Table of contents for 2022-03-10 in Mercury

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za BUSINESS confidence in South Africa remained in contractionary territory despite slightly improving at the beginning of this year, buoyed by strong domestic sales and exports. However, Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) yesterday warned that business sentiment could well be dealt a blow by geopolitical tension in eastern Europe between Russia and Ukraine. The RMB/BER Business Confidence Index (BCI) increased to 46 points in the first quarter of 2022 after remaining unchanged at 43 points in the fourth quarter of 2021. This means that business confidence this quarter reached its highest level since the second quarter of 2021 before the July civil unrest. Although this is just below the neutral- 50 mark reached in the second half of last year, RMB said the latest reading was nonetheless…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za THE KwaZulu-Natal government has tabled an ambitious budget that has set aside billions of rand this financial year to finance infrastructure projects that include the building of homes and schools, and the refurbishing of hospitals and roads. MEC for Finance Nomusa Dube-Ncube tabled the budget yesterday that listed a string of new infrastructure projects to be undertaken soon. Dube-Ncube tabled the budget for the 2022/23 financial year before the provincial legislature. Her budget showed that over the next three years, the province would spend an average of R18 billion on infrastructure each financial year. A look at the infrastructure investments to be undertaken by the three departments at the core of service delivery – Education, Health and Human Settlements – shows that in the current financial year,…

MALCOLM MITCHELL | Hillcrest The letter written by Pat Marshall in your March 8 edition mirrors my feelings and experiences more than any other letter I have read in recent years. Like Pat, I too am 86 years of age, and also, like him, I do not consider myself to be an idiot. In fact, I completed my second PhD at the age of 74. Also, like him, I fail to understand why banks seemingly pay no attention to banking problems faced by that segment of society who retired before, as he puts it, “computers became an essential part of life”. In fact, he and I both had our education before the advent of ballpoint pens. I will not dwell on the problems we both seem to experience…

LUNGISANI ZONDI | Durban A new kid on the block in the local government sphere left me thinking. I can safely welcome the new kid because the traditional unions are now not the real voice of the workers in the sector. Instead of fighting for workers, they focus on who is better than the other in servicing workers. In some instances, workers are deserted because of deals cut with management that benefit shop stewards. We have witnessed shocking representation and poor accountability in recent times – the workers have accepted that they are on their own. Maybe the new kid will sensitise their counterparts to stand up and smell the coffee. Workers are exposed to harsh conditions, and given the economic downturn our country is facing, I foresee…

Durban’s own Terry Angelos’s White Trash deserves acclaim and attention. The cover quip by Jane Linley-Thomas says it is “flipping riveting”. That it is, indeed. And, more. Far more. If any venue on the planet where I teach family therapy had the courage to allow it, I would use the book as an essential text. I’d make it required reading for anyone wanting to study family therapy – in fact I’d come to Durban to do just that – because the memoir offers a graphic window into several pivotal elements of systemic family process. It is all there: triangulation, the power of invisible loyalties, our deep connection to our place of birth, family process – how the generations before us impact our individual lives for good and ill and how…

CALM may have been restored but the storm appears to be far from over. That is the warning we are sounding to our inept government, as we did in our editorial last week about the dangers of self-appointed community organisations targeting certain groups in society in the name of fighting crime. The ink of that editorial had barely dried when clashes erupted between members of a local grouping and foreign nationals in Alexandra township, Johannesburg, on Monday. Members of the so-called Operation Dudula, which has been leading the “inspections”, have been quick to claim they cannot be blamed for the violence as there could be another grouping. However, they have not condemned these actions. Central to our argument last week was, what happens when those targeted are armed with the…

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan, the effective leaders of their countries, have declined US requests to speak with President Joe Biden in recent weeks, reported The Wall Street Journal. Washington has been scrambling to drum up more international support for its sanctions policy, targeting Russia in the face of the country’s special operation to “demilitarise and de-nazify” Ukraine, while also hoping to contain surging oil prices. However, Saudi and Emirati officials have been increasingly vocal in their criticism of US policy in the Gulf and Middle East, US officials were cited by the publication as saying. “There was some expectation of a phone call, but it didn’t happen … It was part of turning on…

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s fuel import plans have been disrupted by a rapid spike in global crude prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, leaving the crisis-hit island nation struggling to pay for diesel amid power cuts as fuel pumps run dry, officials said. With foreign reserves plummeting 70% in the last two years to just $2.36 billion (about R35.8bn) by the end of January, Sri Lanka faces its worst economic crisis in years as crude stands at about $130 a barrel, or a near doubling since early December. “We are facing a very challenging situation,” KDR Olga, the secretary of the energy ministry, told Reuters yesterday.…

YUGEN MOODLEY | Durban It seems the only organisation that is against petrol price increases and which is very vocal is Pappi (People Against Petrol Price Increase) and its convener, Visvin Reddy. This organisation is making the public aware that there are solutions to the petrol price hikes if the government is prepared to listen. The only way to get our government to listen is by rolling mass action. Therefore, Pappi is approaching civil society, NGOs, unions and basically every citizen of South Africa to take part in protest actions to change the government stance on purchasing crude oil. At the moment, South Africa purchases its crude oil from Opec countries. Opec seems to be like another cartel that demands countries to buy oil from them at an…

