Panday’s legal representatives would present an application urging the State to disclose more details regarding the case, this application will now be heard on October 23. Panday and his co-accused – former KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Mmamonnye Ngobeni; SAPS Colonel Navin Madhoe and former police captain Aswin Narainpershad – face charges of racketeering, fraud, corruption and money laundering. In April the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) Asset Forfeiture Unit secured a court order, restraining assets valued at R47.3 million. The State alleges that Panday was the sole member of…

Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) said a booking system that has been introduced at the Port of Richards Bay had reduced the number of trucks entering the port daily. TPT said the port was designed to receive cargo by rail only. However, as a result of the reduction in rail capacity into Richards Bay Coal Terminal and the fires that burnt conveyor belts that were servicing ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA), Foskor and Grindrod, trucks into the port and the surrounds of the King Cetshwayo Municipality had increased significantly, reaching 1 500 trucks a day at the peak. This was also exacerbated by the increased global price of coal, with coal exports increasing from 4.7 million in 2021/22 to 11.7 million tons in 2022/23 at the multi-purpose terminal. It said over the…

Launching a new currency is far more complex than the rhetoric suggests IS THERE a healthy dose of realpolitik and pragmatism seeping into the BRICS eco-edifice? Judging by the mood music at the15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg last week, it seems so. Behind the veil of the surfeit of curtain-raiser ministerial and technical meetings and their pronouncements leading up to the summit, it is inevitable that an expectation overload followed especially relating to membership expansion of the Bloc and the de-dollarisation of intra-BRICS trade and investment primarily through the launch of a so-called ‘BRICS currency’. Both are political ambitions – the one to forge a New World Order as a counter to perceived western (US, EU, UK, Japanese and South Korean) hegemony of global affairs, and the other to…

More than a thousand people fled their homes as floods unleashed by Super Typhoon Saola swept through mainly rural villages in the northern Philippines, rescue officials said yesterday. Saola brushed past the north-east of the main island of Luzon overnight on Saturday and continued south just off the Pacific coast, packing winds of up to 185km/h, the state weather bureau said. No casualties or substantial damage have been reported. Residents of coastal communities vulnerable to high winds and large waves were moved to higher ground on Isabela province’s Pacific coast, as were those on the northern tip of Cagayan province and Ilocos Sur province on Luzon’s north-west coast. “These coastal towns have no protection because they are directly facing the Pacific,” said Isabela rescue official Constante Foronda. The Philippines is…

Bucharest: Two people died and 56 people were injured after two explosions rocked an unlicensed liquefied petroleum gas filling station just north of Bucharest late on Saturday, officials said. Most of the injured were firefighters who rushed to the station to extinguish the blaze from the first explosion before the second occurred. The two people who died were a couple. The man suffered a heart attack, while the woman died after sustaining severe burns. Romania has requested assistance through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to treat 18 burn patients. The fire also forced the evacuation of people within a 700m radius. | AFP…

Dubai: Iran-backed Huthi rebels have killed 10 Yemen soldiers from a southern separatist faction in a “surprise attack” after more than a year of relative calm, military sources have said. Twelve were wounded yesterday, between the southern provinces of Lahj and Al-Bayda, the sources said. Four Huthi fighters were killed and several wounded. The attack targeted a site manned by the separatists, who aspire to create an independent South Yemen, the military sources said. Recent violence in south Yemen has been attributed to Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, considered by the US to be the jihadist group’s most dangerous offshoot. | AFP…

Athens: Firefighters in Greece were battling flames for a ninth consecutive day yesterday, as more areas of the country’s north were ordered to evacuate their homes. The largest fire is devastating the region of Evros, near the port town of Alexandroupoli and the country’s border with Türkiye. Yesterday, residents of the areas of Lefkimmi in Evros and Kassitera, in the neighbouring region of Rhodopes, were ordered to evacuate their homes. The deputy regional governor of Evros, Dimitris Petrovic, said that it was a “very difficult situation” that had caused enormous damage. The region had launched a new appeal for reinforcements and resources, he said, adding that the winds were set to change from today. | AFP…

