Indholdsfortegnelse for 2024-07-29 i Cape Argus

THE family of the 11-year-old Simon’s Town Primary School learner who walked home to Khayelitsha, has seen an outpouring of support and encouragement from across South Africa and further afield. Grade 6 learner, Lifalethu Mbasana, walked a distance of around 35km last Monday, after a Golden Arrow Bus Service (GABS) driver refused to allow him on board due to a lost ticket. While Lifalethu was walking the great distance, missing person alerts were widely circulated online, as his whereabouts were unknown to his frantic family for several hours. Lifalethu arrived in front of the family’s gate at around 9.50pm with a group of law enforcement officers who had spotted him in Harare, just a few minutes away from his home. The child’s mother, Xolelwa Siba Mbasana, said the ordeal had…

A WESTERN Cape resident who bagged over R7 million in the Lotto Plus 1 jackpot said winning the money has granted her the freedom to enjoy her job “without the stress of making ends meet”. The mother of two won R7 804 904.60 from the July 24 draw. National Lottery operator Ithuba said the mom purchased her ticket on the Standard Bank Banking App, with a R60 wager and Quick Pick selection. Describing the thrill of winning as both exhilarating and humbling, the winner expressed her relief that the substantial windfall will alleviate the pressure of day-to-day living. “Given the rising costs of everything nowadays, even with a job, it gets overwhelming.” She said she plans to renovate her home, spoil her children and fulfil a dream of travelling. Ithuba…

HEAVY rainfall continues to batter the City and parts of the Western Cape, resulting in a number of roads impacted by flooding and power outages reported across the province. Yesterday, the City’s Disaster Risk Management head of public awareness and preparedness, Charlotte Powell, said the Disaster Operations Centre received no reports of major incidents associated with the cold front that made landfall over the weekend. A vehicle was, however, swept away at Mikpunt in the Klipheuwel area. The Energy Department was attending to weather-related power outages affecting 16 areas. “While there were reports of roadways being blocked due to the downpours, the drainage systems could handle most of it. “In instances where intervention was required, the Roads and Stormwater Department has cleared those blockages,” Powell said. On Saturday, some roads…

The K-word uttered at Table View High School by a substitute teacher is absolutely disgusting. This word is now probably the most offensive world in English, in the history of our nation. Its degree of offensiveness has increased remarkably in recent years, although it has been used in a derogatory manner for at least 50 years. The K-word is arguably the most consequential social insult in our history. The word conjures up within us hate, hostility and oppression, and a very shameful and unfortunate part of our turbulent racial legacy. The word symbolises the everlasting chains of a people plagued with hate and bondage simply because of skin colour and culture. The word has the force to pierce, to wound, to penetrate, as no other has, it stands alone with…

It is said that among the first citizens of hellfire are business, political and religious leaders. The three types are mentioned as they hold a position of trust and can influence/deceive others. Example, in Islam, business profit is restricted to 100% after total cost of expenses is calculated. You add all your costs and then add a 100% profit. You do not talk rubbish like “market dictates” or “supply and demand” then quietly manipulate markets via dodgy means to hold customers hostage. Similarly, politicians are well-known for being unnecessarily deceitful, false and treacherous. Example, on Wednesday evening, the BBC aired the ramblings of a deranged mass murderer in the form of Prime Evil Netanyahu. He addressed a joint sitting of the US Congress and Senate. The room was packed and…

Thousands of mourners attended funeral ceremonies yesterday for the 12 children and teenagers killed by a rocket strike in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights as Israel vowed swift retaliation against the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. Hezbollah denied any responsibility for the attack on Majdal Shams, the deadliest in Israel or Israeli-annexed territory since Hamas’ October 7 assault sparked the war in Gaza, which has since spread to several fronts and now risks spilling into a wider regional conflict. Israeli jets hit targets in southern Lebanon overnight but a stronger response was expected following a meeting of the security cabinet. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returned from a visit to the US and met security officials ahead of the meeting. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there was every indication that the…

Defending champions Orlando Pirates will enjoy pride of place by hosting the new season’s opening MTN8 fixture at the Orlando Stadium next Saturday evening. Pirates are the most successful team in the history of the MTN8 era after they won the trophy for a record eighth time last season. Kaizer Chiefs, who will be conspicuously absent from this season's event, are second-most successful with four wins. Strangely, the country’s dominant club over the past decade, Mamelodi Sundowns, have only won the trophy twice. The “big three” clubs had substantially more championship wins when the event was known as the BP Top 8 and the SAA Supa 8. Next Saturday, Pirates will host SuperSport United, who have upstaged the big three in recent years after winning the competition in 2018 and…

