Table of contents for 2022-02-15 in Mercury

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za SHAREHOLDERS of recovering construction, mining services and steel trading group Aveng were spooked by yesterday’s forecast of much lower interim headline earnings, and their share price slid 24.1 percent to R20.15. Aveng said yesterday it expected to report operating earnings of between R210 million and R218m for the six months to December 31, 2021 compared with R280m. Headline earnings were expected to fall to between R14 million and R19m, representing a decline of between 67 percent and 83 percent. Diluted headline earnings per share of between 11 to 14 cents per share would fall by between 95 percent to 94 percent, with the decline mainly due to an accounting adjustment and the effects of two rights issues, and a share consolidation on the number of shares in…

Our health has suffered as a result of the fast-paced lifestyle dictated by our ambitions. With time, most people are shifting away from sedentary lifestyles and towards fitness. There appears to be a noticeable increase in the availability of healthy products which, in turn, play an important role in overall wellness. The products found in the kitchen are of a niche nature, but are more beneficial. One of the most important is our cooking oil. The technique of obtaining these oils, however, is extremely important in terms of their health advantages. Cold-pressed oil is gaining popularity, since the method of preparation ensures that the antioxidant content, as well as the flavour and nutritional value, are preserved. Refined oil is treated using alkalis, bleaching agents and acids, which provide consistent viscosity…

Siyabonga Mkhwanazi siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za SPARKS flew in Parliament yesterday as opposition parties took on President Cyril Ramaphosa over his State of the Nation Address (Sona), saying it failed to address major problems facing the country. EFF leader Julius Malema fired the first salvo, accusing Ramaphosa of failing to address the issue of unemployment by saying it was the private sector that created jobs and not the government. Malema listed a number of countries where the state had created jobs through its entities. DA leader John Steenhuisen said Ramaphosa had failed to deliver on many fronts with bottlenecks in the state and paralysis in government. However, Steenhuisen said Ramaphosa was at least honest in his Sona on Thursday when he “read from the DA’s manifesto” with his key policy interventions. Malema said…

YOUR mental-emotional-spiritual health and well-being and your physical health are inextricably interconnected and are not fixed conditions. They mesh, merge and powerfully influence each other and cannot be neatly separated. We are at our best when they (body, mind, spirit, soul, emotions) are friends, working together for our well-being. Your overall well-being (and mine) shifts; it ebbs and flows, depending partly on outside factors, but largely on internal factors. The good news is that improvement in one area impacts the others. Take a long walk, run or swim every day for a month and not only will your physical condition improve, your thinking will sharpen as will your outlook on life. Contrarily, eating unhealthy meals will affect your emotions and darken your outlook and probably impact your sleeping (too little…

| Albert Einstein OKAY, fellas, you can come down from the trees. Valentine’s Day is past. Life returns to normal. And a compilation comes this way to show why men are such happy-go-lucky fellows. So much is stacked in their favour: Your surname stays put. Wedding plans take care of themselves. Chocolate is just another snack. You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park. You can wear no T-shirt to a water park. Car mechanics tell you the truth. The world is your urinal. You never have to drive to another petrol station restroom because this one is just too yucky. You don’t have to stop and think which way to turn a nut. Wrinkles add character. Wedding dress – R15 000. Tux rental – R900. People…

FAROUK ARAIE | Gauteng THE conflict in Ukraine is clearly about power, and the projection of power. It is about regime change, involving full-spectrum warfare. Those who engage in acts of war, remain undeterred about the consequences of failure, which will certainly lead to atomic obliteration. Nato’s quest to expand inch by inch into former Soviet areas of influence, will lead to the most brutal war in Europe that will exceed the ferocity and destruction caused by both world wars. Europe and the world will experience peace only if Nato is disbanded. Nato has outlived its purpose. It was formed after the mayhem of World War II, to rebuild Europe and to keep “the Russian Bear” at bay. Nato leaders fail to realise that President Vladimir Putin is prepared…