Max Verstappen won a chaotic, deluge-hit and red-flagged Dutch Grand Prix yesterday to match Sebastian Vettel's record run of nine consecutive victories. Fernando Alonso for Aston Martin took second with Alpine's Pierre Gasly completing the podium at Zandvoort. "Fantastic job, the weather didn't make it easy for us," said Red Bull's double world champion. The home favourite's 11th success from the 13 races staged this season extended his lead to 138 points in the championship over teammate Sergio Perez, who finished fourth. "I'm incredibly proud, I had goose bumps with the national anthem playing at the start, an incredible atmosphere" said Verstappen, to roars of delight from his orange army of fans. "He's done it, matched the nine victories of Sebastian, I mean what a performance," said Red Bull boss…

MTN GROUP CEO Ralph Mupita met with the Cameroon Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute, and his delegation on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, MTN said in a statement on Friday and discussed not only investment, also the way forward on its frozen assets. Mupita spoke to the delegation about a current matter in the country, in which the compa- ny’s accounts had been garnished since September 2022. MTN Cameroon’s accounts with more than 14 billion CFA francs (R207 million) have been frozen by a Cameroon court order since September 2022, as the company was brought into a loan dispute by a Cameroonian business- person. “Whilst the matter is currently in courts, the Group President and CEO requested the guidance of the Prime Minister…

THE remuneration package of the eThekwini Municipality city manager Musa Mbhele has been increased by R1.3 million per year. Mbhele’s salary will increase from R2.6m to a total package of R3.9m. A document titled “application for waiver of upper limits of total remuneration package payable to the municipal manager of the eThekwini Municipality” motivating for the increase was tabled before a confidential meeting last week. The recommendation was approved by the council without the support of all opposition parties. The council decision is now subject to final approval by the Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC and Cogta minister. The parties that opposed the salary increase were scathing in their criticism, saying there was little or nothing that justified the hike, adding that it opened the door for Mbhele’s…

South Africa is becoming “Animal Farm”, and the capture of the state is under way. The shortlisting of Deputy Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka for the post occupied by Mkhwebane is just one example of how politics is encroaching on every aspect of governance. The public protector’s office is a critical institution, one that must be independent and impartial. It should look out for the interests of the people, not political parties. Sadly, this is not always the case. Should Gcaleka succeed in the appointment, it will raise serious questions about the level of independence the office can claim. The fact that President Ramaphosa will have the final say over who is appointed as the public protector is also concerning. This is the same president who was cleared by Gcaleka of…

Against the backdrop of the recently concluded BRICS summit in South Africa, I would like to commend the government and South Africans for being an admirable host to this emerging BRICS powerhouse that will, hopefully, be an influential organisation on the world stage. The eagerness of many developing countries to join BRICS reflects the need for a more balanced and inclusive global economy and world order. Over the years, many emerging and developing countries have been undermined by Western domination and hegemony. Although countries like India and China have experienced significant economic growth, their political voices in global governance have not been represented and heard. These powerful Western countries and institutions are unwilling to change for the greater good. Hence, I believe if BRICS can get their teething problems fixed…

THE Grade 12 trial exams starts today and the final exams are just two months away. The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education (DoE) said that the province was preparing ahead of the trial exams and the final exams. Muzi Mahlambi, head of communications at the KZN DoE, said the department was ready. “We are already looking at the results of matric pupils for term one and term two.” Mahlambi added that the results of the trial exams would show the areas for improvement. “After the trial exams we will know exactly which areas to work on. We will use the September school holidays as our spring programme to fine tune preparations for our matric final exams. “We are happy with our progress for the preparation of the final exam and…

Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the murder of a Pietermaritzburg councillor. The ANC in Moses Mabhida region said the murder of Mabhungu Mkhize of Ward 41 in Msunduzi Municipality came a few days after an attempt on the life of another ANC councillor in Mkhambathini. KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Bongi Sithole-Moloi said they were deeply distressed by the killing of councillors in the province. Police said two suspects were arrested after the shooting. Provincial police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said officers responded to a shooting in Imbali and found Mkhize’s bullet-ridden vehicle. Gunmen had opened fire on the vehicle, when he tried to drive off he crashed into a house. A passenger managed to escape while Mkhize died in hospital. He said the…

Kudos should be extended to the South African government for its adept hosting of the 2023 BRICS Summit, a remarkable event that witnessed the expansion of this global bloc through the inclusion of six new member nations. The induction of Argentina, Ethiopia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Iran into this collective elevates BRICS into a substantial player within worldwide affairs. Praise is equally due to the existing BRICS constituents – Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – for their endeavour to construct an alternate global entity, countering the predominance of American and European influence. Although BRICS isn’t devoid of imperfections and experiences disparities within its membership, it remains a historic milestone as it brings together developing nations from Africa, the Middle East, and South America under…

