Table of contents for 2021-05-19 in Star

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za TRADE, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel yesterday unveiled South Africa’s policy proposals to accelerate electric vehicle (EV) production. Patel said in his budget vote that the policy would create a strategy to put South Africa at the forefront of advanced vehicle and vehicle component manufacturing. Dr Norman Lamprecht, the execu- tive manager for trade, exports and research at Naamsa, the Automotive Business Council, said the Green Paper was necessary to speed up the creation of the “vast” ecosystem that went with EV production. Lamprecht said this would include charging infrastructure, battery waste facilities, and incentives to stimulate demand for EVs in the local market before local production could ensue because locally-made EVs would have to be 60 percent local content to be able to be…

Ascension of prince to rule over Balobedu ‘deviates from custom’ MASHUDU SADIKE THE BATTLE for the Modjadji royal throne will be heading to court following the controversial ascension of a man to rule over the Balobedu nation. This is according to Phosa Loots Inc Attorneys, representing Princess Masalanabo Modjadji, who was widely expected to be Balobedu nation’s next rain queen when she turned 18 in two years. The Modjadji Royal Council decided last week to announce her older brother, Prince Lekukela, as heir to the throne. This brought widespread shock to the Balobedu nation as the appointment of Lekukela brings to an end South Africa’s only female monarch. Masalanabo was expected to be the seventh rain queen in the last two centuries, which saw six queens before her in…

TWO successive cold fronts are expected to move in over the Western Cape, starting tomorrow, resulting in rainy, cold and windy conditions as the weather system propagates eastwards over the southern parts of the country. The SA Weather Service reported that a cold front is set to move in over the south-western Cape tomorrow morning, causing widespread showers and rain, especially over the western parts of the Western Cape, spreading over the eastern parts of the Western Cape, the southern parts of the Northern Cape and western parts of the Eastern Cape during the afternoon and evening. Strong sustained north-westerly winds of 50-70km/h may be experienced over the southern high ground of the Northern Cape, the interior of the Western Cape and the interior of the Eastern Cape which may…

Kailene Pillay kailene.pillay@inl.co.za Former Speaker of the National Assembly Baleka Mbete once received a letter that was slid under her door and which contained “scary details” regarding the arms deal but did not act on it. Testifying at the Zondo Commission last night, Mbete fielded questions around Parliament’s oversight – or failure thereof – during the state capture years under former President Jacob Zuma’s leadership. Responding to questions on why Parliament did not investigate or act on allegations of state capture at the first sign of it many years ago, Mbete told the commission that she did not deny Parliament’s failures but in some instances, the National Assembly could not deal with issues that could be classified as rumours. She relayed an instance when she was Deputy Speaker in Parliament…

ITUMELENG MAFISA A Pretoria businessman says he plans to build a “centre of hope” for the community of Winterveld, north of the capital city. Amir Raheem Nkumane, 30, has a dream of creating an R80 million centre there that will include a community clinic, a state-of-the-art science and technology school and a youth development centre. Nkumane, who is a Muslim religious leader, said all of this would be under the banner of the Mvelinqangi Masjid. “The plan is to have a centre of healing for our people regardless of whether they are Muslims or Christians,” Nkumane said. Nkumane is known for his charity work in the township; he provides water when the supply is disrupted, and hands out food parcels on Fridays to those in need. The mosque…

Jean Michel Bouvier | Bryanston THE German government is getting more pathetic, pitiful and feeble by the day. I was appalled and I found it deplorable and shameful when I heard their foreign minister saying that they fully support Israel and the steps they have taken against Hamas and the Palestinians. Are they so blind, deaf and dumb to the extreme suffering Israel has kept on inflicting over the last 73 years on the Palestinians? What is happening? Gaza is the biggest open air prison in the world and Israel attacks and kills civilians there and bombs buildings and infrastructure at its leisure without any consequences. Has Germany’s guilt complex for its World War II crimes of brutality, cruelty and atrocities taken over to ignore today’s realities on…