AN update on the investigation into the large-scale deaths of Cape fur seals off the South African and Namibian coasts has returned inconclusive results with no official cause determined. The deaths began in September 2020. The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), the Western Cape State Veterinary Services and the Cape Of Good Hope SPCA jointly released an update on the investigation which showed that the deaths had resulted from a variety of factors, including malnutrition. However, what caused the malnutrition has not been established and the researchers said they would continue to look into the matter. SPCA chief inspector Jaco Pieterse said dead and dying seals from the mortality event were still continuing to appear but the numbers in the Cape Town area had reduced since the…

ASTRONOMERS using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile have found evidence of another planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, the closest star to our solar system and the closest to the sun. The newly discovered planet, named Proxima d, orbits Proxima Centauri at a distance of about four million kilometres, less than a tenth of Mercury’s distance from the sun. This candidate planet is the third detected in the system and the lightest yet discovered orbiting this star. At just a quarter of Earth’s mass, the planet is also one of the lightest exoplanets ever found. These findings are published in the Astronomy & Astrophysics journal. “The discovery shows that our closest stellar neighbour seems to be packed with interesting new worlds, within reach of further study and future…

| Mercury Correspondent THE Department of International Relations and Co-operation’s (Dirco) R50 million donation to Cuba has not been well received by non-profit organisations (NPOs) in the country, who have since come together and created a petition to call for the donation to be halted. Through Hunger Relief Coalition, they are attempting to stop the donation being made by the department to Cuba, which has been affected by food security problems due to sanctions imposed by the US. In the petition, they said the government should rather focus on hunger relief. The announcement of the intended donation was made by Dirco Deputy Minister Alvin Botes, on February 2, to the department’s parliamentary portfolio committee. It gave the ministry the go-ahead, saying it understood and valued the historical-political connections between…

Deficiencies have resulted in delayed project completion, increased costs and losses PUBLIC infrastructure has been the subject of discussion in recent weeks – a matter that has been receiving attention from the national audit office for a number of years. The matter received special attention in the 2020/21 PFMA report that Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke tabled in December. We are pleased that the matter is receiving attention particularly from the public works portfolio which is responsible for infrastructure in government. It is widely accepted that South Africa’s economic recovery from the devastation of the Covid-19 pandemic and social unrest hinges on infrastructure development. And one of the key initiatives in the South African Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan is aggressive infrastructure investment, which will lead to employment opportunities, skills development and…

Germany must act immediately to prevent the hanging of a national detained in Iran who risks the death penalty on charges vehemently denied by his supporters, his family and activists said yesterday. Anti-regime activist Jamshid Sharmahd, 66, appeared in court in Tehran earlier this month charged with “spreading corruption on Earth” over accusations of involvement in a bombing at a mosque in 2008. If convicted on this charge, which campaigners say is often used against opponents of the government, he could face execution. “It is of the utmost importance that the German federal government act immediately to prevent the planned state assassination of Mr Sharmahd,” his daughter Gazelle and more than two dozen other activists said in an open letter to German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. “We urge you to…

A major US-Canada border crossing reopened late yesterday almost a week after it was forced shut by truck driver-led protests against coronavirus restrictions, prompting police to quell the demonstration with a series of arrests. The blockading of the Ambassador Bridge, which handles an estimated 25 percent of trade between the two countries, had disrupted business in the world’s largest economy and forced automakers in the US and Canada to halt or scale back production. The demonstrations, which have also paralysed the Canadian capital Ottawa, have sparked similar movements in France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand. Some US truckers are considering a protest for March. “The Ambassador Bridge is now fully open, once again allowing the free flow of commerce between the Canadian and US economies,” the Detroit…

