Indholdsfortegnelse for 2023-03-10 i Mercury

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has assured Parliament that the government was working to build a professional public service as part of implementing the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP). Yesterday Ramaphosa was giving his first oral replies for the year to questions from MPs in the National Assembly. ANC member Judy Hermans asked Ramaphosa what were the plans of the government after the audit of the civil service to build a capable developmental state for the implementation of the ERRP. The government announced the ERRP in October 2020 in response to the severe health, social and economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Ramaphosa said that there were multiple plans and interventions to ensure the successful implementation of the ERRP. He reiterated the centrality of a capable and effective State in addressing…

The IFP in the Msunduzi Municipality has called on opposition parties in the council to unite and respond to the pleas of the people of Msunduzi who are “calling” for the removal of the ANC from power. This comes after the party wrested away a ward from the ANC in a by- election in Sweetwaters on Wednesday. The party said this was an indication that the residents of the municipality wanted a different party in charge of the council. Two by-elections were held in the municipality on Wednesday in which the DA retained control of ward 25, while the IFP took ward 2 from the ANC. The ward had been under the control of the ANC for years. In the ward 2 by-elections, the IFP said it came out victorious…

There are many errors that humans can commit, but denying the Creator and oppression are the worst. Some assume that Islam only talks about religion and spirituality, and not about economics. In truth, the Qur’an gives importance to economics, and it says that those who stockpile the Creator’s provisions and deprive others of sustenance commit a crime against themselves and humanity. For example, those who steal from Eskom do not realise the damage they are doing to themselves regarding their connection with the Creator. Although the Creator is most merciful, the Creator listens to those who suffer at the hands of others. This is why harming people is a serious crime. Those who steal from Eskom are not doing it to feed themselves; they steal to drive expensive cars and…

South Africa is at a crossroads. The country has faced numerous challenges over the years, but the current situation is dire. Corruption and state capture have led to the loss of almost R1 trillion, while ministers in the Cabinet struggle to manage their portfolios. Crime is at unprecedented levels. Load shedding has become a daily occurrence, causing severe disruptions to the economy and affecting all South Africans. Unemployment is the highest in the world, and many young South Africans are leaving for a more stable future abroad. Many people believe that the end is in sight for South Africa and that there is no hope left. However, there is still a chance to turn things around. The first step towards rescuing South Africa is to vote out the government in…

The SAPS is short of more than 600 trainers for the next batch of 10 000 recruits set to be enlisted in April. Briefing the police portfolio committee on Wednesday, Major-General Lenny Govender said in order to train the incoming recruits, SAPS needed at least 943 trainers. “Our training capacity is 257. We have a shortage of 683 trainers,” Govender said. He was briefing the committee on police recruitment and training. Govender said the SAPS was looking into contracting retired trainers to supplement their current officers. “The SAPS is busy with the recruitment process of the former SAPS retired trainers as contract trainers. In addition, the SAPS will source other trainers within the SAPS as detached trainers,” he said. The shortage of trainers comes as the SAPS is busy with…

CIVIL society organisations in Gauteng have welcomed Finance MEC Jacob Mamabolo’s allocation of more than R700 million to deal with backlogs in the treatment of cancer patients and the delay of critical surgeries. Cancer Alliance, Section27 and the Treatment Action Campaign were reacting to Mamabolo’s announcement of a R784m allocation in his maiden budget speech in the legislature yesterday. The allocation was part of an intervention to finance radiation oncology and surgery backlogs in Gauteng. These organisations, in partnership with the Gauteng Treasury and the province, would now, among other interventions, outsource radiation oncology services for patients on the waiting list to ensure prompt access to urgent health-care services. They said they had represented the needs of cancer patients who have not received radiation oncology services due to backlogs. In…

Recent reports from Ukraine suggested that pressure was mounting from Russian troops making headway in Bakhmut. As the Ukrainian troops destroyed two bridges in the same area, the Institute for the Study of War, an American think tank, reported that these troops may also “conduct a limited but controlled withdrawal from particularly difficult sections” of Bakhmut. At the same time, Washington remains silent on whether it will send fighter jets or sophisticated remote-controlled drones to Kyiv. It has already supplied Ukraine with weapons, including Javelin missiles and Himars rocket launchers. On the other side of the Atlantic, the British press reports that the UK has spent more than £200 million (about R4.4 billion) on weapons sent to Ukraine. While the US and UK are mulling more weapons to the conflict…

Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin told Israeli leaders yesterday to take steps to reduce tensions in the occupied West Bank, amid growing worry in Washington that the situation could distract the allies from their effort to counter Iran. Austin, who is on a regional tour, landed in Ben Gurion Airport for a visit that had been hastily rescheduled due to a surge in street protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to overhaul the judiciary. Hours earlier, Israeli forces killed three Islamic Jihad gunmen in the West Bank, among territories that have seen simmering violence amid the Palestinians’ long-stalled goal of statehood. “The United States (remains) firmly opposed to any acts that could trigger more insecurity, including settlement expansion and inflammatory rhetoric,” Austin said after his meeting with Israeli Defence…

JAKARTA: At least 30 people had died in a landslide on a remote Indonesian island this week, a disaster agency official said yesterday, adding that a search for missing residents was still ongoing. Monday’s landslide on Serasan island in the Indonesian region of Natuna followed six days of torrential rain and buried several houses in a village. Serasan is about 80km off the island of Borneo. The agency said rescuers were still searching for 24 people. Authorities would set up electricity poles once the road to the location has been fixed. More than 1 200 residents had been displaced. The agency said the landslide was about 100-200m long. | Reuters…

BENI: Islamist militants killed at least 35 people in an attack on a village in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in retaliation for a military crackdown on rebel activity, the army said yesterday. The assailants were members of the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), it said, referring to a Ugandan group based in eastern Congo that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State and conducts raids on villages. The attack targeted Mukondi, 30km south of the city of Beni in North Kivu province. Soldiers were chasing after the rebels to rescue hostages, the army said. The ADF has been blamed for thousands of deaths in the past decade. | Reuters…

THE Blitzboks are missing up to 15 players due to injuries, and in a quest to secure automatic Olympic qualification, coach Sandile Ngcobo is trying to call on a few old warhorses for the last four rounds – with the help of SA director of rugby Rassie Erasmus. The Springbok Sevens team endured a nightmare two weeks in North America recently, crashing out of the LA Sevens in the United States in the quarter-finals, while they were unable to get out of their group at the Canada Sevens a week later in Vancouver. That has seen them drop down from second to seventh on the world series standings, with four tournaments remaining to end in the top four and make it to the Paris Olympics. South Africa are on 89…

TUMELO Motlagale has tasted the world athletics stage and found it to be good, so good that he wants seconds. A South African marathon champion last year after winning the National Championships at the Durban International Marathon, the man from Ikageleng township near Zeerust in the North West Province is eager to retain his title this Sunday so he can go mix it up with the big boys once again. The stakes are higher now though than in 2022 with Motlagale needing to slash a good three minutes off his ‘winning time’ from last year to qualify for the IAAF World Championships in Budapest in August. “Being South African champion was a fantastic achievement for me because I got to go to Oregon for the World Championships,” Motlagale reflects on…

The inedibles are giving a good account of themselves. The kingfish have been around in good numbers with most being taken on lures. The upper reaches of KZN have been a bit quiet for the summer but the days that have produced fish have seen good hauls of raggies with a splash of diamonds in between. The raggies have mainly come out at Tugela with bigger head baits getting the best results. The rest of the north coast has been hit or miss with some spots producing amazing action and others that are seemingly perfect, not seeing fish. Your best bet is to line up the conditions as best as possible and go check out the spot you want to fish on a low tide to see the banks. Wait…

KAIZER Chiefs’ struggles against smaller teams in the Nedbank Cup are well documented but they insist they’re not dwelling on the past heading into the clash against Casric Stars. Once regarded as the ‘Cup Kings of South African football’, Chiefs have dropped that tag in recent seasons as they are enduring a seven-year trophy drought. Some of their fans are even beginning to believe that they have become the whipping boys to the so-called minnows in the country’s premier knockout competition, which they have won a record 15 times. They lost the 2019 final to then-Motsepe Foundation Championship outfit TS Galaxy before they were dumped by another former second division side in Richards Bay last season. But Chiefs are preparing to correct that issues against another second division…