SIMON T DEHAL | Verulam Following the invitation of applications by public advertisement, eThekwini Municipality is in the process of appointing a new city manager on a fixed-term contract. Sipho Nzuza (Mshazi) was the last incumbent and had the “luxury” of being on full paid leave for about two years, having been suspended after being accused of fraud and corruption in the multimillion-rand waste removal tenders. It is hoped that the municipality will now be able to appoint an outstanding, extraordinary, innovative person with a proven track record regarding executive management and significant achievements, coupled with multifarious skills and out-of-the box thinking capability. The city can do with such a high-calibre person, especially as it has recently sunk to shocking low levels in executing its primary constitutional obligation…

Nicola Daniels and Zelda Venter “CANNABIS should be regulated similarly to alcohol, in respect of offences and appropriate penalties.” These were the words of State law advisor, advocate Sarel Robbertse, as he made a presentation to the portfolio committee on Justice and Correctional Services about possible revisions to the Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill. The bill aims to respect the right to privacy of an adult person to possess and consume cannabis while protecting adults and children against cannabis damage, among others. It will also provide for the expungement of criminal records of those convicted of possession or use of cannabis. In terms of the penalties, the amendments aim to address harsh penalties that may be imposed for certain contraventions. “Regulations… may prescribe penalties for any contravention thereof or failure…

Yogashen Pillay yogashen.pillay@inl.co.za ESKOM announced yesterday that it would move to stage 4 load shedding. Eskom said stage 4 load shedding would continue until 5am tomorrow to manage the emergency reserves. Eskom chief operating officer Jan Oberholzer said it was “critically important” to balance emergency resources to avoid a worse situation – such as implementing stage 6 power cuts. The Pietermaritzburg and Midlands Chamber of Commerce said that it was inconceivable that business should have to endure load shedding now, just as the economy was starting to ramp up again. Melanie Veness, chief executive of the chamber, said the latest round of load shedding was devastating and all businesses would be negatively impacted. “Most small businesses don’t have generators, so they can’t function at all during load shedding. “Industry, which…

With global tension running high over the past two weeks due to the conflict in Ukraine, the world has placed a microscope on elements that are critical for defining personal freedom, human rights and sovereignty. The ability to uphold rights and freedoms has been a yardstick to ensure the highest standards and quality of life are upheld as best as possible the world over. This is also meant to set the tone for how countries relate to one another. Our inability to accurately and objectively assess a country’s commitment to human rights and civil liberties is based on the fact that the general discourse is biased and convoluted. The most blatant and recent example of the skewed discourse of power has been the limited and one-side reporting of the Ukraine…

Security forces in eastern Chad killed at least 13 demonstrators, including a 12-year-old boy, who were protesting peacefully at a time of ethnic friction in their region, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said yesterday. People in the town of Abeche rallied against a plan to inaugurate an official who comes from the Arab community at a site reputedly reserved for the sultan of the native Ouaddaien community. On January 24, thousands of protesters were violently dispersed by soldiers, who killed three people and injured at least 40, HRW said in a joint statement with the Chadian Convention for the Defence of Human Rights. The following day, at a funeral for those who had died, “soldiers indiscriminately shot live rounds again, killing an additional 10 people and injuring at least 40”, they…

Morgan Bolton morgan.bolton@inl.co.za Sharks Starting XV: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Sbu Nkosi, 13 Jeremy Ward, 12 Marius Louw, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Curwin Bosch, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 7 Henco Venter, 6 Siya Kolisi (capt), 5 Reniel Hugo, 4 Gerbrandt Grobler, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche; Replacements: 16 Kerron van Vuuren, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Khutha Mchunu, 19 Le Roux Roets, 20 Phepsi Buthelezi, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Tito Bonilla, 23 Werner Kok HEAD Coach Sean Everitt will no doubt have been pleased as he scribbled in the names of his matchday 23 this week after he was afforded a level of consistency in selection when the Sharks face Scarlets at Jonsson Kings Park tomorrow (kick-off 7pm). The Sharks mentor finds himself…

Smiso Msomi smiso.msomi@inl.co.za PITSO Mosimane will reportedly take home a whopping salary of R60 million a year following the extension of his contract with Africa’s club of the century, Al Ahly. Mosimane’s contract has been extended by two years, a deal that confirms Al Ahly’s confident in the South African mentor. The R2.5m a month salary excludes bonuses. While his critics have argued that Mosimane does not deserve a contract renewal with the African football kings, the statistics tell a very positive story about the former Mamelodi Sundowns coach. Mosimane has been in Egypt for about two years now and has won two back-to-back CAF Champions League and Super Cup titles. He also won his second consecutive Club World Cup bronze medal with the Red Devils, becoming the first manager…