Mike Greenaway mike.greenaway@inl.co.za At the weekend, the Sharks confirmed that Bltizboks boss Neil Powell will join them in a newly created position of director of rugby, and there were also rumours from France that Bok bruiser Eben Etzebeth has all but signed with the Durbanites. Powell was originally signed as a defence coach but will now head the overall coaching structures at the Sharks, be it the Currie Cup or the United Rugby Championship. Etzebeth, should he agree a salary cut from what he was earning at Toulon, would be the latest key Springbok to move to Durban, in the slip-stream of fellow former Stormers Siya Kolisi and Bongi Mbonambi. All of these changes at the Sharks have come after the highly publicised buy-out by an American-based consortium. Prior to…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za IRONGATE Group (IAP), the Australian property group that is also listed on the JSE, has agreed with the Charter Hall partnership to share information for a due diligence that might pave the way for IAP’s acquisition. IAP’s board has rejected three offers from Australian investment firm 360 Capital over the past year, and the offer from the Charter partnership is the first time since the IAP’s board have agreed to let the bidding party do a due diligence. IAP was formerly known as Investec Australia Property Fund. The Charter Hall partnership comprises Dutch pension fund PGGM and Charter Hall, and they have offered to acquire all of IAP’s shares for AU$1.90 cash each. The AU$1.90 represents an implied price per IAP security of R20.61, based on the…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za OPPOSITION parties in the eThekwini Municipality want the metro to be more aggressive in collecting money owed to it by government departments, parastatals and big businesses. The latest report on municipal debt showed the council is owed more than R17 billion. The debt has been on an upward trajectory for the past few years. To date, government debt is standing at around R1bn. While other municipalities, such as the City of Tshwane, have recently shown aggressive tactics in going after government and private businesses, eThekwini was non-committal on such actions only saying it was collecting from owing customers and disconnections were taking place. The DA-led City of Tshwane caused a stir last week when it embarked on a campaign to disconnect water and electricity to state…

JENNY SMITH | Durban North Last time I looked, we were living in a democracy here in South Africa. It may be a tenuous one, but at the moment, we can still exercise our right to vote. To open today’s Mercury (Monday, February 14) and see Marianne Bailey asking for Dr Duncan du Bois to be censored because she has a different point of view, is just ludicrous. Joining her in shockingly personally slating Du Bois are Messrs Cartwright and Reuning. No one knows what is in these MNRA vaccines, which are nothing like previously approved childhood vaccines. Why is Pfizer fighting in court to withhold this information for 55 years? So far, the vaccines have not stopped the spread of the virus – it is naturally becoming…

MICHAEL TARR | Morningside I AM astounded by the amount of coverage and column inches The Mercury letter page gives to former DA and Freedom Front Plus member Duncan du Bois. Several weeks ago, I wrote about the misinformation continually churned out by Du Bois who chooses facts that suit his agenda in his continual anti-vaccine barrage. Yesterday, February 14, he was at it again, and next to his latest rant was another letter that supports my views and I am sure that of many others. The writer says in the second paragraph: “I have no idea why The Mercury gives so much column space to the right-wing, anti-vax drivel continually spouted by Duncan du Bois but I believe it is now high time for your publication…

Facebook owner Meta is struggling to stop counterfeiters from pushing fake luxury goods from Gucci to Chanel across its social media apps, according to research and interviews, as the company barrels into e-commerce. Its platforms have emerged as hot spots for counterfeit offenders who exploit their range of social and private messaging tools to reach users, according to interviews with academics, industry groups and counterfeit investigators, who likened brands’ attempts at policing services like Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp to a game of “whack-a-mole”. “Facebook and Instagram are the key marketplaces where counterfeit goods get sold to members of the public. It used to be eBay 10 years ago, and Amazon five years ago,” said Benedict Hamilton, a managing director at Kroll, a private investigation company hired by brands hurt by…

| Mercury Correspondent A CONVICTED Mpumalanga serial killer has been sentenced to a total of 150 years behind bars for crimes, including the murder of five women. The 24-year-old Julius Mndawe was recently sentenced at the Mpumalanga High Court in Mbombela after being arrested in July 2019. Mndawe’s crimes were uncovered after one of his victims was reported missing and her cellphone was traced and found in his possession. After his arrest, Mndawe confessed to the murders to the police. SAPS provincial spokesperson Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said the bodies of the women were recovered in Masoyi, outside White River, in 2019. The murders happened between January 2018 and May 2019. “The five women, aged between 15 and 24, were buried in the yard of his residence in Numbi. “Mndawe…