At least 10 people were killed in Haiti on Saturday, local rights group CARDH said, after a gang that controls a suburb of Port-au-Prince opened fire with machine guns on a protest organised by a Christian church leader. CARDH director Gedeon Jean said the final number would probably be higher. He said several people were wounded and some churchgoers had been kidnapped. Videos shared on X, showed about 100 people, many wearing yellow shirts associated with the religious group of Pastor Marco, marching in Canaan, some carrying sticks and machetes. Videos on social media show people being shot at, bodies on the ground, and people who appear to be hostages saying they did not know the march was about taking on the gang. Many Haitians have joined civilian self-defence groups,…

New Delhi: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called yesterday for the AU to be made a G20 member, while also pitching his country as the solution to supply chain woes ahead of the bloc’s summit in New Delhi next month. The group of 20 major economies consists of 19 countries and the EU, making up about 85% of global GDP and two-thirds of the world’s population – but South Africa is the only member from the continent. The pan-African bloc collectively had $3 trillion (R55trln) GDP last year. The AU at full strength has 55 members, but five junta-ruled nations are suspended. | AFP…

European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde expects the economic downturn facing most Western economies to continue, saying the world may be entering “an age of shifts in economic relationships and breaks in established regularities”. “If we are in a new age, past regularities may no longer be a good guide for how the economy works,” Lagarde told a central bank symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, also attended by US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. “Some of these changes could be longer-lasting,” Lagarde said, citing a “deepening geopolitical divide and a global economy fragmenting into competing blocs. If we also face shocks that are larger and more common – like energy and geopolitical shocks – we could see firms passing on cost increases more consistently,” the banker said. “If global supply…

The Australia ODI series is set to reveal where the coach Rob Walter and captain Temba Bavuma project is, five weeks from the start of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup. The ODI series will start on September 7 following the conclusion of this week’s three-match T20I series in Durban. Over the last few months, following the appointment of Walter as white ball coach, the focus of the team has been on establishing an identity, a culture and a playing style. For the first time, they put their ambitions of adopting a ‘positive’ playing style to the test at the backend of last summer when they took on the West Indies and then the Netherlands. Although there were a number of promising signs, including the series levelling Heinrich Klaasen masterclass…

President Emmerson Mnangagwa suggested yesterday that anyone questioning the results of last week’s election take their case to court as an opposition leader accused him of “gigantic fraud”. “We have demonstrated that we are a mature democracy,” the president said, praising a high voter turnout. Zimbabweans went to the ballot box on Wednesday and Thursday last week in polling marred by delays. Voting was forced to stretch into an unprecedented second day because of delays in printing of ballot papers in some key districts, including the opposition stronghold Harare. Mnangagwa, 80, won the election with 52.6% of the vote, while the opposition Citizens’ Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa got 44%, the election commission said on Saturday. Chamisa yesterday said the CCC would not accept the results. He said…

Significantly but not surprisingly John Wittstock evades the challenge to acknowledge the existence of the Deep State’s agenda (The Mercury, August 23, 25), illiberally preferring to assert that, facing 91 felony charges, Trump must be guilty while insisting that Biden is innocent of racketeering despite evidence to the contrary. Since Wittstock is anxious that issues should not be “misconstrued” by being “glossed over”, here, then, is some of the evidence Trump will present to dismiss the charges against him which are intended to destroy him politically. Bragg’s inflated 34-count indictment alleging business record violations is effectively a single charge that has no bearing on tainting an election. Instead it is a deliberate politicisation of the legal system. No victim. No crime. No case. Trump had every right to query the…

JUST how long does it take to fix a sewage problem? From May this year, we, the residents of Bakerville Gardens, Newlands, have had to contend with a nauseating sewage overflow in Barvale Drive. Numerous letters and reminders have been forwarded to e-services at the eThekwini Municipality by resident Mr Nuven Govender, highlighting the ongoing stench emanating from the sewage overflow, with toilet paper added to the mix. While there have been some attempts to clean the mess, the problem remains unresolved. With responses such as the complaints had been “escalated to the Control Centre” and “the reference no has been closed off on the system”, the loyal ratepayers find this lack of remedial action most frustrating and unacceptable. We, therefore, call on the powers that be to intervene, not…

