Table of contents for 2022-09-05 in Mercury

MSUNDUZI Municipality is clamping down on delinquent ratepayers who are failing to honour their debts and plans to disconnect hundreds of businesses, government departments and residents in the coming days as it seeks to recoup R500 million owed to the municipality. On Friday, the municipality kicked off the campaign and disconnected businesses and government buildings that owed the municipality for rates. “We are owed around R1.2 billion in rates alone, we cannot be owed rates,” said the acting city manager Nelisiwe Ngcobo during an interview with The Mercury yesterday. “I understand people owing us for water as there might be disputes, but we cannot be owed rates. One of the reasons we are having difficulty providing services is because we are owed so much,” said Ngcobo. Previous reports have revealed…

Cybersecurity researchers have successfully accessed Android and iOS smartphones remotely via charging cables, swiping touch screens without actually touching them. The smartphones they hacked from a distance were Samsung Galaxy S20 FE, Apple iPhone SE (2020) as well as devices from Huawei, LG, and Xiaomi. Security researchers from Zhejiang University in China and the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany demonstrated the first wired attack in those smartphones that creates ghost touches on capacitive touchscreens via charging cables, and can manipulate the victim devices with undesired consequences – allowing malicious Bluetooth connections, accepting files with viruses, etc. “Our study calls for attention to a new threat vector against touch screens that only requires connecting to a malicious charging port, which could be a public charging station, and is effective across various…

SALEH AL-TALIB, the former imam and scholar of the Grand Mosque in Makkah (Mecca) was recently imprisoned. Besides being a priest, he is also a judge with a huge international following. Globally, Muslims love his recitation of the Qur’an and for the Saudi regime to imprison him for exercising his legitimate rights conferred on him by the Sharia, Islamic Law, to promote good values, morals and forbid evil is truly unacceptable. With al-Talib’s recent imprisonment, the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation and the International Union of Muslim Scholars should send a delegation to Riyadh, requesting the unconditional and immediate release of Al-Talib, and all prisoners of conscience. It seems the Saudi regime is taking a tougher stance towards genuine religious scholars and critics who disapprove of the regime’s Crown Prince Mohammed…

KwaZulu-Natal Agricultural Union (Kwanalu) chief executive Sandy la Marque said members were extremely concerned about the significant economic and social impact of the ban on the movement of cattle in the province. She was commenting after Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Thoko Didiza, announced last week that the ban would remain in place due to the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak. Didiza said 11 new cases of FMD in KZN had been confirmed by a laboratory since the outbreak began in the province. She said five cases were reported in KZN, five in the Free State and one in Gauteng in the first week of the ban on the movement of cattle in South Africa. Didiza said this brought the total number of infected properties to 127. “These new…

Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has extended the Zimbabwean Exemption Permits for a further six months. The Zimbabwean Exemption Permits (ZEP) were to expire at the end of the year. Late on Friday night, Home Affairs announced that it had extended the ZEP from December 31, 2022 to June 30, 2023. Home Affairs spokesperson Siya Qoza said the department had appointed the Departmental Advisory Committee (DAC) led by Dr Cassius Lubisi to assess the visa applications lodged by affected Zimbabwean nationals. It also sought legal advice to handle court challenges relating to the decision not to extend the exemptions granted to the Zimbabwean nationals. “Dr Lubisi’s report states that the DAC has met on several occasions to execute its mandate, and its last meeting was held on September 1. “The…

The eThekwini Municipality has defended itself against the findings by the Office of the Auditor-General, which found that it failed to manage its water tankers properly during the floods disaster, thereby failing to deliver water adequately to all residents who needed water. In response to the findings, the municipality said via spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela: “The city notes the report of the auditor-general. We would like to point out that the city was hit by the worst floods in years that left a trail of damage. This was a disaster of great proportion, meaning that certain plans under these circumstances are likely to be derailed.” In the findings, the AG said the metro did not prepare a comprehensive needs assessment to ensure the effective delivery of water to all affected areas,…

A Mpophomeni councillor, under the uMngeni Local Municipality, has expressed fear for teachers after a random raid at a local high school last week saw the recovery of drugs and weapons. Ward 11 councillor Thulani Mthalane said the raid at Asibemunye High School, which involved local police and members of the Community Policing Forum was prompted by the stabbing of a pupil by a fellow pupil two weeks ago. “We realised that if we do not act swiftly the situation would get out of control, and so we conducted the raid last Friday,” said Mthalane. The discovery of drugs and weapons, the councillor added, did not come as a surprise. Among the items found were cigarettes, dagga joints, alcohol and knives. “The only thing that is…

