Table of contents for 2022-12-13 in Star

Recently, award-winning rapper Nadia Nakai started her morning with a visit to radio station Kaya 959 for their breakfast show with Sol Phenduka and Sammy T, real name Tongai Mundawarara, who was standing in for Dineo Ranaka. A clip of part of the interview where Sammy T is asking Nakai about her relationship with her former label boss, Cassper Nyovest, has since been circulated. Sammy T asked the reality TV star if being associated with the guys works for her on a relationship level. Nakai calmly but firmly responded that she was not in a relationship with Nyovest. She further stated that she is not “associated” with AKA but is dating him and was previously signed to Nyovest’s label Family Tree. The radio host went on to try…

THE government paid more than R130 million to 305 public servants who are on suspension with full pay and benefits. One, an employee of the Gauteng Economic Development, has been on full pay for four years. These were the revelations of the Acting Minister of Public Service and Administration Thulas Nxesi in his written reply to questions from the DA spokesperson for public service and administration Dr Mimmy Gondwe in the National Assembly. Gondwe asked Nxesi to give details about the total number of suspended officials as well as charges against them, including any punitive measures taken against the 305 officials. Nxesi confirmed an official in Gauteng had been suspended for four years for fraud. Another official had been suspended for 902 days for misuse of petrol card.…

IT HAS been a journey of more than two decades for “Please Call Me” inventor Nkosana Makate to receive adequate compensation for his invention. However, the fight is not over as the legal tussle will now be heard in the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) next year. Vodacom is appealing the judgment delivered by the North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, in February ordering its CEO, Shameel Joosub, to go back to the drawing board to calculate exactly what Makate should get for his invention. Judge Wendy Hughes made it clear in her ruling that the calculations used by Joosub in offering Makate R47 million for what she called a brilliant invention was by far too conservative. But Vodacom will not budge and has turned to the SCA. Makate is…

Human Rights Day, on December 10, was a reminder human rights are God-given rights and all humans are born with equal rights to grow and develop their potentialities with equal opportunities. Human rights became a subject of great importance to the global community after the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948. Since then, over a 100 human rights documents or instruments have been adopted at international and regional levels and ratified by governments. Despite these commendable efforts, there is little emphasis on safeguarding rights within the family in the current human rights dialogue. Most activities undertaken in the name of human rights are related to violations of civil and political rights etc., and it appears that the family has an insignificant role to…

South Africa and China were able to reach each other last Thursday at a book review that linked the two countries with nature’s gift of the vocation of motherhood. Academics, poets, and people from different races and creeds gathered in Sandton for the review of Peng Xueming’s latest book, Njang, which can be loosely translated to Mom in English. Xueming is a prominent Chinese writer and the director of the Chuanglian Department of the Chinese Writers Association. The book has life lessons for all across different racial lines, with themes such as love, mortality, economic challenges, and forgiveness. Mom is a memoir by the Hunanese writer. It has struck a chord in societies like China’s, where, due to recent urbanisation and its associated socio-economic changes, traditional family ties have been…

AS we enter day 6 of Stage 6 load shedding, long-suffering South Africans find themselves at their wits’ end, praying for some light at the end of this dark tunnel of relentless power cuts, three times – and for up to 8 hours – a day. It’s unsustainable and unacceptable. You simply cannot live and work under these conditions. Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, apologised to the nation last week, saying the crisis was as a result of “malfunctioning within the Eskom systems and possibly sabotage”. It was one cause or the other, or both. The minister was not convincing in his explanation at all. Gordhan seemed to pass the blame on to mysterious saboteurs with unclear aims. And in yet another promise to solve the ailing power company’s…

JERUSALEM: A Palestinian teenage girl died after reportedly being shot by Israeli troops during a raid in the occupied West Bank yesterday. The local Khalil Suleiman Government Hospital pronounced the death of Jana Majdi Zakarneh, 16, saying she succumbed to a gunshot wound in the head. The Israeli military confirmed that its soldiers raided Jenin overnight to arrest “individuals suspected of terror involvement”. The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Zakarneh was shot while she was on her house rooftop and found dead by her family. Israel’s Ha’aretz newspaper said she was filming the raid. | Xinhua…

