Indholdsfortegnelse for 2024-04-24 i Mercury

CAPITEC’s share price surged 7.79% yesterday after reporting strong earnings growth of 16% to R10.6 billion for the year to February 29. South Africa’s biggest mass retail bank had benefited from three years of diversification and from increasingly moving its clients into the digital space, CEO Gerrie Fourie said yesterday. The final dividend was raised by a fifth to R33.45 per share. Fourie’s executive pay and incentives increased 5.8% to R65.79 million. He said despite the tough economy, second-half growth was particularly strong at 25%. The R6.3bn that had been invested in products, new businesses, platforms and IT over three years had diversified the business from its early reliance on credit, and non-interest income now contributed 72% of total income. The share price closed 7.79% higher at R2…

THE ASSOCIATION of Meat Importers and Exporters of Southern Africa (Amie) yesterday announced the appointment of Imameleng Mothebe as its new CEO commencing May 2. Mothebe joins Amie from the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, where she was the director of industry development, agro-processing. Amie said Mothebe brings more than two decades of valuable senior management expertise, in both the private and public sectors. Her career in the food sector spans corporate affairs, sector skills planning and economic development and she has extensive experience in both economic industrial policy as well as stakeholder relations management. Amie board chairperson Seymour Talpert said they believe Mothebe’s extensive experience in both the public and private sectors will be of great benefit to the association, and its members, as it positions itself for…

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) could be gunning for more of former Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste’s fortune after more than R60 million in cash and property – including the luxurious Val De Vie wine estate – was forfeited to the state from Jooste’s alleged girlfriend, Berdine Odendaal. This brings to a close Odendaal’s three-year long battle to access a portion of Jooste’s massive fortune which was frozen by SARB long before his alleged death by suicide last month. In a “Notice and Order of Forfeiture” dated April 16, 2024, but published in a Government Gazette yesterday, SARB Deputy Governor of the Prudential Cluster, Fundi Tshazibana, gave Odendaal notice of a decision to forfeit the assets to the state. According to Tshazibana, the proceeds of the goods and the money…

The significance of the election manifesto of Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto Wesizwe (MKP) party is that it is a carbon copy of the SACP in every respect. MKP is politically and philosophically premised on the meaning of its cry Mayibuye, which translates as “come back Africa” or “Africa may it return”. From that perspective follows its no holds barred intentions of completely removing, reversing and reclaiming all that was lost and cost during “the prolonged period of national shame since 1652.” So, MKP’s first priority is the abolition of the following aspects of chapter two of our Constitution: freedom and security of person; political rights; freedom of expression; privacy; property rights. Philanthropist, writer and thinker, Sir John Templeton, identified property rights as being essential to human rights. MKP ignores that and…

Trump and company believe the Earth is flat. Scientology and all that mumbo-jumbo. Earth-warming presents cold turkey to this lot. Half the planet drowning in water that doesn’t have anywhere to go doesn’t seem to splash them into an awake mode. The same lot caught in a time warp that is deeply brainwashed into addressing freedom fighters like Hamas, the ANC and the Indian Congress as terrorists. Living in an era that gave them top billing and freedom to do whatever their brainwashed brains designed. Lived where they liked. Bagged the best jobs. Grabbed the best plots of land. Booted out the owners of prime Indian property, which lies vacant or fodder for vagrants. Take a drive through Mitchell Road, on the perimeter of the Race Course, between Grey and…

A JUDGE had harsh words for a head of immigration in the Western Cape, who tricked an Ethiopian citizen – who cannot speak a word of English – to post R1 000 for “bail”, while he was actually signing documents and paid the money as an admission of guilt fine for “being illegally in the country”. The man had tried several times in vain to be documented by Home Affairs so that he could be legally in the country. What transpired was that the immigration officer tricked him into admitting guilt. Once she had this document, she ordered his further detention as she now had “proof” that he was “illegally in the country”. This was done while neither the man nor his family could understand a word of English. Western…