OPPOSITION parties have raised concerns about the KwaZulu-Natal Health Department being too slow to obtain an interim court interdict to stop the violence and intimidation of health workers by striking workers. This follows reports of violence and intimidation by National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) workers at KwaZulu-Natal health facilities on Wednesday. The provincial Health Department said it had started a legal consultative process to obtain an interim court interdict to stop Nehawu members from protesting outside provincial health facilities and intimidating staff. Meanwhile, the national Department of Health said the Free State, Gauteng, Northern Cape and Eastern Cape had successfully applied for interim court interdicts. In a joint statement, Health Minister Joe Phaahla and the Gauteng Health MEC said the Department of Health continued to observe the…

“Rules of engagement” for conflict between friends, lovers and members of the family: We fight to love each other more powerfully while understanding that conflict is sometimes necessary to remove or negotiate our way around natural restrictions that come in the way of all love. We fight to better understand each other and because some deeply seated beliefs and positions are only clarified through benign conflict. We do not fight to hurt, damage, or destroy but rather to clarify thinking, to define ourselves more clearly, and therefore, to see each other more fully. When we fight, we do not bring old issues into the fray, triangle others on to our side, or hide behind Scripture or other sacred writing. When we fight, we do not use stereotypes about men or…

The body of an elderly hiker who died on Lion’s Head, Cape Town, this week has been recovered. Volunteer group, Wilderness Search And Rescue (WSAR) and dedicated teams of professionals assisted SAPS in the recovery of the body of the 79-year-old hiker on Tuesday morning. “According to information from scene, the 79-year-old hiker had been found unconscious on a section of the hiking trail near the summit of Lion’s Head. His hiking companions immediately called WSAR. A team on board the Western Cape Department of Health EMS/Air Mercy Service rescue helicopter was flown to the scene and hoisted down to the patient’s location. “On arrival, the paramedic found that the patient had not survived. The body of the deceased was placed into a stretcher and hoisted up into the helicopter…

The defence in the Zandile Gumede fraud and corruption trial has demanded a copy of internal report from the eThekwini Municipality’s City Integrity and Investigations Unit (CIIU). Gumede and her co-accused, who include former Durban city manager Sipho Nzuza, former exco member Mondli Mthembu, Robert Abbu, who was Durban Solid Waste’s (DSW’s) deputy head, and Sandile Ngcobo, the former deputy head of supply chain management, face several charges, including conspiracy to commit corruption, corruption, fraud, money laundering, racketeering, the contravention of the Municipal Finance Management Act and the contravention of the Municipal Systems Act. Gumede’s lawyer, Jay Naidoo, yesterday sought to determine how the decision to launch a forensic investigation into alleged corruption in the more than R300 million DSW contract was arrived at. As the case entered its fourth…

ANOTHER disgruntled Patriotic Alliance (PA) proportional representative councillor has resigned as a member of the party and councillor of the City of Cape Town and joined the DA. Marvin Sampson, who tendered his resignation at the weekend, said he could no longer be part of a party that “bullies and threatens its councillors”. “I have been in a unstable space for a year and this on its own has had a serious and negative impact on my relationship as a husband, father and public servant to the people of this beautiful city. I can no longer allow myself to be bullied, intimidated and constantly threatened to be removed as a councillor.” His resignation follows that of Aslam Richards, who also resigned and joined the DA last Wednesday. Richards said…

Fourteen people from sub-Saharan Africa drowned in the Mediterranean, authorities said yesterday in Tunisia, where black migrants have faced a wave of violence since an inflammatory speech by President Kais Saied. The drama occurred off the coast of Tunisia’s Sfax region, where a spokesperson for the court in charge of the investigation said the dead were from two sunken migrant boats. Three migrants died and 34 were rescued in one sinking on Tuesday, followed on Wednesday by 11 deaths in a separate incident with 20 rescued, the spokesperson, Faouzi Masmoudi, said. The coastguard, in an earlier statement on Facebook, said its personnel had rescued 54 people “of various sub-Saharan African nationalities”, and recovered 14 bodies, but mentioned only one boat. The agency said it had prevented a total of 14…

Mexican law enforcement agents are investigating the possibility that members of a drug cartel kidnapped four Americans last Friday thinking that they were encroaching on their turf, says an internal government document. Two of the Americans, identified by Mexican officials as Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown, were found dead on Monday in a wood cabin south-east of Matamoros, the border city in the state of Tamaulipas where the four were abducted. Alongside them were their surviving companions, identified as Latavia McGee and Eric James Williams. Mexican officials, drew up a brief document summarising the abduction of the Americans and biographical information on them. The metadata of the digital document suggested it was created on Wednesday. It included their names, birthdays and addresses, and details of criminal records. Among them were…