Kudzai Chikowore | Defender of human rights It brings tears to my eyes that in Zimbabwe, no deliberate effort has been made to infuse science, technology and society in teacher training programmes. Schools are largely under-resourced and the harsh economic environment prevailing in the country has made it difficult for schools to acquire equipment and contain the exodus of trained personnel. President Emerson Mnangagwa has not placed culture at the heart of development policies – and this is the only way to ensure a human-centered, inclusive and equitable development. Zimbabwe is a poor country for not providing energy and chemical products for protecting and preserving our natural environment for future generations. It disgusts me the Zanu-PF government and Mnangagwa do not believe in the power of energy to…

International support to the continent needs an overhaul – here’s what needs to change MANY African countries still rely heavily on foreign aid. However, several studies have shown that foreign aid has failed to deliver sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction. The fact that foreign aid as currently practised has failed to achieve its poverty reduction targets in Africa is clear from the data. More than 75% of the world’s poor live in Africa today. In 1970, the figure was 10%. Some forecasts suggest it could rise to 90% by 2030. Africa is the only continent in the world where official aid inflow outstrips private capital inflow by a large margin. This is problematic since no country in the world has achieved substantial development based on reliance on aid. This…

The Israeli military struck the homes of 12 senior Hamas commanders in the Gaza Strip over a period of 24 hours, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said yesterday. The homes hit by IDF fighter jets included those of the deputy commander of the Hamas northern brigade in Gaza City, a company commander in Khan Yunis, and a leader of the Hamas reserve battalion. The commanders had used their houses as command posts and operations bases, the IDF claimed. The UN aid agency said yesterday more than 52 000 Palestinians had been displaced by Israeli air strikes that had destroyed or badly damaged nearly 450 buildings in the Gaza Strip. About 47 000 of the displaced people had sought shelter in 58 UN-run schools in Gaza, Jens Laerke, a spokesperson for…

PARIS: The square in front of Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris has been closed to the public after tests again revealed high concentrations of toxic lead particles, Paris police said. The fire that ravaged the 13th-century monument two years ago melted 300 tons of lead panelling in the roof, spewing the metal across large swathes of the city. But the lead risks delayed work on clearing debris and launching the restoration effort for the gothic landmark, which President Emmanuel Macron wants open for visitors in time for Paris’s hosting of the 2024 Summer Olympics. Investigators have yet to determine the cause of the blaze, but they have said an accident, possibly caused by a short circuit or discarded cigarette butt, remains the most likely explanation.…

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s president says the foreign minister’s critical comments about Gulf states did not reflect official policy, seeking to avoid a further strain on ties with countries that have been allies and donors. Mired in its worst economic crisis since a 1975-1990 civil war, Lebanon has lost financial backing from wealthy Sunni Muslim Gulf states, frustrated at the rising influence of Hezbollah, a Lebanese group backed by their rival Shia Iran. Foreign Minister Charbel Wehbe’s comments threatened to stoke new tensions when he appeared to blame the Gulf for the rise of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.He later said his remarks were misrepresented.President Michel Aoun said Wehbe’s comments were his “personal opinion” and praised “brotherly” ties with the Gulf.…

Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za THE DEPARTMENT of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) said the government was scaling up the country’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) potential as part of pursuing a diversified energy mix that moves away from fossil fuels. Speaking during the department’s virtual budget vote, Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe said the government had undertaken an environmental impact assessment study for three gas-to-power plants of 1 000 megawatts (MW) each to enable gas-to-power projects in special economic zones. “The request for proposals will be issued in the third quarter of the 2021/22 financial year,” said Mantashe. He said an estimated total capital investment for 15 projects currently under construction, as licensed by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa, was R8.9bn. “From these projects, at least four…

BONGANI NKOSI bongani.nkosi@inl.co.za THE Labour Appeal Court has placed blame at unions for events that led to three black nursing professionals being paid less than their white colleague on the same salary scale at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). Acting Judge Kate Savage, with Judge Philip Coppin and Acting Judge Daisy Molefe concurring, has set aside a 2019 judgment that found that differentiation in the salaries of the four constituted unfair discrimination based on social origin. Constituting social origin in this case were the institutions that Paul Maraba, Lydia Khwinana and Matilda Legwale worked for before becoming TUT employees in 2008. TUT was established in that year following a merger of three institutions. The three black professionals originally worked for the Soshanguve-based Technikon Northern Gauteng and Technikon North West…

Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za CONCERNS of safety have been raised at Gauteng schools following allegations that two teachers at two schools in the province allegedly sexually assaulted female learners. Learners from Ivory Park schools and angry community members brought Ivory Park to a standstill yesterday to protest against allegations that a teacher at Umqhele Secondary School allegedly raped a Grade 10 female pupil. The pupils and learners from other schools in Ivory Park proceeded to shut down schools in the the area calling for the educator to be removed from the school. Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi made an impassioned plea to law enforcement agencies to up their efforts in hunting for the teacher who allegedly raped the learner. “I call on the police to use all resources at their…

AS SOUTH Africa places a spotlight on the urgency to ramp up access to connectivity and the benefits the internet and ICT can bring to our people and economy this World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD), Telcolink director Cecil Mashawana believes more can be done to unlock the potential of digital solutions in transforming our country and economy. “Events of the past several months have highlighted the increasing digital divide between those with access to information and technologies and those without,” he says. “Even though the lockdown has exacerbated this divide, it has also put the spotlight on it, serving as a timely reminder that we must collectively do more to change our society.” Mashawana believes that ICT is the cornerstone of empowering all citizens with the skills required…

AS THE world watches with alarm the escalation of the Israel-Palestine conflict claiming hundreds of lives, the focus in Turkey has been inward, with a YouTube video series by a Turkish Mafia leader getting the most traction in a country regarded as one of the most powerful in the Muslim world. Turkish Mafia boss Sedat Peker’s YouTube video series has been the focus of top Turkish journalists and political analysts, many of whom comment that the Mafia wars over the drug trade are currently shaping the politics of Turkey. Seemingly calm but with its deep, strong currents flowing in the opposite direction, Istanbul’s Bosporus Strait best reflects the complexity of Turkish political behaviour. Yes, political life is seemingly peaceful in the country, but the Turkish state’s deep Mafia involvement shows…

Dr Sunday Paul C Onwuegbuchulam It is once again the month of May and there are many preparations being made for the celebration of Africa Day. I do not believe in or subscribe to the logic of having a specified day or month to celebrate Africa, but importantly, the present state of the socio-political and economic landscape of Africa leaves nothing to celebrate. It still baffles me that there is notable hype surrounding this so-called Africa Day celebration, especially considering the state of decay in the continent. I am aware I sound negative, but this is how I feel about the continent which almost 1.3 billion people, including myself, call home. There are several issues that we can highlight which indeed show there is nothing to celebrate today in…

A Japanese doctors’ group has urged the cancellation of the Olympics, even as Games organisers reported a surplus of applications from medics to volunteer at the virus-postponed event. With less than 10 weeks until the Tokyo Games begin and as Japan battles a surge in infections, public opinion remains strongly opposed to the event going ahead this summer. But Olympic officials say it can be safely held with Covid-19 counter-measures and point to successful test events, including some featuring overseas athletes. An association of about 6 000 doctors working in Tokyo said they were “struggling with the fourth wave” of virus cases, calling it the largest so far. “Cancelling an event that has the potential to increase the number of infections and deaths is the right choice,” the group said…

Kuala Lumpur: Five suspected members of Philippine militant group Abu Sayyaf have been shot dead in a firefight with police on the Malaysian part of Borneo island, authorities said yesterday. Police were attacked by men armed with guns and machetes on Monday when they raided a settlement in Sabah state. “Five male suspects were successfully defeated,” said Sabah police commissioner Hazani Ghazali. They were believed to be from the Abu Sayyaf group, police said, self-proclaimed Islamic militants whose stronghold is in the Muslim-majority southern Philippines. One of them has been identified as Mabar Binda, a militant leader on the Philippine police’s wanted list, Malaysian newspaper The Star reported.…