THE ANC has defended the proposal to spend R25 million of council funds to purchase new vehicles for the eThekwini Municipality’s Security and Protection unit, saying the protection of the political leaders of the council and staff members was important. The councillors in the Executive Committee (Exco) meeting discussed the purchase yesterday. ANC councillors said the security of councillors and City workers was not something that could be taken lightly considering that some have been attacked and even murdered. The Mercury reported yesterday that a Finance and Emergency Services Portfolio Committee meeting had approved the purchase of the vehicles. Councillors in that committee said they were informed that among those to get new vehicles would be the mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda, deputy mayor Zandile Myeni, the chairpersons of committees and some…

Propagandist history has kept Ngoni, Ndebele beholden to the belief that they have a home In his article “Ngoni Praise Poetry and the Nguni Diaspora”, Ohio State University’s Lupenga Mphande asks a very good question: What is the nature of the interplay between the history of Nguni migration and the literary expression of the reality and the socio-historical contexts that led to the construction of myths from historical realities? He also adds that “apart from wanderlust and the sense of adventure, it is partly the aspect of loss and nostalgia that defines diaspora. Essentially, nostalgia and the threat of loss have enabled the Nguni in the diaspora to maintain their language, culture, religion and traditions.” Different sources suggest that the origin of all the “true” Ngoni of Malawi is from…

Israeli strikes intensified across Gaza yesterday in some of the heaviest shelling in weeks, pounding the north from where the Israeli army had previously drawn down its troops, residents said. Strikes by air and shelling from tanks on the ground were also reported in central and southern areas in what residents said were almost non-stop bombardments. Overnight tanks made a new incursion east of Beit Hanoun on the northern edge of the Gaza Strip, though they did not penetrate far into the city, residents and Hamas media said. Gunfire reached some schools causing panic amongst displaced residents sheltering there. In Israel, where government offices and businesses were shut to celebrate the Jewish Passover holiday, incoming rocket alerts sounded in southern border towns, although no casualties were reported. The armed wing…

Donald Trump faced a contempt of court hearing yesterday as part of his criminal trial, with prosecutors insisting the former president violated the gag order issued to prevent him from intimidating witnesses. The hearing comes a day after the jury heard opening arguments in Trump’s hush money case, with prosecutors placing him at the centre of a criminal conspiracy while his defence team said he was “cloaked in innocence”. The case, which centres on allegations of business fraud in the lead-up to Trump’s 2016 election victory, is the first criminal trial of a former US president. Yesterday’s contempt hearing focused on Trump calling witnesses Michael Cohen, his former personal fixer, and Stormy Daniels, a porn star, “sleazebags” after Judge Juan Merchan imposed a partial gag order on him not to…

BERLIN: An aide to a member of the European Parliament for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has been arrested in Germany on suspicion of “especially severe” espionage for China. Prosecutors accused Jian Guo of passing information about EU legislature discussions to Chinese intelligence. Maximilian Krah, the AfD’s top candidate in June’s election to the assembly, said he would stop working with Guo if proven guilty. Meanwhile, three Germans were arrested this week on suspicion of handing over technology with military applications. And two men were charged in Britain with spying for China; one worked as parliamentary researcher for a Conservative Party MP. | Reuters…

HYDERABAD: India’s spice exports regulator has asked MDH and Everest to provide details of quality checks after sales of some of their products were halted in Hong Kong for allegedly containing high levels of a cancer-causing pesticide. The companies’ products are popular in India and are exported to Europe, Asia and North America. Hong Kong this month suspended sales of three MDH spice blends and an Everest spice mix for fish curries. Singapore has also ordered a recall of the Everest spice mix and advised against its consumption. Authorities say the products contain high levels of ethylene oxide, which is unfit for human consumption, with long exposure a cancer risk. | Reuters…