Paul Roos confirmed their No 1 ranking among Western Province schools by maintaining their unbeaten record with a comfortable 28-3 win over hosts Stellenberg. The game was played in driving rain and a swirling wind, which made running rugby a lottery. The Maroon Machine were full value for their win, scoring four unanswered tries. It was obvious from the start that both sides were intent on establishing territorial advantage. The forwards were involved in a titanic struggle with no quarter asked or given. Paul Roos were powerful in the scrums, while their line-outs operated effectively. In this respect, their versatile captain and SA Schools lock Riley Norton, playing as a blindside flanker, gave them a significant advantage at the tail. The first stanza was a cagey affair as the defences…

Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca said his players were still trying to adjust to his style and tactics after they lost 4-1 to Celtic in a pre-season friendly in Indiana on Saturday. Christopher Nkunku’s 89th-minute penalty was the only consolation for the Premier League side at the University of Notre Dame. It was Maresca’s second game in charge following a 2-2 draw with League One side Wrexham in California on Thursday. “Off the ball we need to improve things,” Maresca said. “You can see sometimes we confuse when we need to play short and when we need to play a little bit longer but that is part of the process. We maintained a high line but when the ball is not under pressure, you need to drop ... We are still…

RELATIVES and employees of alleged gang boss, Ralph Stanfield, say their arrest by the Hawks amid a R4.6 million cash bust has obstructed them from obtaining government tenders. The claim was made in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court on Friday, as Stanfield’s brother, Kyle, appeared alongside his mother-in-law, Barbara Johnson, and employees Suraya Manual and Nondabula Phakamisa on defeating the ends of justice charges. Kyle was busted in April when police swooped on a flat in Claremont and found him in possession of a staggering R4.6 million in cash. A week later, Johnson was busted as police raided her home in Mitchell’s Plain and confiscated various electronics including cellphones, hard drives and computers allegedly linked to Glomix CC, a construction company owned by Stanfield’s wife, Nicole. Court documents later revealed that…

TRIBUTES have poured in for rugby analyst, life coach, and University of the Western Cape (UWC) Professor Wilbur Kraak, who passed away at the weekend. Kraak, 40, died from a stroke on Saturday. He was the founder of WJK Coaching Consultancy; a researcher at UWC; and a former professor at the University of the Free State. Kraak also worked for e.tv’s BÔll and Ôll, a weekly rugby talk show focusing on the club, the player, the game, and the community. UWC rector and vice-chancellor, Professor Tyrone Pretorius, said he was shocked to learn of Kraak’s passing. “He was a passionate, enthusiastic and eager person who will be really missed and his short time with us will leave a footprint – not only on his students and staff but all that…

The outing of Goolam Muhammed Vawda, aka @Goolammv, allegedly for irregular and illegal cyber postings and other nefarious matters, by Independent Media’s investigative journalists is fascinating and commendable. It appears that high-ranking political figures are involved which makes the @Goolammv saga sub judice, so details on the matter are sketchy. It would be helpful from a public interest point of view to clarify more details of the story. Perhaps an expose by Carte Blanche would be prudent? Well done to IOL and Independent Media for opening this can of worms.…

The Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) wishes to inform all water users that the abundant rains that fell recently in the Western Cape Catchments have indeed replenished dams across the province. It is pleasing to see the majority of the River Catchment Systems hovering above the 90% mark, with the Western Cape Water Supply System edging towards 100%. With the rain pouring down, it can be tempting to think the Western Cape’s water woes are behind us. The recent heavy rains reminded me of the seven years of plenty and seven years of famine that Egypt endured. This means that we are likely to see periods of abundance and scarcity. South Africa is considered a water-stressed country with a total annual rainfall of around 450mm, which is far below…

The portrayal of South Africa’s coloured community by Patriotic Alliance (PA) leader and Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, is both a misrepresentation and a humiliation. His self-appointment as the ambassador of the coloured community is misguided and damaging, perpetuating harmful stereotypes that do not align with the true character, aspirations, and beliefs of the coloured population in South Africa. McKenzie’s public persona and rhetoric paint a picture of the coloured community that is far removed from reality. By glorifying criminal activities and gang affiliations, McKenzie perpetuates a stereotype that coloured people are inherently predisposed to crime and deviance. This characterisation is not only false but deeply offensive, as it ignores the resilience, hard work, and strong moral values that define much of the coloured population. Historically, the…

The Blitzboks’ bronze medal finish in Paris at the weekend has confirmed them as one of Team South Africa’s most valuable assets. The sevens stars showed tremendous courage and skill to earn South Africa a second podium finish over the past three Olympic Games. A semi-final loss against eventual gold medallists France did not break the South African spirit and the team, coached by Philip Snyman and captained by Selvyn Davids, bounced back to beat Australia for the bronze medal at the Stade de France. Snyman, a member of the 2016 squad that won a medal in the inaugural rugby sevens event, said the credit should go to the players. “We have a great management, and this win was for all South Africans, but the moment belongs to the players.…