MIHLALI BALEKA @Mihlalibaleka SOUTH African Football Association president Danny Jordaan has lauded the decision by Hollywoodbets to become the first sponsor to back women’s football in SA after establishing the Super League. Two years back, Safa formed the National Women’s League which was an upgrade from the Sasol League. But they failed to find a sponsor as they had to fork out the winnings of R500 000 to champions Mamelodi Sundowns from their own pocket. But this week, Safa announced a historic partnership with Hollywoodbets who changed the National Women’s League to the Hollywoodbets Super League. The partnership is for a period of one year, while Hollywoodbets will invest over R17million into the league. From the R17m, the champions will pocket a cool cheque of R2m, the runners-up will bag…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za PUBLIC Service and Administration Minister Senzo Mchunu has slammed the conduct of the Public Servants Association (PSA) during crucial wage negotiations between the government and public sector unions. PSA acting deputy manager for members’ affairs Reuben Maleka on Monday went on a media roadshow alleging that the Public Service Co-ordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) had excluded them from the facilitation process. Maleka said the decision to exclude them from the current public service wage negotiations was childish and displayed a lack of vision by the PSCBC while Cosatu-affiliated unions remained at negotiations. “It is ridiculous and short of any sense to exclude a union in the process to find a solution and which is salaries,” Maleka said. “We are unhappy about the exclusion from the facilitation, but we…

Sandile Mchunu sandile.mchunu@inl.co.za RETAILER Spar Group expects its half-year earnings to surge as much as 57 percent, partly boosted by strong underlying performance in the Swiss and Irish businesses and reduced operating losses in the Polish operations. Spar said yesterday that its headline earnings per share was likely to increase by between 47 and 57 percent for the six months to end March, to be between 599.8 cents a share and 640.6c, up from last year’s 408c. Its earnings per share are expected to increase by between 53 and 63 percent, to be between 596.7c and 635.7c, up from 390c reported a year earlier. “Group earnings were funda- mentally driven by an exceptionally strong underlying performance in the Swiss and Irish businesses, to- gether with the…

Liam Karabo Joyce liam.joyce@inl.co.za The issue of legalising polyandry (more than one husband) in South Africa has sparked a heated debate on social media and in Parliament. The polyandry legalisation is one of several wide-ranging proposals contained in the Green Paper, which the Department of Home Affairs has gazetted and on which it has since invited public comments. One who is against the proposal is polygamist (man with more than one wife) Musa Mseleku. Mseleku was asked on eNCA about whether polyandry should be made legal in SA. The Uthando Nes’thembu reality star outlined his view that polygamy was backed by culture and entrenched in years of tradition. He said he believed polyandry was a misguided attempt by activists to equalise men and women. He also labelled polyandry as an…

Siphokazi Vuso siphokazi.vuso@inl.co.za A GROUP of LGBTIQ+ organisations have launched a petition calling on South African leaders to take action against hate crime murders, that have left the community living in fear. This comes as the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOB) was celebrated on Monday. According to the petition, started by the Enough is Enough Collective, in the space of three months, South Africa's LGBTIQ+ community has been rocked by a series of brutal hate crimes against its members. “At least six (now eight) lives – that we know of – have been snuffed out in cold blood. From KwaZulu-Natal to Gauteng, from the Eastern Cape to the Western Cape,” the group said. The group stated they had seen a seemingly endless stream of conferences, workshops, task…

Peter Bachtis | Benoni SATOSHI Nakamoto … ever heard of this name before? Supposedly the inventor of bitcoin ... imagine buying bits of coin via a powerful computer system, making use of algorithms, and mathematics so advanced … no one understands it. The beauty of the invention is that the total global investment has absolutely nothing tangible backing it. It is probably the biggest scam ever perpetrated on a gullible investing public, who thirst to make lots of moola quickly. Satoshi has exposed mankind’s greed, as billions in international currencies are invested in something they can neither comprehend nor grasp intellectually. The lust for easy money is both intoxicating and seductive ... and foolish humans will continue to get sucked into these “get rich quick” scams.…