TONIGHT, two of the country’s most successful domestic teams – the Lions and Titans – will show up for yet another Jukskei derby, this time in a CSA T20 Challenge semi-final at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. More than anything, tonight’s match will be a stern test of the two team’s cultures. Lions captain Bjorn Fortuin spoke highly of his team’s culture and referred to it as one that is deeply rooted in winning trophies, which makes his job as captain a touch easy. “I’ve been quite fortunate coming into the side that has won trophies and fortunate to be captaining a side that knows how to win trophies,” Fortuin said yesterday. “I wouldn’t say that the team runs itself but it’s nice to be part of a set-up where…

ANC structures in KwaZulu-Natal have raised concerns over the delay in the delivery of party election posters, saying this could have a disastrous impact on the party’s campaign strategy. With less than 40 days to go to the national and provincial elections, the ANC in the province confirmed yesterday that there had been delays in the arrival of a shipping container that carried posters, but 200 000 had arrived and more were expected. The party’s strategy includes party President Cyril Ramaphosa spearheading campaigns in the areas with the deepest concentration of voters – the metros and former leaders of the party – and National Executive Committee (NEC) members campaigning in heavily populated metros and rural areas, highlighting the country’s economic recovery plan. The party has set its sights on 14…

The fallout over the microphone-grabbing incident between traditional prime minister to the Zulu monarch Thulasizwe Buthelezi and ANC provincial chairperson Siboniso Duma appears to be far from over. This comes after the KwaZulu-Natal government last week revoked the contract of King Misuzulu kaZwelithini’s cultural adviser, Buzetsheni Mdletshe. The latest development stems from an incident on stage in Zululand on March 16 between Duma and Buthelezi. Duma took the microphone away from Buthelezi, who was introducing the king, when Buthelezi started to make reference to the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal. Duma then called on Mdletshe to introduce the king but he refused to do so, citing royal protocol where only the traditional prime minister can do this. The incident took place in full view of the Zulu king, President Cyril Ramaphosa and…

KwaZulu-Natal administrators continue to cost taxpayers almost R2 million a month despite failing to turn around the province’s severely dysfunctional municipalities. The figure, which includes a monthly bill of R720 000 for their security detail, forms part of a written parliamentary reply by Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Bongiwe Sithole-Moloi to questions posed by the DA. According to the reply, the administrators are earning a combined total of R982 234 within the eight KZN municipalities under Section 139 provincial administration – Umzinyathi, uThukela, uMkhanyakude, Inkosi Langalibalele, Msunduzi, Mpofana, Inkosi Mtubatuba and Abaqulusi. That the administrators continue to be paid so much money – while failing to restore proper basic services – is yet another slap in the faces of the downtrodden communities they are supposed to be serving. In…

LIZ Truss, the record-setting British prime minister – the record being for the briefest period in office at 49 days – has written a book, Ten Years To Save The West. I’ve yet to encounter this memoir but the reviews indicate that it’s about her years in parliament and in the cabinet, not just the 49 days in No 10. Predictably it’s written from a High Tory viewpoint. Chris Mason, the political editor of BBC News, sums up her concerns as “faltering conservatism”, leftists in the party, the tyranny of the technocracy (activist civil servants), snobbery in the judiciary“. Many of the reviews have been negative and disparaging. But one stands out for its hilarity. John Grace, the sketch writer of The Guardian, writes under a faux book cover…

FEMALE rapists will feel the full brunt of the law and will be treated the same way by the courts as their male counterparts, a female rapist who raped another woman with a vibrator, recently discovered. Last week, a captain in the SANDF, Sandisiwe Nongonwana, was sentenced in the Pretoria Regional Court to 10 years’imprisonment, for raping her now former friend – a lieutenant in the SANDF – with a vibrator. Magistrate Kallie Bosch, in sentencing her, made it clear that the punishment for rape should not be adjusted, simply because she was a female. Nongonwana pleaded not guilty to rape and claimed that she had performed sexual acts on her friend, with the latter’s consent. The court rejected this following the emotional evidence of the victim, who…