Zelda Venter zelda.venter@inl.co.za ONE of the largest white rhino breeders in the world, John Hume, lost his legal bid to compel the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations to return 181 rhino horns estimated to be worth R10 million. Hume turned to the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria after the Hawks confiscated the horns three years ago during a crime operation. Two men who were transporting the horns from Hume’s vault in Centurion did not have the necessary transport permits. Clive John Melville and Petrus Steyn were arrested by the Hawks on April 13, 2019 at Skeerpoort in North West. They appeared in the Brits Magistrate’s Court, where they entered into a plea bargain. They were fined R50 000 and R25 000 respectively after pleading guilty to being illegally…

If the unemployment rate is an indicator of the South African economy, then a reading of the statistics highlights the grim nature of the challenge that lies ahead. Statistics South Africa revealed that the unemployment rate hit a new record high of 34.9% in the third quarter of last year. The expanded definition of unemployment, which includes discouraged job seekers, saw the rate rise 2.2 percentage points to 46.6%. Having a job, even a part-time or low-paying one, offers hope and the ability to pay some of one’s financial obligations. Not having any source of income brings uncertainty about paying bills and where the next meal will come from. This is a reality for many South Africans. Youth unemployment is too high and almost half the economically active population…

A strike by Zimbabwean teachers that has crippled learning entered a second week yesterday, with no resolution in sight after the government suspended 135 000 teachers for failing to report for work. Many teachers did not report for work when schools opened for the first term of the new year last week, saying they could no longer afford the commute from their home to the classroom. An AFP correspondent who toured schools in the capital Harare found students milling around the grounds or playing in classrooms. Some schools were completely abandoned with neither teachers nor pupils present. Teachers in Zimbabwe earn on average US$100 (about R1 500) a month. Last Thursday, the education ministry said it was suspending teachers for three months for failing to report for duty. Unions…

moscow: The wife of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny lashed out at Russian authorities yesterday, on the eve of a new trial that could extend his sentence by over a decade. Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s most vocal domestic critic, was jailed last February for two and a half years on old fraud charges after surviving a poisoning attack that he and the West blame on the Kremlin. Today, a hearing has been scheduled outside Moscow on additional fraud and contempt of court charges against Navalny. “Listen you, cowards and scoundrels! I demand that I am allowed to attend my husband’s trial,” Yuliya said. | AFP…

Staff Reporter Proteas Test No 3 Keegan Petersen was named ICC Player of the Month yesterday. Petersen, who was nominated alongside South Africa Under-19 star Dewald Brevis and Bangladesh pacer Ebadot Hossain, took home the award after a phenomenal Test series against India. Petersen played a pivotal role as SA came back from 1-0 down to win the three-match series 2-1. In the second Test, he scored 62 in the first innings, helping the Proteas gain a slender lead. In their chase of 240, he scored a crucial 28 runs. In the final Test, Petersen scored a fifty in each innings, including a superb 82 in a challenging fourth-innings chase of 212 that helped SA complete their comeback. He ended the series as the highest run-scorer with 276 runs and…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za FINANCE Minister Enoch Godongwana faces mounting pressure to introduce a universal basic income grant (BIG) and drop austerity measures amid crippling poverty and rising unemployment levels in South Africa. A group of about 70 members of the Assembly of the Unemployed (AoU) yesterday staged a sit-in at the National Treasury, calling for the implementation of a BIG and protesting against budget cuts. The AoU and other civil society movements have long campaigned for the implementation of a BIG of R1 500 a month for all unemployed between the ages of 18 and 59. AoU spokesperson Princess Majola said the grant should also include caregivers, home-based workers, and workers who earned below the national minimum wage. “This will bring much-needed relief to millions of South Africans who are…