THE sight of President Cyril Ramaphosa patching a pothole in Mpumalanga while his fellow ANC comrades watch in glee is very sad. By all accounts, it shows that the governing party’s leader, and his organisation, have normalised the abnormal. Under the guise of the party’s Letsema campaign, Ramaphosa and his fellow comrades spent the day weeding and filling potholes in Delmas, ostensibly as part of service delivery. This came after a senior leader of the ANC in Mpumalanga officially opened a water tap. The Letsema campaign was launched in Mangaung in April this year with the aim of “placing structures of the ANC at the forefront of resolving community challenges, including service delivery and social inclusion”. Road transport is important for South Africa. At least 93% of passengers and 87%…

HARARE: Zimbabwe’s measles outbreak has so far claimed 685 lives, the Ministry of Health said on Saturday, more than four times the cases reported almost a fortnight ago even as a nationwide vaccination programme continues. “Zimbabwe had 6 034 confirmed cases, including 4 266 and 685 deaths,” the ministry said in a posting on Twitter, adding that 191 new cases and 37 deaths were reported in a single day on Friday. Primarily children aged between six months and 15 years were succumbing to the disease, especially those from religious sects who do not believe in vaccination, Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa said. |…

Messages of shock and solidarity poured in from around the world at the weekend after a man tried to shoot Argentine Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner at point-blank range on Thursday night. President Alberto Fernandez said this was the “most serious event that has happened since we restored democracy” in 1983. He declared Friday a public holiday. Hundreds of thousands of Argentines descended on the capital’s main plaza on Friday in a show of solidarity against a shocking assassination attempt on the country’s vice president a day earlier, which triggered an outpouring of support in a country gripped by deep political polarisation and economic crisis. Buenos Aires’ historic Plaza de Mayo, next to the Casa Rosada presidential offices, overflowed with a crowd of her flag-waving supporters along with allied…

Voting finished on Friday after a two-month contest that saw the two final contenders tour the country taking part in hustings and televised debates. The result of the run-off between Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and former finance minister Rishi Sunak will be announced later today and before the outgoing Boris Johnson formally tenders his resignation to Queen Elizabeth tomorrow. Conservative Party chairperson Andrew Stephenson thanked the candidates for taking part in the often “gruelling schedule in good spirits”. Voting by the estimated 200 000 Conservative party members began in early last month, after Johnson announced his resignation in July following a slew of scandals and resignations from his government.…

Donald Trump branded Joe Biden an “enemy of the state” on Saturday as he hit back at the US president’s assertion that the Republican and his supporters are undermining American democracy. Trump was at a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, – where he took to the stage to support his candidate in the Senate race, physician and TV celebrity Mehmet Oz. Making his first public appearance since the August 8 raid, Trump told said the FBI search of his Florida residence was a “travesty of justice” and warned it would produce a backlash. “There can be no more vivid example of the very real threats from American freedom than just a few weeks ago, you saw, when we witnessed one of the most shocking abuses of power by any administration…

FNB SAID IN its Week Ahead note that StatsSA would publish gross domestic product (GDP) data for the second quarter of 2022 tomorrow. It expected the economy to have shrunk by 0.9 percent quarter-on-quarter during the second quarter underpinned by a myriad of headwinds. This is below the Bloomberg consensus forecast of a contraction of 0.5 percent quarter-on-quarter (based on five research houses at the time of writing). “While most sectors, as indicated by the high-frequency indicators, pointed to a quarterly contraction in GDP, the risk to our forecast lies with the personal services, finance, real estate and business services, and general government sectors,” it said. This risk was reflected in the Bloom- berg survey, with expectations for economists ranging between 0.5 percent quarter-on-quarter to -0.9…

A TRIP down Memory Lane. A collection of advertisements for Durban eateries of yesteryear comes this way: One free oyster with every dozen – Oyster Haven. For that elusive and rare combination of good atmosphere, good value and good Italian food. Bring (a lot of) your own wine and good cheer. – Aldo’s. As much curry as you like for R3.95 – Currie-Haven. Mixed seafood curry, R6.95 – The Hacienda. Angelique, exotic dancer supreme, Lunch Time Cabaret – Milner Gardens Hotel. REMEMBER! You haven’t eaten the best in Portuguese & seafood if you haven’t been to us! – Reastuarante. Preserving the heritage of the best traditions of Indian and Middle-East cooking and of Durban’s architecture – The British and Middle-East Indian Sporting & Dining Club.…