Tbilisi: Georgia’s ruling party said yesterday it was halting plans to introduce a “foreign agent” law similar to Russia’s, but the opposition vowed to step up protests. Concern has been growing that the ex-Soviet nation, which aspires to join the EU and Nato, is taking an authoritarian turn. Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Georgia has hosted many anti-war Russians. But officials have barred some Kremlin critics from the country and has been accused of bending towards Moscow. Plans for a “foreign agent” law to silence critics triggered mass protests and clashes with police. Protesters have carried EU and Ukraine flags and chanted anti-Kremlin slogans. | AFP…

A two-horse race will almost certainly decide the destiny of the Premier League title this season with Arsenal leading Manchester City and the home straight in sight but almost half of the top flight clubs are still battling to avoid relegation. Last week’s results left bottom side Bournemouth and 12th-placed Crystal Palace separated by a mere six points and incredibly none of those teams in the mix meet this weekend. For those not involved in the fight to stay away from the bottom three it makes for compelling viewing towards the end of a season and this campaign looks like being a blockbuster. Unusually, no club has been cast adrift, meaning three from the bottom nine will fall. Any win can have huge ramifications for a struggling club and those…

THE KwaZulu-Natal Human Settlements Department has said the process of buying land for people displaced in last year’s April floods is at an advanced stage. The floods claimed more than 400 lives, left more than 40 000 people displaced and destroyed more than 12 000 homes as well as other infrastructure such as roads, health centres, schools. Human Settlements Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi yesterday conducted inspections at sites being used to temporarily accommodate flood victims. During the inspection in Klaarwater, Dassenhoek, the province’s Human Settlement’s MEC, Dr Ntuthuko Mahlaba, said they were fast-tracking the process of buying land so permanent houses could be built for flood victims. He said the process of buying land in La Mercy, north of Durban, was at the final stage. Mahlaba said the process had been…

THE popular Skycar at the Moses Mabhida Stadium will undergo a major overhaul, as repairing the old facility would have been an expensive exercise for the municipality. Head of stadia and facilities at eThekwini Municipality Vusi Mazibuko revealed they were engaging with the company that builds Skycars, and the intention was to have the tourist attraction in operation within a year. Mazibuko said the process of procuring it was at an advanced stage. “The real issue is that in the world there is only one company that is involved in this. We have engaged them. They need to build this car, and it has to be modelled within our own specifications,” he said. The Skycar has not been functional since it broke down in 2018. Attempts to fix it…

Professor Thuli Madonsela finally appeared before the Public Protector’s impeachment hearing – and boy, oh boy, were the viewers in for a spectacle of note. With no time wasted, the cross-questioning got under way. We, as the viewers, were in dismay as we were witness to a toxic, tyrannical tirade consuming hours of a nonsensical, about-facing and disparaging line of questioning by advocate Dali Mpofu. The latter clearly tried to place Madonsela on trial. However, Madonsela exposed Mpofu for what he is – hot air and no substance. Madonsela exposed Mpofu as a schoolboy bully who insults and intimidates. But this time, he fell short because this recipient of his puerile and toxic tirade was having none of it. Mpofu met his match – a dignified lady with class…

YESTERDAY’S front-page picture of a group of Nehawu members picketing outside a hospital showed them to have a large splash of red on their white T-shirts. The splash seemed to match the flames of the tyre they had burning in front of them. Stirring times we live in! Quiet café “IT’S got so quiet in here,” podcaster Nathan Reeves remarked to his interview guest, Alexsey Reye, in the Tout Suite Café, in Houston, Texas. Hardly had he uttered the words when a Chev SUV crashed through the window, showering the pair with shattered glass, according to Associated Press. Nobody was injured. Reeves had been filming an interview with his guest for the fifth episode of his YouTube Channel, November Romeo. “It was shock and a lot of adrenalin at…

Western Cape High Court Judge Ashley Binns-Ward has set aside the Public Investment Corporation’s (PIC) request to subpoena all communications Sekunjalo Investment Holdings and 3 Laws Capital had with JSE-listed AYO Technology Solutions (AYO). In a brief order delivered before the resumption of the main case featuring the PIC and AYO, the judge said that the application by the PIC was set aside. “The PIC and the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), as the first and second respondents, shall be liable jointly and severally to pay AYO’s cost of suit,” reads the order. The application to have the subpoena request dismissed was made on Tuesday by senior counsel Anton Katz on behalf of Sekunjalo Investment Holdings (Sekunjalo) and 3 Laws Capital. The application concerned a subpoena issued to them by…