Cyril Ramaphosa’s performance as president of South Africa has been disastrous – that’s the view of the overwhelming majority of participants in a recent poll survey. The survey, conducted by African Innovation Research South Africa (AIRSA) in Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town, found a striking 71.26% of participants expressed disapproval of Ramaphosa’s performance, revealing a deep-seated dissatisfaction among the electorate. Only 18.64% of the survey respondents expressed approval, highlighting a significant challenge facing the president as he navigates the political landscape in the run up to national elections on May 29. A total of 1 030 participants were surveyed, representing a cross-section of the South African populace in these metros. AIRSA has been commissioned to conduct a similar survey in all nine provinces, the results of which will be made…

The Constitutional Court has directed the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) and former president Jacob Zuma to file their opposing papers by tomorrow. This is in relation to the application lodged by the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) to appeal the judgment of the Electoral Court which ruled that Zuma can stand as a candidate in the elections. The IEC had initially upheld an objection that Zuma was not eligible to stand as a candidate after he was convicted and sentenced to prison for defying a court order. The MKP appealed the IEC decision at the Electoral Court and it ruled in the party’s favour. The IEC has now approached the apex court to seek clarity on the interpretation of the law. “The Deputy Chief Justice has issued the following…

THE South African underworld is much more complex than ordinary folk, even the police, could fathom. Following the shooting of DJ and MC Peter Mabuse, popularly known as Mashata, in the early hours of Sunday in Soshanguve, many bemoaned the high crime rate in the township and country at large. However, as details began to emerge, it became clear that the killing was a hit and not a criminal act linked to hijacking or robbery. The police have opened a case of murder and attempted murder. Reports indicate that Mabuse died in hospital while another victim, who was with him, was left wounded. The suspects fled and police are following several leads. In the early hours of Sunday, November 20, 2022, Oupa John Sefoka, better known as DJ Sumbody, was…

Five people, including a child, died in an attempt to cross the English Channel from France yesterday, hours after Britain passed a bill to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda to try to deter the dangerous crossings. The deaths occurred after an overcrowded small boat carrying around 110 people set out to cross one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world. The French coastguard was still searching for any survivors. “A tragedy occurred on a boat overloaded with migrants early this morning. We deplore the deaths of five people, a seven-year-old girl, a woman and three men,” local prefect Jacques Billant told reporters. “The engine stopped a few hundred metres away from the shore and several people fell into the water,” Billant said. Rescuers had arrived quickly and picked up…

Sydney: Tech billionaire Elon Musk has hit out at Australia over the country’s attempts to ban footage of a Sydney church stabbing on his social media platform X. The Australian court this week granted a two-day injunction, ordering the platform to hide videos of the April 15 stabbing for all users globally. “If any country is allowed to censor content for all countries, which is what the Australian ‘eSafety Commissar’ is demanding, then what is to stop any country from controlling the entire Internet,” Musk wrote on X. “We have already censored the content in question for Australia, pending legal appeal, and it is stored only on servers in the US,” he said. Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said social media needed to have social responsibility with it. “Mr…

BEIJING: More than 100 000 people have been evacuated due to heavy rain and fatal floods in southern China, with the government issuing its highest-level rainstorm warning for the affected area yesterday. Torrential rains have lashed Guangdong in recent days, swelling rivers and raising fears of severe flooding. Yesterday, the megacity of Shenzhen was among the areas experiencing “heavy to very heavy downpours”, the city’s meteorological observatory said, adding the risk of flash floods was “very high”. The floods have claimed the lives of four people so far and 10 are missing, according to state media. | AFP…

SAN FRANCISCO: Adobe said yesterday it planned to place a tool for full artificial intelligence image generation in its Photoshop software later this year. Adobe’s image and video editing tools are widely used by creative professionals, but it faces competition from start-ups such as Microsoft-backed OpenAI, Midjourney and Stability AI, all of which offer services that can generate images from text prompts. Adobe is developing its own AI system called Firefly, which is trained on data that Adobe has rights to. The new image-generation tool will have the ability to tap a user’s uploaded image as a reference for the composition of an image. | Reuters…

