Indholdsfortegnelse for 2021-07-08 i Cape Argus

Sisonke Mlamla sisonke.mlamla@inl.co.za THE appointment of former Western Cape Education Department (WCED) head Brian Schreuder as an adviser to the department has raised eyebrows among the education fraternity. Schreuder, pictured, who retired in March, has been appointed on a contract to advise the department in areas that require specialist attention, including examination administration. Heathfield High special action group chairperson Brandon de Kock said Schreuder’s appointment was a smack in the face for suitably qualified candidates. ANC provincial spokesperson on education Khalid Sayed said a month after Schreuder’s retirement they heard rumours that he was still in the WCED’s employ. “We then posed a written question for Education MEC Debbie Schäfer, who indicated that he was no longer in their employ,” Sayed said. He said the latest revelation came as a…

Sisonke Mlamla sisonke.mlamla@inl.co.za A DEADLY drama unfolded at Mfuleni police station on Tuesday after a police officer who was about to be arrested, allegedly committed suicide after fighting with fellow officers at the station. The officer, who belonged to the Kuils River visible policing unit (Vispol), was arrested for alleged theft of ammunition, but according to the incident report compiled by the unit commander, the suspect (officer) was never handcuffed or held in cells at the time. The report said while another officer was seated at the counter the suspect grabbed his service pistol out of his holster and cocked the firearm. The officer got up and a scuffle between the two occurred. It said another officer joined in and tried to disarm the suspect and a shot went…

Zintle Mahlati zintle.mahlati@inl.co.za The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) projects it will spend between R4.2 billion and R5.3bn financing the extension of the UIF temporary employer/employee relief scheme (Ters). The fund has paid out billions of rand since the scheme was introduced in March last year. This was to help sectors and workers who were unable to operate. It was extended a few times since. Partners at Nedlac, the government, labour and business negotiating chamber, have agreed to extend…

The saga of Heathfield High School principal Wesley Neumann continues. Last week, he made his final appearance at a disciplinary hearing. Many prominent South Africans cut their academic and political teeth at Heathfield High with the help of excellent teachers such as Kosie Liebenberg, Dot Murphy, Pam Stein and Ismail Collier. Terrence Smith, well known as an outstanding sprinter in the early 1970s (he no doubt would have represented SA at the Olympics if it were not for apartheid) and a civil engineer by profession, was instrumental in designing the homes for claimants in District Six, hails from this esteemed school. Ebrahim Patel, a minister in President Ramaphosa’s Cabinet and former trade unionist in the clothing industry, also cut his academic and political teeth at Heathfield High, which celebrates its…

IJ Saks | Table View President Cyril Ramaphosa has gone missing in action and has shown us how weak he is. He said he puts the country first, so why has he not issued any statements on how the Covid-19 rules were broken at Nkandla on Sunday and no one has been arrested. I will tell you why. He is so scared of the RET faction, and I have warned him many times that if he does not crush them, our country will go to the dogs and a civil war will proceed as we will not accept this RET faction as rulers of South Africa. Please wake up now before it is too late.…

Mthuthuzeli Ntseku mthuthuzeli.ntseku@inl.co.za AFTER a recent meeting with interim SANParks chief executive Luthando Dziba, Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) stakeholders hope their concerns about the management of the park will be taken seriously. Friends of Table Mountain (FOTM) chairperson Andy Davies presented an eight-point plan that was drawn up and sent to Barbara Creecy, the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, last year. The recovery plan includes recommendations on tackling crime in the park, the legality of the current permit, conservation and the Park Forum that was recently established. Davies said it was a productive meeting and that he was encouraged by Dziba’s interest in the stakeholders' concerns. “We are looking forward to seeing some tangible improvements to the management of TMNP as committed to by Dr Dziba, and look…