Former Mamelodi Sundowns captain Hlompho Kekana has expressed his views on the technical team changes at Chloorkop. Rhulani Mokwena and his charges are currently hard at work at Chloorkop as they look to put the final touches on their preparations ahead of the resumption of the Premiership at the end of the month. Mokwena has had an excellent start to his new role as the club's head coach, claiming two impressive victories while his team scored eight goals in those two league outings. Kekana, who made 339 appearances for the Pretoria-based club and captained them to numerous trophies, believes it doesn't matter who is handed the role of head coach at the club. “I don’t really think it’s a big deal (on who is the head coach), because in the…

Brazil’s quarter-final defeat on penalties came as a huge shock after the tournament favourites were knocked out by Croatia, but the South American side lost because their best shooters did not step up first in the shoot-out, Jurgen Klinsmann said yesterday. Croatia, the 2018 runners-up, stunned Brazil 4-2 on penalties after Marquinhos and Rodrygo failed to convert. Brazil’s joint all-time top scorer Neymar, who was fifth in line in the shoot-out, did not even get the opportunity to take his penalty after his teammates missed. “We were freaking out, it was real drama,” Klinsmann said at a Technical Study Group briefing. “We tried to discuss the difference between the drama from the Brazil game compared to the Argentina v Netherlands game and we came up with some ideas. “After conceding…

ELLIES Holdings said a headline loss per share (HLPS) of between 4.17 cents and 4.99 cents was expected for the six months to October 31, compared with 4.36 cents in the same period in 2021, as it shoulders restructuring costs. The manufacturer, importer, wholesaler and distributor of LED lighting, electrical and electronic products and solar solutions to the residential and commercial sectors, said in a trading statement yesterday it expected a loss per share (LPS) of between 3.95 cents and 4.73c compared with the 3.06c for the same period in 2021. Ellies’ share price slipped a cent to 15c yesterday afternoon on the JSE. “The trading environment continues to be constrained with consumers under pressure with rising costs as a consequence of the global inflationary environment, and increasing cost of…

Nine members have filed a high court application challenging ‘suspicious’ NEC nominations AGGRIEVED ANC members want detailed information of all branch nominations to be made public or for the matter to be placed on the agenda of this weekend’s national conference and decided by delegates before voting takes place. The nine members have lodged an application in the South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, to demand the publication of nomination figures that informed the published list of the top six and the 200 party members contesting for the 80 seats on the national executive committee (NEC) structure of the governing party. They accused ANC electoral committee chairperson Kgalema Motlanthe of hiding behind the renewal chorus to suppress internal democratic processes and the will of the branches ahead of the watershed national…

When this evaluation tool was introduced in the health services, the objective was to encourage and promote better work performance among employees, so that they aspire to that extra bonus of appreciation for outstanding work ethic and performance. It was the responsibility of the supervisor to observe and monitor everyone on their team ON how they discharge their duties on an ongoing basis. This process had to be guided by good ethics, knowledge and honesty on the part of the supervisor or head nurse in a health-care establishment. With corruption being so rife in every workplace, the tool was inevitably used to advance certain corrupt relationships where underperforming individuals were given very high evaluations because of certain favours, like special private gifts for the supervisor. Favouritism and victimisation suddenly played…

LIGHTING a joint prior to going to work can have dire consequences. While the Constitutional Court legalised the consumption of cannabis for private use, it definitely did not allow the use of the green herb while in the workplace. The Labour Court sitting in Johannesburg confirmed the dismissal of two workers who tested positive for the substance at work. The fact the two were employed by PG Building Glass as manufacturing operators, where they worked in a dangerous environment with large forklifts, extremely hot processes and dangerous chemicals and that the heavy glass could potentially cut or crush a person, were all the more reason for them adhering to their employer’s zero tolerance policy for drugs and alcohol, the court found. Trade union Numsa turned to court after the workers…