Sibusiso Mboto sibusiso.mboto@inl.co.za The KwaZulu-Natal government received more than 200 applications for cannabis cultivation permits in the past year, a sign that there is a great deal of interest for many to enter the industry. This was revealed by the Moses Kotane Institute (MKI), which is an entity that falls under the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs. After President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement last week regarding government’s efforts to move towards formalising cannabis trade, several role- players, including farmer formations, have expressed interest in exploring cannabis cultivation, saying it could be the game-changer for the South African economy. MKI chief executive Dr Thandeka Ellenson said they had in the past conducted research on the cannabis industry and this prompted the province to consider the economic opportunities that could…

Fishing nets that glow green with LED lights may prevent sea turtles, sharks and rays, including many threatened species, from becoming accidentally entangled, a study has found. Experts say by-catch, the unwanted fish and marine life caught by commercial fishing, accounts for 40% – or 38 million tons – of the world’s global catch. The study published in the journal Current Biology compared the performance of ordinary gill nets to illuminated ones off the coast of Baja California, Mexico. Overall, by-catch was down by 63% and there was a 95% reduction in sharks, skates and rays caught in the glowing nets. Why the LED lights work so well on some species such as sharks remains a mystery. “Jesse Senko, a marine conservation biologist at Arizona State University who conducted the…

GABI MARAIS | Winston Park IN HIS latest letter (The Mercury, February 14), Duncan du Bois plays the religion card. He mentions Christian publications – honest and authentic sources. May one point out that Christianity is not the only religion in the world? Where one comes from and how one grew up can and will determine the religion one subscribes to. Also, there is no link between religion and science. Science is based on empirical facts that have been determined in a logical way, whereas religion is based on a non-verifiable narrative. There is a difference between faith and knowledge. With reference to Dr Mark Trozzi, whom he has mentioned before, the man is renowned as a “conspiracy theorist” and has been for a long time, even before…

MMABATHO TEMBE | DA MPL and KZN Spokesperson on Social Development Child Welfare KwaZulu-Natal is one of the biggest organisations that deals with children in our province and that implements the Child Protection Act. The organisation has, for many years, provided an essential service to government, working with a number of affiliates that assist in social issues and programmes around the province. Child Welfare’s social workers also deal with extensive cases and massive case loads, sometimes exceeding the limit of 60 per social worker. In some instances, social workers are handling double the maximum. Regrettably, these social workers are also provided with few resources and must also use their own vehicles to go from area to area. Despite this, they are paid less than social workers within…

MERCURY CORRESPONDENTS South Africa’s visa application process is being streamlined and modernised to make it easier for people to travel to the country for tourism, business and work. So said President Cyril Ramaphosa in his State of the Nation address last Thursday. “The world over, the ability to attract skilled immigrants is the hallmark of a modern, thriving economy. We are therefore streamlining and modernising the visa application process to make it easier to travel to South Africa for tourism, business and work,” Ramaphosa said. He added that the eVisa system has been launched in 14 countries, including China, India, Kenya and Nigeria. “A comprehensive review of the work visa system is under way, led by a former director-general of Home Affairs, Mavuso Msimang. This review is exploring the possibility…

A 35-year-old man has been sentenced to 18 years in jail after he defrauded Walter Sisulu University (WSU) of R1.2 million. Siyambonga Mhlakaza was sentenced in the Mthatha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court to 18 years on charges of money laundering and 15 years on 81 counts of fraud. The court ordered that the sentences run concurrently. Mhlakaza pleaded guilty and admitted to being part of a scam that saw allowances meant for financially disadvantaged students and the salaries of academic staff diverted to his personal bank accounts. A probe into the matter revealed at least 81 students, some of whom ended up dropping out of university due to financial challenges, were affected. In his plea explanation, Mhlakaza claimed he was approached by an employee of WSU, who worked in the…

Zama Ngcoya zama.ngcoya@inl.co.za Four more charges were added to the charge sheet of a 50-year-old alleged serial rapist when he appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court yesterday. The man, who cannot be named until he has pleaded to the charges, faces six charges of rape. The charges include the rape of a minor. The accused made his first court appearance on February 1. At that hearing, the State said he had been positively linked to the rape of two women through the use of DNA evidence. The two victims were a 36-year-old woman and a 14-year-old minor. The court heard yesterday that during an identity parade held last week Friday, four other victims had positively identified the accused as the man who had allegedly raped them. The accused was nabbed…