Russell Rensburg SOUTH Africa has a two-tiered and highly unequal health-care system. The public sector is state-funded and caters to the majority, 71%, of the population. The private sector is largely funded through individual contributions to medical aid schemes or health insurance, and serves around 27% of the population. The public sector is underfunded, while most South Africans can’t afford the exorbitant cost of private care. To balance the scales, the government tabled the National Health Insurance Scheme. The proposal was to provide universal health care by buying services from health professionals through a National Health Insurance Fund. The services would then be delivered at private and public facilities. But there are many unanswered questions about how exactly the scheme will work and many doubts about it. Russell…

TAMPA: Elsa weakened to a tropical storm early yesterday before making landfall on the north Florida Gulf coast, the US National Hurricane Center said. It had strengthened to a hurricane, the first of the season, on Tuesday night before weakening again as it moved north parallel to Florida’s west coast, sparing the state from some of the serious harm authorities had braced for. “Clearly this could have been worse,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said at a news briefing yesterday. There were no reports of injuries or major structural damage, though there still remained a risk of tornadoes, he said. About 26 000 customers had lost their power across Florida.…

Haitian President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in a night-time assault by “highly trained and heavily armed” killers, according to the nation’s interim prime minister, Claude Joseph. The attack by the unidentified group took place at the presidential residence at around 1am in the capital, Port-Au-Prince, Joseph said. First lady Martine Moise was also shot in the attack and was taken to the hospital. Luis Abinader, president of the Dominican Republic, which borders Haiti, said via Twitter she died, and sent his condolences. Joseph’s statement didn’t elaborate on the first lady’s health condition. Some of the assailants spoke Spanish, Joseph said in an earlier statement, implying that they were foreigners. Haiti’s National Police and other authorities are working to keep order, he said. Yesterday morning, Port-Au-Prince was largely quiet amid the…

THE question of why so-called average athletes usually make great coaches is one of the interesting aspects of sport. This can be seen across multiple codes and across different countries, meaning that it is more than a myth and has an element of truth. There may be some exceptions to this as Benni McCarthy and Steven Gerrard look promising as young mentors, although they are still far from finished products. However, it’s not common that great players become exceptional coaches. Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho are two of the past generation’s most revered tacticians but both were average footballers. And a similar trend can be seen closer to home. Gavin Hunt and Pitso Mosimane are arguably the two most decorated tacticians in the Premiership and perhaps two of the…

RUGBY REPORTER THE British & Irish Lions tour seems to be on the precipice as Covid-19 continues to encumber the best laid plans of SA Rugby. Yesterday, SA Rugby officially cancelled the second Test match between the Springboks and Georgia scheduled for tomorrow night, and to further compound matters, the B&I Lions also announced that one member of their management team had also returned a positive test hours before their scheduled match against the Sharks. Four members of that squad, including two players, were entered into isolation, with the team undergoing a fresh set of tests to ascertain whether they would be able to honour the Sharks encounter. It was a second blow to the tourists' preparations. On Tuesday afternoon their tour match against the Bulls - originally scheduled…

STAFF REPORTER THE SA Revenue Service (Sars) has partnered with the US Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI) to combat transnational crimes. In a joint statement issued by Sars and the IRS-C, the organisations said their collaboration was aimed at identifying and investigating international public corruption, cyber fraud and money laundering with a focus on non-compliant wealthy individuals and offshore tax evasion. Sars Commissioner Edward Kieswetter said one of their strategic objectives was to make it easy for taxpayers to adhere to their tax obligations and make it difficult and costly for those who intentionally refuse to adhere. “We trust that this partnership will yield results, also in terms of augmenting our internal skill sets as we clamp down on illegal activities affecting both our countries,” said…