While many South Africans are already planning their end-of-year holidays or at least thinking about it, the travel industry has urged people to be vigilant about scams. CEO of the Association of Southern African Travel Agents (Asata), Otto de Vries, said knowing where to place trust can significantly mitigate risks. “Asata members, representing more than 90% of the travel sector, are thoroughly vetted, ensuring travellers that they’re partnering with true professionals. “Beyond bookings, our members also rigorously vet their suppliers, amplifying safety in travel,” he said. Recently, travellers who booked with a Joburg travel agency were duped out of millions. The company has since shut its doors. The company had offered direct flights to the Seychelles and the Maldives but that arrangement was withdrawn by Air Seychelles and the company…

As political parties, including the ANC and DA, sent birthday wishes to IFP founder and president emeritus Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi on his 95th birthday yesterday, the IFP leadership indicated that it would hold festivities once he had been discharged from hospital. IFP deputy chairperson iNkosi Ntandoyenkosi Shabalala extended the leadership’s best wishes, adding that they were still hoping to draw more inspiration from his dedication to serving the people. “The IFP in KwaZulu-Natal extends its warmest greetings and heartfelt wishes to His Excellency, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, the founder and president emeritus of the IFP and the esteemed traditional prime minister of the Zulu nation, on the occasion of his 95th birthday,” said the deputy chairperson. He singled out Buthelezi’s unwavering commitment to respecting every individual, regardless of background, saying that…

THE Bretton Woods system, International Monetary Fund, and World Bank, established in 1944 became a seminal international monetary institution aimed at promoting economic stability and facilitating post-World War II reconstruction. Theoretically, these institutions were germaine to the times, and the international community should have supported their missions and objectives as they were noble. Nonetheless, these institutions lost credibility and international hegemony because of their 1970s policies and terms and conditions to their debtors which we cannot adumbrate here. These institutions offered loans to many African states and imposed structural adjustment programmes and austerity measures on African states and many other non-Euro-American states. Structural adjustment programmes and austerity measures saw many states altering their fiscal policies through decreasing spending on numerous welfare programmes in compliance with Bretton Woods institutions loan terms…

Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was formally confirmed dead yesterday following genetic analysis, investigators said, as anger and questions over what caused his plane to crash earlier in the week continued to mount. Speculation that the Kremlin may have been involved in the crash has been rife, with the incident coming exactly two months after Wagner staged a mutiny against Moscow’s military leadership. “Molecular-genetic examinations have been completed as part of the investigation into the plane crash in the Tver region,” Svetlana Petrenko, a spokesperson from Russia’s Investigative Committee said. “According to their results, the identities of all 10 victims were established, they correspond to the list stated in the flight list,” she added. Among the nine other people listed onboard the Embraer private jet that crashed on Wednesday was…

London: London’s Metropolitan Police force said yesterday that it was taking security measures after “unauthorised access to the IT system of one of its suppliers”, following data breaches at other forces. The company in question had access to the names, ranks, photos, vetting levels and pay numbers for officers and staff, but not addresses, phone numbers or financial details. The Sun on Sunday reported that “cybercrooks penetrated the IT systems” of the firm which prints identity cards and staff passes for the Met, the UK’s biggest police force. The Metropolitan Police Federation said the breach would “cause colleagues incredible concern and anger”. | AFP…

PORT SUDAN: The army-controlled city of Port Sudan has become a refuge from the war raging to the west, but its health system is in near collapse due to power cuts and scarce supplies – and staff shortages now exacerbated by striking doctors. Doctors and nurses in the Red Sea city say they have not been paid for four months, as the Sudanese government’s budget has been decimated by fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Doctors in Port Sudan have had to grapple with power cuts, intense humidity, and medicine shortages, while patients are kept in close confines although many have respiratory illnesses, hospital officials said. | Reuters…

LOCH NESS: Hundreds of hopeful volunteers joined a two-day hunt for Scotland’s fabled Loch Ness monster on Saturday and yesterday, in the biggest search for the elusive “Nessie” in over 50 years. The Loch Ness Centre, which partnered with voluntary research team Loch Ness Exploration to organise The Quest, said they would be using surveying equipment that had not previously been tried at the loch, including thermal drones. Volunteers from around the world were allocated locations around the 37km-long lake from which to monitor for any signs of Nessie. A hydrophone was also used to detect acoustic signals under the water. The first written record of a monster relates to Irish monk St Columba, who is said to have banished a “water beast” to the depths of the River…