It is extremely sad to see how the eThekwini Municipality has transformed from an efficient, financially well-off entity from 30 years ago into its present bankrupt, useless, chaotic state. Recently their assets were seized due to the non-payment of a R43m debt which, of course, has resulted in the collapse of their already compromised billing system. To compensate for lost revenue, they now engage in the rather dubious practice of premature disconnection of consumers who are a few days behind, because they have not received their accounts despite being on the e-mail billing system. This, of course, will do wonders for the council coffers as not only will there be a disconnection fee of R439, but the reconnection fee. Adding salt to the wound is the inoperative call centre numbers…

THE tiny nation of Qatar is famous for so many reasons and they are about to add another feather in their cap by becoming the first-ever Arab country to host a Soccer World Cup. From pearls to petroleum, they are also hosts of the world-renowned Qatar Airways, known for their 5-Star rating. They are the headquarters for the Al Jazeera Media Network as well as being rich in oil and gas deposits and a big league exporter of liquified natural gas – of which they hold about 14% of the world’s reserves. In addition, it will be the first time ever that a World Cup will be held in winter and will be totally carbon neutral. Early estimates claim that least 1.5 million tickets have been sold. Thousands of international…

MINISTER of Transport Fikile Mbalula said Cabinet has approved the replacement of the driving licence card. The new card will have more secure design features and will be compliant with international driving licence standards. The outgoing licence card was introduced in 1998 and the production equipment procured in the same year, but the technology has become obsolete. Mbalula said: “We will publish the changes … in the Government Gazette. This will enable us to commence with the procurement process for the new production infrastructure next month. “The new card will be piloted from November 1, 2023 until March 31, 2024. The current driving licence card and the equipment used to produce it will be decommissioned on April 1, 2024. “However, there will be a five-year period of transition from…

An executive in the Office of the Auditor-General SA (Agsa) has landed himself in hot water over allegations he made about Auditor-General (AG) Tsakani Maluleke. Agsa said Maluleke had asked for an independent legal review after chief people officer (CPO) Mlungisi Mabaso accused her of “corrupt, unprofessional and unethical conduct” in a meeting in July. The watchdog body said Mabaso also allegedly wanted a financial settlement in exchange for not making the allegations public. However, Maluleke reported Mabaso’s conduct, along with the allegations he had made against her, to Deputy AG Vonani Chauke, who instituted an independent legal review by law firm Bowmans. “The legal opinion into the legality of the transactions and decisions made by Ms Maluleke has since been concluded, and has found no merit in the allegations…

THE move by the city to cut the amount of overtime pay that can be claimed by eThekwini Municipality workers is threatening to derail service delivery in the city, with different service delivery units striking or planning strikes in the coming week. Durban Solid Waste (DSW) staff members downed tools last month after their overtime pay was cut by limiting the hours they could work. The staff in the electricity department downed tools on Friday, apparently over the same issue. This week councillors in the Umbilo area complained about the lack of refuse collection in their area as some of the areas had not seen any collections or street sweeping for the past six weeks. They said they understood that the lack of service delivery was due in part…

The SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) in KwaZulu-Natal has called on taxi owners to assume more control over who drives their vehicles. The body was commenting after a taxi crash in Pietermaritzburg left five people dead yesterday. The taxi, which was travelling from Imbali township going to the CBD, crashed in Moses Mabhida Road. The KwaZulu-Natal Transport department said the driver of the minibus taxi lost control of the vehicle on the M70, instantly killing five people. “Upon examination, it was discovered that the minibus driver was under the influence of alcohol and has been detained,” the department said. Santaco KZN office manager Sifiso Shangase said: “Owners should be very careful because sometimes normal drivers pass the responsibility of driving on Sunday to their conductors because they are nursing hangovers…

It is in the interests of global peace that a fair and balanced agreement is reached with Iran and the world community regarding nuclear non-proliferation. It is purely an academic issue about Iran’s nuclear ambitions and intentions. There are other non-nuclear countries that could assemble nuclear weapons within two years if they choose to do so. They are South Egypt, Japan, Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Australia. According to reliable American and British intelligence reports, Iran has not yet taken the decision to acquire nuclear weapons. The irony of this whole nuclear saga is that Israel is a fully fledged nuclear military power, and has a doctrine that envisages nuclear first and second strike capabilities from land, air and sea. It has an impregnable second strike capability based on its advanced…