Nomalanga Tshuma nomalanga.tshuma@inl.co.za FOR ITS Mandela Day initiative this year, global non-profit foundation GiveGain is on a mission to recruit and entice South Africans to be active citizens by fundraising and supporting local charities, communities and organisations in need. The internationally recognised foundation wants get more people involved in crowdfunding in support of their preferred charities for Mandela Day on July 18. GivenGain SA and sub-Saharan Africa regional manager Jannie Smith said: “Many people don’t know they can massively increase the difference they make to a charity with a peer-to-peer fundraising solution. “For Mandela Day this year, we are calling on individuals or companies to raise money for their favourite cause on our platform, or to simply donate to charities already fundraising on the platform.” Last year the platform raised…

FAROUK ARAIE | Benoni The geostrategic domain of world politics in the light of the rapidly changing balance of power has become increasingly complex and multidimensional. Since the Korean war, the US has lost about every war it has fought in the developing world. It has epitomised the tragedy of the world’s sole superpower’s incapability in asymmetric conflicts. The hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan is actually a tactical retreat without having achieved it’s original objectives. The power vacuum created will begin a deadly contest for supremacy there. The West and Nato will be foolish to open a new front by attacking Iran – any new massive military conflict in this area will usher in a war of immense proportions. Nato’s defeat in the Afghanistan conflict serves as a sombre…

After Jacob Zuma’s meteoric rise, and time as president, his long day in the sun is over It’s the small crimes that bring you down. Al Capone went merrily on his murdering way until the FBI nailed him for tax evasion. Richard Nixon seemed immune to the consequences of lying about Vietnam, Cambodia and Chile, but his lies over the silly crime of burgling the Democratic Party’s headquarters did it for him. So it is with Jacob Zuma. He faced multiple charges of corruption but so far has avoided his day in court. He was tried for rape and acquitted. As president, he was accused of working with the Guptas in orchestrating state capture. He is refusing to co-operate with the judicial commission investigating the allegations. In the end, it…

Tokyo: The Olympic torch relay has been scrapped on Tokyo’s public roads, officials announced yesterday, as virus concerns continue to plague the Games just over two weeks before they begin. Private flame-lighting ceremonies will replace public relay events across the capital beginning tomorrow, the Tokyo city government said. Right up to the opening ceremony on July 23, the torch events will be streamed online, with authorities urging spectators to watch them “in the comfort of your home”. Only the relay leg in the Ogasawara islands – a remote archipelago some 1 000km south of Tokyo – will go ahead as scheduled. The nationwide torch relay has been fraught with problems since it began in March, with almost half the legs disrupted in some way.…

Regional officials in northern Afghanistan said yesterday that they had recaptured government buildings in a provincial capital after Taliban fighters stormed it overnight, taking over the police headquarters and sparking panic among residents. Officials said air strikes were being carried out and special forces had been deployed to push the Taliban fighters back after the latest dramatic advance by fighters surging across the country as Washington pulls out its last troops. The Islamist insurgents have been advancing for weeks, an offensive that has accelerated as the US pulled out of its main base, effectively ending its two-decade intervention. Taliban gains have been especially dramatic in northern provinces, where they had long been kept at bay. Provincial governor Husamuddin Shams said the Taliban had attacked the city of Qala-e-Naw from three…

MATSHELANE MAMABOLO IT makes sense that Pitso Mosimane should be a little conflicted as he anticipates the Champions League final on July 17. How can he not be when he is on a mission to break the hearts of his fellow countrymen? As coach of African superpower Al Ahly, Mosimane is tasked with delivering the “aleushria/El Ashra” – a 10th title – for the Egyptian giants. And winning titles is after all what ‘Jingles’ does. But the fact that he has to do it against a team from South Africa complicates things a wee bit. “There’s a little bit of a conflict,” Mosimane said yesterday as he looked ahead to the clash with Kaizer Chiefs in an interview with members of the SA Football Journalists Association (SAFJA). “I am…