Are the Bulls going to choose the high road or the low road to win this year’s United Rugby Championship? Well, director of rugby Jake White knows both. He was involved as an analyst in the Springboks’ famous 1995 Rugby World Cup triumph, where coach Kitch Christie spoke about the two roads. Beating the Wallabies in the tournament opener meant an easier quarter-final and semi-final, and Francois Pienaar’s team duly delivered. In 2007, when he was the head coach, White’s Boks again pulled off the unforgettable 36-0 walloping of England, which led to a quarter-final against Fiji and semi-final against Argentina. Fast-forward to today, and the Bulls are in a tough spot in the United Rugby Championship after going down 27-22 to Munster at Loftus Versfeld last weekend. Suddenly, Saturday’s…

THERE is something special about late bloomers. They have to endure extended periods of self-doubt and have to learn to master the art of patience. Durban-born spinner Keshav Maharaj is one of the special cases of late bloomers. It took Maharaj eight years of international cricket to finally attract the attention of the Indian Premier League (IPL) bosses, a league most cricketers dream to be a part of, making the long journey to the biggest stage a little sweeter. The slow left-arm orthodox now has two IPL games under the belt and has returned impressive figures of 2-23 and 0-16. “It’s a privilege to be part of the official squad of the Rajasthan Royals,” said Maharaj. “Having played my first game, I think it was a beautiful experience, the fans…

Vusumuzi Vilakazi hasn’t been one to shy away from speaking his mind. As such, he fired a warning shot to Cape Town Spurs ahead of their battle for survival on Friday. With matches coming thick and fast in the DStv Premiership, Spurs and Richards Bay are in danger of being relegated. But it’s been Richards Bay that have got on with the business of staging a recovery. They won their last two games in a row, including beating Kaizer Chiefs on Sunday. The two massive wins saw Vilakazi and his men retain 15th spot, while opening an eight-point gap between them and basement dwellers Spurs. The Urban Warriors, on the other hand, have found the going tough. They lost their last four games in a row and are without a…

THE 2024 edition of Africa’s Travel Indaba is expected to match or surpass last year’s contribution of a R1.2 billion injection into the economy. This was the view of the Deputy Minister of Tourism Fish Mahlalela during his address at the launch of the event in Durban yesterday. The Indaba is scheduled to take place from May 13 to 16. The launch of the province’s premier tourism event was also attended by KZN Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (Edtea) MEC Siboniso Duma and Thembo Ntuli, chairperson of eThekwini Municipality’s Economic Development Committee. Mahlalela said that 990 exhibitors from 26 African countries are confirmed for next month’s Indaba, “including newcomers Burkina Faso, Eritrea and Guinea and over 1 000 buyers representing 36 countries.” Mahlalela added that their post-event survey revealed…

After South Africa took Israel to the ICJ, it was noted that the ANC managed to pay their staff, and clear a lot of debt; and a conspiracy theory arose, claiming that Iran had “bought” the ANC to make their case for them. But after reading Councillor Adams’ rant about the evil West (Cape Argus, 23 April), I have to wonder if the ones who “bought” the ANC were not, in fact, the evil West? The level of disinvestment in South Africa because of corruption and criminality, and the hypocrisy of our president’s happy greeting of Sudan’s al-Bashir (after we were requested by the ICC to arrest him) means that decent, moral people are going to be highly suspicious of any cause espoused by the ANC. So linking them to…

MISLEADING comments and reports that cloud seeding played a role in the huge Dubai floods are grossly untrue. The world is continuing to witness month after month of record-breaking catastrophic floods and heatwaves in 2024. Dubai is normally dry and with a downpour of this magnitude, the city’s infrastructure was unprepared for a mammoth deluge that engulfed the entire landmass. It is concrete and glass, and there is very little green space to soak up a year’s rain falling in 12 hours. Climatic conditions and weather dynamics of that region are the cause of the unprecedented volume of water that engulfed the UAE with 245mm of rainfall. It is a proven fact that storms are raging in many parts of the world because a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture.…