Swimming is at your own risk A large number of businesses in eThekwini on South Africa’s eastern seaboard – which includes the port city of Durban – rely heavily on tourism. It’s a popular holiday destination, only six hours by road from Johannesburg. Millions of people living inland head to the warm coastline over the country’s extended December/January school holiday break. But maybe not this year. As Anja du Plessis explains, many of the beaches along the Durban coastline aren’t safe to swim in. She explains what’s happened, and why. The city’s beaches are facing an ongoing sewage crisis. Many have been closed along the Durban coastline. From recorded water quality results, it is quite clear that most of the eThekwini municipality beaches are currently not safe for public and…

The European parliament scrambled yesterday to get ahead of the widening scandal of alleged huge cash bribes from figures working on behalf of World Cup host Qatar. One of the assembly’s vice-presidents, Greek socialist Eva Kaili, has been charged with corruption by Belgian prosecutors and her assets have been frozen by her homeland. Three of Kaili’s associates have also been charged, after bags of cash were found in her home shortly after she returned from an official visit to Qatar, and a second MEP’s house has been searched. EU foreign ministers, arriving in Brussels to discuss sanctions against Iran and Russia, warned that the scandal threatens the credibility of European institutions. “The allegations against the vice-president of the European Parliament are of utmost concern, very serious,” European Commission president Ursula…

KABUL: Armed men opened fire yesterday inside a hotel in central Kabul that housed some foreigners, two Taliban sources said, in the latest violence in Afghanistan as it tries to stabilise after the withdrawal of US-led foreign forces. The firing was continuing in the hotel in Shahr-e-Naw and a fire broke out on one of the floors, the sources said. Residents of the area said the attack was carried out at a building where Chinese and other foreigners usually stay. The attack took place near a Chinese guesthouse and that its embassy in Kabul was closely monitoring the situation. | Reuters…

“The fact that I am not in Australia is really motivating me to score as many runs as I can,” Ryan Rickelton stated after another match-winning performance for the DP World Lions in the CSA One-Day Challenge on Sunday. Rickelton, along with Western Province’s Tony de Zorzi, are the two in-form batters on the domestic circuit, but for Rickelton, his omission from the Proteas touring squad for the three-match Test series Down Under hurts. He made 99 on Sunday in the Lions’ victory over the Gbets Rocks, falling one run short of what would have been his fourth century in the last month. “I’m obviously desperate to get back in the Test team again and pushing hard for an ODI spot, which would be great. The fire is burning inside…

The year 2022 said, “all baddies shall have babies”. This was definitely a baby boom year because almost everyone close to me had a child (some are still pregnant and will give birth next year, but that’s a story for another day. Most millennial influencers and media personalities became parents, proof that we are getting old. In celebration of parenthood, let’s look at the baddies who had babies. Rihanna When Riri announced her pregnancy in January, the internet broke. I mean, she’s always been known as the “bad gal”, and news that she was becoming a mother was exciting. Nonetheless, she broke society’s norms and expectations that a pregnant woman should be “covered”. The Work hitmaker was out and about, wearing clothes that revealed her bare baby pump. She gave…

FORMER president Jacob Zuma says money has become the determining factor of leadership in the ANC. Speaking at an ANC event in Ekurhuleni, where he also did a walkabout in Katlehong, Zuma said this was a precarious situation the party was facing because people had a sin of loving money. In a veiled attack on ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa over allegations that he used money to win the last conference, he alluded to the idea that Ramaphosa was famed for such practices. “At Nasrec (2017), he was famous for having a lot of money, and even now he’s still famous for that,” said Zuma. He said if people were truly in need of money, they should rather take whatever money was meant for a bribe and spend it all but…

POLICE have urged the public to use electronic funds transfers (EFT) instead of carrying large sums of money around to avoid getting robbed and endangering their lives. This after an incident involving members of a local stokvel under the Mongwaneng policing area who had R60 000 in cash looted after gathering to share the money on December 10. Police said two armed suspects robbed them of their money at the premises of one of the members of Tshware Village, Ga-Mamabolo. Lieutenant-Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said: “It is reported that the stokvel members gathered at the premises of one of the members at Tshware village, Ga-Mamabolo. At about 10.30am, before they could share their monthly contributions, two suspects appeared and ordered everyone to lie down. They took all the money, and before…