For the roughly 300 known octopus species dwelling in the world’s oceans, having eight arms is a defining characteristic. But that is not the way it started. Scientists said yesterday that a fossil unearthed in central Montana of a species named Syllipsimopodi bideni represents the oldest-known relative of today’s octopuses and boasts 10 arms, with two twice as long as the other eight. The fossil, so well preserved that it reveals two parallel rows of suckers up and down each arm, dates to about 328 million years ago. Syllipsimopodi, about 12cm long, had a torpedo-shaped body and squid-like appearance, which appeared much later. It also is the oldest-known creature with suckers, which enable the arms to better grasp prey and other objects. “The fossil greatly changes our understanding of how…

KEVIN GOVENDER | Shallcross A certain newspaper headline screamed “ANC wrong on Ukraine”. How right they were. The ANC government’s attitude towards the crisis in Ukraine is reckless, unsympathetic and insensitive. Our government had the audacity and political gauche to be one of the 35 countries that abstained from a vote at a UN General Assembly sitting who passed a resolution to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine. While 141 countries voted in favour, five countries, including Eritrea, voted against it. Abstention is an indication of showing support for Russia, a kind of convoluted ambivalence and a willy-nilly stance. Ukraine, at the moment, is akin to an iceberg waiting for the Titanic. The world, and indeed, Russia, underestimated their unparalleled tenacity and resilience. Of course, we all know that Russia has…

MOVIEGOERS in Austin, Texas, got to see a real bat during a screening of The Batman. It swooped about inside the theatre, putting the movie on pause while management called animal control and tried unsuccessfully to get the critter out, according to Associated Press. Patrons were offered their money back, but most chose to stick it out and watch the film “bat and all”. Management believe the bat was released into the theatre as a prank. They say they will in future “check all bags on patron entry”. A most sensible precaution. Otherwise people might start smuggling panthers, skunks, lions and tigers into wildlife movies. Elephants and rhinos would be a horrifying escalation. Crossbow issue I shot an arrow into the air, It fell to earth, I knew not where…

James Mahlokwane james.mahlokwane@inl.co.za The days of second-hand vehicle buyers paying thousands of rand for previously written-off vehicles could be coming to an end. The South African Insurance Association has agreed to make its vehicle salvage database public, after lobbying by the South African Motor Body Repairers’ Association. In South Africa, it had become a norm for people to purchase cars without having accessed the accident history. Customers spend money on cars they would not have purchased had they known about their previous accidents. This new development means that the VIN (vehicle identification number) for all previously insured written-off vehicles will be published on an open website for consumers to use. Richard Green, national director for the SA Motor Body Repairers’ Association, said they had pursued this matter to stop the…

Loyiso Sidimba loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za The National Prosecuting Authority has asked the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court to either jail ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) president and former Social Development minister Bathabile Dlamini, or hand her a hefty fine for lying under oath. Dlamini was yesterday convicted of perjury by Magistrate Betty Khumalo for lying under oath in affidavits filed at the Constitutional Court during an inquiry instituted by the court into the 2017 social grants debacle at the South African Social Security Agency. “I am satisfied that the accused (Dlamini) did (commit perjury), in her written statement, that I find does qualify as an affidavit as indicated. “Secondly, that she testified and gave false evidence at the section 38 inquiry,” Magistrate Khumalo found. The inquiry was established after Dlamini contravened section 38 of the…

Legislative reforms needed to protect rights of black women There is something telling from the experience of women like Queen Sibongile Zulu and Agnes Sithole, who have resorted to the courts to fight for their dignity and protect what is theirs. A country that continues to endure the uncomfortable reality that, even 25 years into our constitutional democracy, which envisages equal protection of everyone by the law, black people continue pushing against the remnants of the oppressive and discriminatory laws of the apartheid regime due to neglect by politicians, needs to grow up and get real, fast. That was the tone of the milestone Constitutional Court decision in the 2021 Sithole case, in which the provisions of the Matrimonial Property Act of 1984 were declared unconstitutional and invalid. They maintained…

HONG KONG is rushing to build facilities for Covid-19 patients, with drone footage showing construction work in full swing after a bridge linking the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen to the Asian financial hub opened. As a surge in Covid-19 cases overwhelms Hong Kong’s healthcare facilities, authorities have deployed mainland medical and construction workers, as well as building materials, to speed up efforts to contain an outbreak of the virus. Drone footage over the rural Hong Kong district of Lok Ma Chau close to the border with China showed a huge building site next to fish ponds and lush wetlands. Dozens of makeshift tents and a steady stream of trucks taking materials across the new bridge were also visible as building at the site ramps up to construct a temporary…

THE goalkeeper position is one that requires a great deal of stability and consistency. However, the 2021/22 season has seen an unfamiliar trend of rotation emerging amongst DStv Premiership clubs. Brandon Peterson of Kaizer Chiefs made his third start of the season in the recent Soweto Derby, taking over from Daniel Akpeyi, who had played majority of the league games in the Amakhosi set-up. A similar system is also employed at Chippa United, Golden Arrows, Marumo Gallants, Baroka and Swallows FC. Those that have managed to find a constant figure in the last line of defence have benefited from the reliability and solidity that it provides. IOL Sports' Smiso Msomi looks at the favourites for 2021/2022 Goalkeeper of the Season award. The legendary Ugandan international has once again lived…