Jerusalem: Israeli President Isaac Herzog will attend a memorial in Germany today for the 11 Israeli athletes killed by Palestinian militants at the 1972 Munich Olympics when militants Black September stormed the team’s lodgings. The president’s trip to Munich follows a compensation deal reached last week between Germany and the families of the victims. The bereaved relatives were offered $28 million (about R484m) by Berlin, in addition to $4.5m granted previously. About 70 family members of victims will also attend the memorial, said Ankie Spitzer, whose husband Andre Spitzer was killed. The Israel Olympic Committee confirmed it would send a delegation to the September 5 memorial. |…

The global atomic energy watchdog said on Saturday that Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant had been disconnected from its last remaining main power line to the grid and is now relying on a reserve line. “Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) has once again lost the connection to its last remaining main external power line, but the facility is continuing to supply electricity to the grid through a reserve line. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was informed at the site,” the agency said. “Less than 48 hours after Director-General Rafael Mariano Grossi on Thursday established the presence of the IAEA Support and Assistance Mission to ZaporizhzhIa at the facility in southern Ukraine, the agency’s experts were told by senior Ukrainian staff that the ZNPP’s fourth operational 750 kilovolt power…

Los Angeles: US actress and activist Jane Fonda, 84, has announced that she has cancer, and has begun chemotherapy. “I’ve been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and have started chemo treatments,” she wrote on her verified Instagram account. “I’m also lucky because I have health insurance and access to the best doctors and treatments. “Almost every family in America has had to deal with cancer at one time or another and far too many don’t have access to the quality healthcare I am receiving and that’s not right,” Fonda wrote. |…

Marcus Rashford scored twice as Manchester United made it four wins in a row and ended Arsenal’s perfect start to the Premier League season with a 3-1 victory at Old Trafford yesterday. Gabriel Martinelli looked to have given Arsenal a 12th-minute lead after finishing off a swift break, but the effort was disallowed following a VAR review. Martinelli forced two saves out of United goalkeeper David de Gea as the visitors began to dominate but it was the home side who drew first blood through debutant Antony. The Brazilian winger, signed from Ajax last week, was found on the right by Rashford and coolly drifted a shot into the far bottom corner. Arsenal deservedly drew level when the outstanding Martin Odegaard threaded a ball towards Gabriel Jesus in the box…

THE next national elections may be two years away, but political parties are increasingly making it known that they will be open to coalition discussions, even if it means joining forces despite ideological differences. EFF leader Julius Malema earlier this month said his party was open to working with the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, despite his party being behind the motion to dislodge President Cyril Ramaphosa from his position over the Phala Phala farm scandal. Malema said his party had been approached by the newly elected leadership in the provinces, requesting a meeting to discuss the possibility of forming coalition governments, including the governing of municipalities. Malema said they would not ignore coalition discussions as they wanted the best services for communities. Also in KZN, the ANC is poised…

I have been encouraging the personal journey of “Differentiation of Self”, noting its importance to greater emotional and family health. Not to differentiate is to fuse (the refusal to be a separate person) with others and therefore place responsibility on others (or situations, predicaments and hurdles) for the ways our lives develop. These seven points will make it 18, if you have been following the column for the past few days: Deciding never to use another person for my own ends and to be honest with myself when I identify that I am falling into such patterns. Trying to see my life as a whole, a complete unit, and not as compartmentalised, unrelated segments. Making no heroes, and taking no victims. Giving up the search for a knight in shining…

THE biggest, most obvious problem in South Africa is the extremely high unemployment rate – the extended unemployment is in excess of 40% of the so-called working-age population. The urgent need is to enable investment – private, internal and overseas – to create employment. Instead, the official ANC policy inhibits investment on a large scale. The percentage of the population depending on state grants is almost three times the percentage of income tax payers and there is no indication that the government has an effective, practical, implementable plan to improve the situation. Reference has recently been made to a statement by former US president, Bill Clinton – “It is the economy, stupid” – but the main political talking point at the national Parliament focuses on the Phala Phala break-in. The…

I FEEL terribly sorry for our future generations, considering the world we are living in. My two daughters and I have had good lives, but what I am concerned about is our grandchildren and great-grand children. What has the world in store for them? We elect and pay politicians to look after our interests but they are doing an extremely poor job of it at present. In South Africa, criminality has taken over, with the military put on standby to assist the civil authorities if it becomes necessary. There is an astonishing murder rate of 48 deaths a day. China and the US are snarling at each other over the Republic of China or Taiwan, with rockets flying. The UK has foolishly left the EU, creating more problems than can…

Coins are set for a major makeover next year after the Cabinet approved amendments to the fourth decimal coin series of South Africa. “The Cabinet has approved the dimension, design and compilation of the 2023 fourth decimal coin series of South Africa. It approved the annual rotational system of the usage of the official languages on the series,” the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) said. The word “South Africa” will be inserted on one side of the coins and printed in all the official languages. “Three languages will be used on the R5 coin; two languages on R2; 50c, 20c and 10c coins and the R1 coin will be in one language. “All these languages will be used on an annual rotational basis over the next 10 years,” the…