One of the proposals in the Green Paper was whether polyandry should be legalised Ever so often the debate around issues in the public domain will get South Africans hot under the collar. Perhaps that’s a sign that our democracy remains vibrant, and the citizenry vigilant to the issues which affect them. Recently the calls for public comment by the Department of Home Affairs on its latest Green Paper elicited a flurry of debate because one of the proposals in the paper was whether polyandry should be legalised. Before last week many South Africans had never heard the term, but as soon as it was explained that a change to the Marriages Act, as suggested in the Green Paper, would allow a woman to marry more than one husband, the…

At least 24 people were killed and almost 100 were missing yesterday after a monster cyclone slammed India, compounding the country’s woes as it recorded a new record number of coronavirus deaths in 24 hours. The colossal swirling system dubbed Cyclone Tauktae is the latest in what experts say is a growing number of increasingly severe storms in the Arabian Sea as climate change warms its waters. Hundreds of thousands of people were left without power after the storm hit the Gujarat coast in western India on Monday evening, leaving a trail of death and destruction. Winds up to 130 kilometres per hour smashed seafront windows and knocked over power lines and thousands of trees, blocking roads leading to affected areas, officials said. “I have never experienced such intensity in…

Kigali: A court in the Rwandan capital has postponed a hearing on the pre-trial detention of famous pop singer Joshua Tuyishime, better known by his stage name Jay Polly. Tuyishime, accused of illegal stimulant possession, will remain in custody until the hearing tomorrow. The singer has been in detention since April after police found marijuana in his home in a suburb of Kigali. In 2018, Jay Polly was sentenced to five months behind bars for assaulting his wife “because he was drunk”. Jay Polly is with the band Tuff Gang.…

Geneva: Red Cross yesterday stressed the need for “extraordinary steps” to increase access to Covid-19 vaccines around the world, including speeding up negotiations towards waivers. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement called for states and pharmaceutical companies to move much faster towards evening out glaring inequities in access to the jabs around the world. Among other things, countries should accelerate thorny negotiations at the World Trade Organization towards removing intellectual property protections for vaccines, it said. “Millions of lives depend on it and on the equally important transfer of technology and knowledge to increase manufacturing capacity worldwide,” said Francesco Rocca, president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.…

Zaahier Adams zaahier.adams@inl.co.za The Proteas have committed to a fresh group of players for the tours of West Indies and Ireland after AB de Villiers decided “once and for all that his retirement will remain final”. De Villiers retired from all forms of international cricket in May 2018 but continued freelancing in the various world T20 leagues. The 37-year-old was, however, set to make an international comeback with the ICC World T20 looming, particularly after admitting during the recent Indian Premier League that he had been in talks with Proteas coach Mark Boucher about a possible return to the South African national team. “Last year, he (Boucher) asked me if I would be interested, and I said, ‘absolutely. And come the end of the IPL, we will have a look…

A TOP medical organisation has thrown its weight behind calls to cancel the Tokyo Olympics, saying hospitals are already overwhelmed as the country battles a spike in coronavirus infections less than three months from the start of the Games. The Tokyo Medical Practitioners Association representing about 6 000 primary care doctors said hospitals in the Games host city “have their hands full, and have almost no spare capacity” amid a surge in infections. “We strongly request that the authorities convince the IOC (International Olympic Committee) that holding the Olympics is difficult and obtain its decision to cancel the Games,” the association said in a May 14 open letter to Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, which was posted to its website on Monday. A jump in infections has stoked alarm amid…

HERE at Independent Sport we have begun a Springbok ‘Form Team’ selection every week ahead of the British & Irish Lions tour. And while players who are in red-hot form each week in the Rainbow Cup SA competition may not necessarily make it into the Bok side in July and August, should the most consistent of those players be part of the mix? The real question is, should new Bok coach Jacques Nienaber stick with the 2019 Rugby World Cup champions, or introduce some fresh blood to take on the Lions? The easy answer would be to pick the team that beat England 32-12 in the final in Yokohama on that unforgettable November night, but the current situation is not as straight-forward. Nienaber should be careful of just employing the…