ANC factions are chiefly concerned with parliamentary positions PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa’s Cabinet reshuffle on Monday night was about both tightening his grip on power and re-engineering prospects of his second term in the Union Buildings. By appointing Paul Mashatile as his deputy and rewarding loyalists, the president ended up with four ministers and four deputies in the Presidency, and has decapitated rivals in the ANC and government. Mashatile’s arrival as the party’s cheerleader-in-chief responsible for managing government business in Parliament suggests that Ramaphosa is pursuing an ideologically driven agenda. He hopes it can sell as economically necessary to keep the party and government together as he transitions to a second term as president. Electoral calculations are never far away. The best barometer for how well Ramaphosa is doing as president,…

Russia targeted Ukraine with a barrage of missiles yesterday in strikes which Moscow said were in response to a border incursion earlier this month. Ukraine said it downed nearly half of the missiles launched by Russia over at least 10 regions, with fighting raging in eastern Bakhmut. The conflict has revived tensions in the neighbouring pro-Russian separatist region of Transnistria in Moldova, where Moscow-backed authorities accused Ukraine of plotting a “terror attack”. The defence ministry said that it had used the lauded Kinzhal hypersonic missile. The ministry was referring to claims that Ukrainian nationalists had crossed into the southern Bryansk region and killed two civilians, which Kyiv dismissed as a provocation. The Russian barrage yesterday struck the relatively peaceful Lviv region in Ukraine’s west, causing the first civilian deaths there…

Antananarivo: At least 10 people had been killed and three others remained missing after tropical cyclone Freddy returned to the southwestern coast of Madagascar, the National Office for Risk and Disaster Management (BNGRC) said. Altogether 17 people have been killed by the cyclone in Madagascar since it first hit the Indian Ocean island country last month before hitting the Mozambican coast. The cyclone made a looping path and returned to the Malagasy coast last weekend, with 72 351 people in five regions affected, the BNGRC said this week. There were 24 358 displaced people. About 6 000 houses were flooded and 5 500 destroyed. Freddy is also expected to return to Mozambique. | IANS…

Paris: Plastic pollution in the world’s oceans has reached “unprecedented levels” over the past 15 years, a new study has found, calling for a legally binding international treaty to stop the harmful waste. Ocean plastic pollution is a persistent problem around the globe – animals may become entangled in larger pieces of plastic like fishing nets, or ingest microplastics that eventually enter the food chain to be consumed by humans. The study, published in open-access journal PLOS One, found that there are an estimated 170 trillion pieces of plastic, mainly microplastics, on the surface of the world’s oceans today, much of it discarded since 2005. | AFP…

SOUTH African long-jump champion Jovan van Vuuren “nearly fainted” when his doctor told him that he had suffered a serious hamstring injury, but he is not giving up on 2023 without a fight. The 26-year-old Tuks Sport athlete won the national title at the Green Point Athletics Stadium in Cape Town last April with a distance of 8.04 metres, beating Cheswill Johnson (8.02m) with a dramatic final-round jump in windy conditions. His best effort last year was a personal best of 8.16m, which placed him 17th on the world list, and he went on to gain further success with a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in August – where he reached a mark of 8.06m, just behind champion LaQuan Nairn of the Bahamas and silver medallist Murali…

WALES coach Warren Gatland has made six changes to his starting line-up for tomorrow's Six Nations clash against fellow strugglers Italy in Rome. Veteran lock Alun Wyn Jones, the world's most-capped international, experienced fullback Leigh Halfpenny and wing Louis Rees-Zammit are among those dropped. The other changes to the starting XV beaten 20-10 by England in Cardiff last time out see scrumhalf Rhys Webb recalled instead of Tomos Williams for his first Six Nations start in six years, with flanker Jac Morgan and loosehead prop Wyn Jones also recalled. Both Italy and Wales have yet to win in this Six Nations and tomorrow's match could end up deciding the recipient of the wooden spoon - something Wales last collected back in 2003. Wyn Jones was left out of the 23…