WHILE it’s legal to grow cannabis in your garden and light up a joint at home, it is a no-no when it comes to a grow club. People involved in this model lease a patch of land alongside other like-minded people and have it taken care of by those with the know how. The high court sitting in Cape Town this week put its foot down when the Haze Club and its director, Neil Liddell, wanted it to rule that it was legal to grow cannabis on behalf of others. Liddell argued that, given the groundbreaking Constitutional Court judgment in 2018, which ruled that an adult may lawfully cultivate and possess cannabis for his or her personal consumption in a private space, the concept of a grow club should also…

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa says no society can remain silent when criminals have clearly declared war on the police following the recent deaths of police officers in the line of duty. He was speaking at the annual SAPS National Commemoration Day yesterday where police officers who were killed while serving the country were remembered and honoured. Ramaphosa said 33 police officers had died between April 2021 and March 2022. Ramaphosa said this National Commemoration Day should serve not only to pay tribute to the fallen men and women in blue who lost their lives in the fight against crime. “It should also serve to mobilise society against the killing of our officers.” Ramaphosa said it was important that Community Policing Forums work so that communities can appreciate the critical role they…

THE DA’s move towards the right cannot be hidden, as many black people turn their backs on the party. It is in the public domain that black people are leaving the DA. From Lindiwe Mazibuko to recently Patricia Kopane, the list is long. It raised eyebrows when Mazibuko left the DA, but it became interesting when others followed in quality and quantity. Among that quality was Mmusi Maimane. His exit did not come as a surprise because racist attitudes were in the public domain. The worst came from the higher echelons of the DA where he was referred to as a failed experiment. Why has Siviwe Gwarube been appointed chief whip after Makashule Gana’s exit? First, is it not because of madame Natasha Mazzone’s qualifications, or lack thereof? Second, is…

Good and well-maintained infrastructure brings an assortment of economic benefits COULD greater infrastructure investment lead South Africa’s post-pandemic economic recovery and help mitigate supply chain disruptions exacerbated by the Ukraine conflict? Such disruptions have led to a global cost-of-living crisis, further driving millions into fuel and food poverty. Both President Cyril Ramaphosa and Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana have been strongly pushing the government’s infrastructure agenda in recent weeks – the president wielding the carrot while his minister the stick. Good and well-maintained infrastructure brings a motley assortment of economic benefits including fiscal, revenue, governance, health, well-being and social returns. For a country with entrenched economic woes, how realistic are the government’s infrastructure ambitions, especially the timeline of any impactful delivery in priority sectors? Ramaphosa in his speech to the Business…

Brussels: A British conman who persuaded his victims to believe he was an intelligence officer has been arrested in Belgium, police said. Robert Hendy-Freegard, 51, had been illegally breeding dogs and living on-and-off in the village of Vidaillat in the sparsely populated Creuse region of central France since 2015. He was wanted in France after he injured two officers with his vehicle while fleeing a police raid. Earlier this year, he was the subject of a three-part Netflix documentary The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman which appeared to have brought about the raid in France. |…

China has warned of “counter- measures” unless the US revoked a $1.1 billion (about 1.9 trillion rand) arms package to Taiwan that it said “severely jeopardises” relations between Washington and Beijing. “China will resolutely take legitimate and necessary counter-measures in light of the development of the situation,” Chinese embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said. The US announced a $1.1bn arms package for Taiwan on Friday, vowing to keep boosting the island’s defences as tensions soar with Beijing. The sale comes a month after US house speaker Nancy Pelosi defiantly visited the self-governing democracy, prompting mainland China to launch a show of force that could be a trial run for a future invasion. The arms package – the largest for Taiwan approved under President Joe Biden’s administration – includes $665 million for…

Moscow: Russians paid their final respects to the last leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, in a ceremony held in Moscow without much fanfare and with President Vladimir Putin notably absent owing to his work schedule. Mourners filed past Gorbachev’s open casket draped with the Russian flag in Moscow’s historic Hall of Columns. The hall has long been used for the funerals of high officials and it was where the body of Joseph Stalin first lay in state after his death in 1953. In power between 1985 and 1991, Gorbachev sought to transform the Soviet Union with democratic reforms, but triggered its demise. He was lionised in the West for helping to end the Cold War and trying to change the USSR, but despised by many in Russia for…