Western Province may have registered just a lone win in their Currie Cup campaign so far, but they will be encouraged by their performance in the 50-34 defeat to the Blue Bulls at the weekend. The Cape side let a 27-3 lead slip to go down under a second-half onslaught from the Pretoria outfit at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday. But they will hope to carry on the good things in their next encounter against the Griffons at Cape Town Stadium this Saturday (5.15pm start). Their kicking game was particularly impressive in the opening 40 minutes at Loftus, where flyhalf Jurie Matthee and inside centre Jonathan Roche gained significant rewards for the visitors. Mixing things up from their usual all-out ball-in-hand approach should stand them in good stead for the rest…

South Africa’s women’s sevens team was blitzed off the park at the Stade de France last night to emphatically rule out any chance of them emulating their male colleagues. To be fair, a medal finish was never on the cards for the South African ladies. The heavy defeats they suffered in their Pool B games against Australia and Ireland illustrate how much work the local ladies must do to catch up with their bronze-winning male counterparts. In their final game of the day, the SA women were up against an Ireland team that had lost their opening game against Great Britain, in something of an upset, and the Irish were determined to get their first pool points on the board. It took them most of the first half to break…

The litmus test on the well-being of the Government of National Unity is to monitor the relationship between Sihle Zikalala and Dean Macpherson. These two figures entered politics in KwaZulu-Natal at opposite ends of the national political discourse. Zikalala’s first political role, after joining the ANC in 1990 at age 27, was to serve as a councillor for the ANC in the Ilembe District Municipality from 1996 to 2000. McPherson was elected as the councillor for Durban North in 2009 at age 24. He later joined the National Assembly in 2014 and is currently serving his third term. While Macpherson’s political trajectory has shown continued upward mobility, Zikalala’s political career has been subjected to his party’s mood swings. Appointed as an MEC in 2016 and premier in 2019, his…

Cape Town in recent weeks has been devastated by rampant gang violence terrorising our people. As much as this has been normalised, this is not normal and this way of life is not accepted. The Calvyn Protestant Church of South Africa and Namibia strongly condemns these inhumane acts of criminality. The attack on SAPS officials is not the way to solve the injustices that we are facing. Violence and crime are not the South African way. As South Africans, we are different but this difference is not a platform for violence. Our collective consciousness of goodwill towards each other will continue to inspire us to achieve and rise up and beyond the struggles our of time. The church categorically states and affirms that the unnatural propensity to solve problems through…

Cape Town residents were moved and surprised on Thursday at the City of Cape Town council meeting, by the news of Alderman Marian Nieuwoudt’s retirement. Nieuwoudt served in council for 28 years‚ from 1996 to 2024. She will be remembered as a truly great councillor‚ who stood unswervingly for a cause far bigger than her own personal advancement – an enduring set of principles and beliefs. Nieuwoudt’s service to the people of Cape Town has been profound‚ and this is a well-deserved retirement. I am profoundly grateful for the experience and the camaraderie shared in my relationship with Alderman Nieuwoudt. I also want to place on record, with appreciation, that she always made me feel welcome as a new councillor in 2016 and I was always able to express…

IT would be fair to say that no one expected the Blitzboks to win a medal at the Paris Olympics but win a medal they did. It was an arduous journey to their bronze medal, won by beating Australia on Saturday at Stade Francais. The Blitzboks did not qualify automatically for the showpiece event, instead they had to battle through a repechage to book their ticket for the Olympics Games. Their form in the SVNS Series was also below par. They finished seventh in that tournament, winning only the opening Dubai leg. The rest of the season proved to be only disappointment as they battled to reach heights previously experienced on the circuit. During the Grand Finals in Madrid, they also failed to impress, finishing a disappointing sixth. Their Olympics…

Sharks coach JP Pietersen says the introduction of Baby Bok Jurenzo Julius was the spark his struggling team needed to break their Currie Cup drought. Julius was outstanding in scoring two key tries on Saturday to help the Sharks to a 35-22 defeat of the previously unbeaten Lions at Ellis Park. The Sharks have chosen to allow their United Rugby Championship players to enjoy their mandatory eight-week vacation in one block and that has forced Pietersen to pick youngsters, many of whom are unknown to the rugby public. But that is about to change as Julius, in particular, shot his hand up into the Joburg air as a player that is destined for big things. The former Paarl Roos Gymnasium inside centre scored sensational solo tries early and late in…