“My SON is dating a girl I cannot accept for a number or reasons. She is secretive with him and he has had to lie about his relationship with her for the past few months. “I suspected he was seeing someone but he denied it. He says she told him to lie and that’s one of lots of reasons I can’t trust her. “She has tattoos. She has taught him to vape. She is already living away from her parents in a place of her own. “What can I do? My son was a soft and loving boy who never hid anything from me. Now everything is changing so fast?” (Extracted from a much longer letter) The loss you are enduring as your son forges his own future must be…

The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health has urged patients to seek help timeously after a 41-year-old man collapsed while waiting in a queue for assistance at the KwaMashu Community Health Centre on Monday. “The department would like to urge health-care users and/or their relatives to understand the importance of presenting during early stages of illness to health facilities, in order to afford doctors and nurses the opportunity to make timeous interventions. “This will help to avoid serious complications which may lead to fatalities,” said the Department of Health. The department stated that a report from the facility management said concerned patients who saw a man lying on the floor alerted the security guards, who summoned nurses for help. “Upon examination by doctors, the patient was found to have no vital signs…

As the political season reaches its crescendo, with more than 50 countries worldwide heading to the polls in 2023, this is a historic election year in which more than two billion people will vote in, the US, India, Mexico and South Africa, among others. Discussions about integrity in communication are frequently associated with politicans’ electioneering tactics. However, the importance of integrity extends beyond politics. In business, maintaining integrity in communication with stakeholders is ethical and essential for sustained success. This article will explore the essence of integrity in stakeholder communication, its significance, how it can be maintained and the consequences of its absence, supplemented by real-life corporate examples. Integrity in communication involves honesty, transparency and consistency in all messages conveyed to stakeholders. Stakeholders are not just investors; they include employees,…

The idea of a doctor in the US having to consider the risk of imprisonment before performing an emergency abortion might have been difficult to imagine just two years ago. But after the US Supreme Court in June 2022 overturned the 1973 Roe v Wade ruling that had legalised abortion nationwide, such dilemmas are a reality in several states that have since adopted Republican-backed near-total bans that include the threat of criminal penalties and loss of medical licensure. The court today is set to hear arguments in a case pitting Idaho’s strict abortion ban against a federal law that ensures that patients can receive emergency care. It forces the court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, to revisit the fraught legal landscape that it created with its 2022 Dobbs v…

Pfizer and BioNTech asked a London court to revoke rival Moderna’s patents over technology key to the development of vaccines for Covid-19, as the latest leg of a global legal battle began yesterday. Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech sued Moderna at London’s High Court in September 2022, seeking to revoke patents held by Moderna, which hit back days later alleging its patents had been infringed. The competing lawsuits over the companies’ two vaccines, which helped save millions of lives and made the companies billions of dollars, are just one strand of ongoing litigation around the world which focuses on messenger RNA (mRNA) technology. Moderna says Pfizer and BioNTech copied mRNA advances it had pioneered and patented well before the Covid-19 pandemic began in late 2019. US-based Moderna is seeking…

LONDON: Taylor Swift fans – called “Swifties” – are flocking to The Black Dog, a pub in southwest London, after it was name-checked on the US singer’s new album The Tortured Poets Department. Lily Bottomley, the pub’s events and social media manager, said the buzz started online last week before the double album was released with The Black Dog confirmed as the 17th track. The pub in the city’s Vauxhall district has capitalised on its new-found fame with a “Swift” burger and “(Taylor’s Version)” cocktails. | AFP…

Nairobi: At least 21 people are dead and 23 missing in a new migrant boat disaster off the coast of Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) said yesterday. The accident occurred about two weeks after another boat carrying mainly Ethiopian migrants sank off the Djibouti coast, claiming several dozen lives. “Tragedy as boat capsizes off Djibouti coast with 77 migrants on board including children,” the IOM said in a post on X. It was the latest deadly accident on the so-called Eastern Migration Route. An earlier boat carrying more than 60 people sank off the coast of Djibouti on April 8. | AFP…