The first Powerball jackpot for this year, a whopping R167 million, has been won by a KwaZulu-Natal resident. According to National Lottery Ithuba, the draw from February 11, has been won by someone who bought the ticket in Ballito. The person spent R150 on a quick-pick selection. Ithuba’s CEO Charmaine Mabuza said: “This is the second highest jackpot for the National Lottery behind the R232 million PowerBall jackpot in February 2019. And to make it sweeter, one winner won the second division pay-out of R914 445.50, which is the second highest single win for this division.” Ithuba urged players to check their tickets and to claim their winnings. Mabuza said a team of financial advisors and psychologists were available to offer advice and counselling at no cost to the winners.…

Climate change is one of the biggest challenges we are going to face in our lifetimes. Suddenly, nothing seems predictable any more as far as weather patterns are concerned. The task of creating a better future is one that should occupy all of us. UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, speaking during a UN Security Council debate on Security in the Context of Terrorism and Climate Change, said: “When climate disruption contributes to pressure on institutions and hinders their capacity to provide public services, it fuels grievances and mistrust towards authorities.” The recent inclement weather in KwaZulu-Natal left a trail of death and destruction. Our province lost 35 innocent lives and there was close to R5 billion in damages to both public and private infrastructure. Similarly, last year KZN experienced the…

Moscow: Russia said yesterday that a diplomatic solution to Moscow’s stand-off with the West was still possible, and that some of its military drills were ending, after tensions over Ukraine reached fever pitch. The comments came after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz landed in Kyiv for crisis talks before a visit to Moscow to head off what Berlin said was the “very critical” threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. During a televised meeting with President Vladimir Putin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said “there is always a chance” to reach an agreement with Western countries over the stand-off. He told Putin that dialogue with leaders in European capitals and Washington should continue, and that “opportunities are far from exhausted” for a resolution. “I would suggest continuing” talks, Lavrov said. On…

French police shot dead a man who lunged at them early yesterday with a long-blade knife at Paris’s Gare du Nord train station, police sources said. The man attacked two police officers on patrol at the station, one of Europe’s busiest, with a 30cm knife with the English slogan ACAB (All Cops Are Bastards) written on the blade, said one police source. “Police used their firearms, thus eliminating all danger for themselves and for travellers,” Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin wrote in a tweet. The attack occurred at about 7am local time, he said. The station is the hub for Eurostar trains to and from London and Thalys trains that link France with Belgium and the Netherlands, as well as high-speed trains to the French north. A France Television journalist who…

Colombo: Armed men stormed the home of a high-profile Sri Lankan television journalist critical of the government yesterday, police said, sparking condemnation by local media rights groups. Chamuditha Samarawickrama, who had criticised the powerful ruling Rajapaksa family and their allies in recent broadcasts, including on YouTube, was shaken but unhurt after the pre-dawn raid, police said. “They carried weapons to intimidate the guard and gained access to the housing compound,” a police official said, adding that forensic experts had been called in to launch an investigation. “There were at least three armed men and they travelled in a white van,” Samarawickrama said. “I heard shots fired. They smashed my windows and threw faeces at the house. It was captured on CCTV.” “I don’t know who is behind this attack, but…

Joao Cancelo believes Manchester City deserve to win the Uefa Champions League, saying the team are “embracing” the pressure of trying to go one step further than last season, when they lost to Chelsea in the final. The Premier League leaders have dominated English football under Pep Guardiola, winning three league titles in four years, but success in Europe has proved elusive. Portugal defender Cancelo, speaking ahead of the first leg of City’s last 16 tie away to Sporting Lisbon today, said the club, who lost 1-0 to the Blues in the 2021 final, had the quality to lift the trophy. “We are a very strong team,” he said. “The players know how to deal with the pressure of getting to the final, but we are going up against the…