What was supposed to be a royal palace “bombshell” and a “declaration of war on the royal family” has turned out to be a damp squib. I refer to the Harry and Meghan docuseries. It will, no doubt, result in a furious backlash in the UK as the British have had enough of their whining and relentless attacks on the royal family. Their insults and ingratitude are a slap in the face to the British people. They have destroyed their ties with the British public and the royal family. It can also backlash in the US where the late Queen Elizabeth II was deeply loved and respected by the Americans. Accepting an award for their “heroic” stand against “structural racism in the royal family” is not going to enhance their…

It seems that self-serving interests are not only the domain of politicians. Recently, the Tongaat Hulett group, a once extraordinarily well-run organisation, was flat lined by corrupt and dubious directors and managers – their actions destroying the livelihoods of thousands. Spar, one of the largest retail groups in South Africa, has been exposed as being unethical, placing at risk franchisees who work their butts off in keeping the Spar name flying high. The shocking revelations at Spar have forced their chairman to step aside, and, no doubt, the axe is about to fall on senior managers who used hostile means to forcibly remove a number of their franchisees, leaving them out of pocket to the tune of millions. The level of disrespect shown by the Spar chairman and his cronies…

Ingredients 1 large fresh chicken 1 tray of traditional roasting vegetables olive oil for drizzling Stuffing 50g Nik-nak cheese snacks 125g diced bacon 1 small onion 1 medium ripe banana, peeled and diced juice and grated rind of a lemon 1 large egg optional extras: 3 small lemons, halved Method Prepare a kettle-braai with 2 firelighters and a 1/3 bag of briquettes piled generously around two edges, and open- burned until flames die down and the briquettes have turned grey. This provides for an indirect-method of roasting. Remove giblets Combine the stuffing ingredients and spoon firmly into the chicken cavity. Close up the cavity using toothpicks. Coat the chicken liberally with lemon-pepper. Place the chicken onto the kettle-braai grid along with an open tray of Traditional Roasting Vegetables, drizzled with…

When did humans first begin to speak, which speech sounds were uttered first, and when did language evolve from those humble beginnings? The questions have long fascinated people, especially in tracing the evolution of modern humans and what makes us different from other animals. George Poulos has spent most of his academic career researching the phonetic and linguistic structures of African languages. In his latest book, On the Origins of Human Speech and Language, he proposes new timelines for the origins of language. We asked him about his findings. Research carried out for this study indicates that the first speech sounds were uttered about 70 000 years ago, and not hundreds of thousands or millions of years ago, as is sometimes claimed in the literature. While my research has been…

LONDON: Heavy snowfall blanketed parts of Britain yesterday, disrupting airports, train networks and roads, while two coal plants were put on standby in case of a power crunch as the country recorded its coldest night of the year so far. Parts of London’s underground network were suspended or faced delays, while motorways were gridlocked due to snow. London’s Gatwick and Stansted airports warned flight schedules could be disrupted. Temperatures dropped below -15°C in northern Scotland, with the Met Office confirming it was the coldest night of the year. Three boys died and a fourth, 6, is critically ill after they fell into an ice-covered lake in Solihull, central England, on Sunday. | Reuters…

Jakarta: Indonesian officials have played down concerns about a new law criminalising sex outside marriage, saying foreign holidaymakers will not be charged as fears grow over the effect on vital tourism. Last week, the South-east Asian country’s parliament passed legislation approving jail terms of up to a year for anyone caught having sex outside wedlock. Co-habitation by unmarried couples can also be punished with six months in prison. The new criminal code still needs to be approved by President Joko Widodo and will not come into force for three years. | AFP…

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni defended his players from accusations of misconduct in their fractious World Cup quarter-final against the Netherlands, insisting yesterday that the game was played in the “right way”. The South American team have recovered from a shock defeat at the hands of Saudi Arabia in their opening group game in Qatar to reach the last four. But the two-time champions were heavily criticised following their bad-tempered last-eight clash with the Netherlands last week. Scaloni’s side threw away a two-goal lead against the Dutch at Lusail Stadium but eventually triumphed 4-3 in a penalty shoot-out. However, the game featured a World Cup record 18 yellow cards and multiple mass confrontations, and Fifa has since opened disciplinary proceedings against both sides. Argentina will be without Gonzalo Montiel and Marcos…