Sihle Mavuso sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za ALTHOUGH he has repeatedly told the world he does not fear going to jail, late yesterday former president Jacob Zuma and his lawyers were engaged in a last-minute bid to bar the police from frogmarching him to prison. Acting on the instruction of the former head of state, Ntanga Nkuhlu Inc Attorneys wrote to the Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo and copied the state attorney in Pretoria, asking the apex court to urgently intervene. In the urgent letter dated July 7, 2021, the lawyers said they had to write to the apex court because their first attempt to interdict the police from arresting Zuma did not yield the desired results because the Pietermaritzburg High Court which they approached on Tuesday withheld its ruling, thus bringing confusion. In…

EIGHT abalone poaching suspects are to appear in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court today after they were arrested near Robben Island yesterday. Police spokesperson FC Van Wyk said they were nabbed during an operation by members attached to Border Police Cape Town Harbour and Department of Agriculture Forestry and Fisheries. Abalone with an estimated street value R345 000 and a rubber duck valued at R350 000 were seized, he said. “On Tuesday, 2021/07/06 at about 10pm the members started with random vessel patrols in the bay and around Robben Island during dark moon and calm sea conditions. Around 2am, a vessel was detected close to Robben Island, pursued and brought to a halt. Upon closer investigation it was found that the vessel was carrying persons in diving gear and in…

Kailene Pillay kailene.pillay@inl.co.za The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal will first engage with its members who acted in a disorderly manner in Nkandla to see if they showed remorse for their behaviour before deciding if they should be suspended. ANC KZN provincial secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli, who has been tasked with heading an investigation into those members who misbehaved in Nkandla over the weekend, said they would start with those who arrived armed and fired gunshots in the air. They were also looking at identifying those who burned T-shirts with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s face on them, “as a matter of urgency”. Speaking to Independent Media yesterday, Ntuli said they were highly concerned about instability…

Ntombi Nkosi ntombi.nkosi@inl.co.za Suspended ANC member and Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans’ Association (MKMVA) spokesperson Carl Niehaus has confirmed that he is going to appeal his suspension immediately. Niehaus was suspended yesterday by the ANC’s national executive committee (NEC) with immediate effect. “I will appeal this suspension by the ANC with immediate effect. I will remain a dedicated liberation fighter. I have been a member of the ANC for 42 years and the suspension is wrong. I was merely communicating a collective message of the MKMVA,” Niehaus said. The ANC confirmed the suspension after a letter from ANC deputy secretary-general Jessie Duarte said Niehaus’s utterances at Nkandla over the weekend brought the party into disrepute and, therefore, the party had decided to suspend his membership. “The NEC has noted with…

WHEN the coronavirus first breathed its toxic fumes over the planet many experts predicted that Africa would become the epicentre of the pandemic. All the elements were there to fuel a catastrophe of unprecedented proportions – crowded informal settlements, poorly-equipped hospitals, poverty, poor communication and transport systems, shortage of oxygen equipment, corrupt leaders and the population’s general suspicion of authority. The rich politicians of America and Europe shook their well-groomed heads sorrowfully and said things looked pretty grim for Darkest Africa. (Nobody can accuse Boris Johnson of being well-groomed, but he probably shook his head too anyway.) Now that the numbers are being added up there’s been a surprise. Africa has turned out to be the second least affected region in the world. (I’m not sure which region has emerged…

Shakirah Thebus shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za LOCAL health officials remain cautious after the discovery of the lambda Covid-19 variant, first detected in Peru. The earliest documented sample of the variant was in December. However, it was only designated as a “variant of interest” by the World Health Organization on June 14. By the time of its designation, it had spread across South America, and was reported in 31 countries. UCT’s School of Public Health and Family Medicine head, Professor Landon Myer, said new variants were always of possible concern, but not much information on the lambda variant was available to have more than a general concern. “The process of mutation is part of all life forms and exceedingly common in viruses. We should expect to see new mutations continue to emerge, and while…

TODAY might just be a day of days. A day when a former head of state has been arrested and taken to Durban’s infamous Westville Prison, which houses the worst types of criminals that KwaZulu-Natal has to offer. Any calamity resulting from the latest series of events should be avoided by all means necessary, unless we are ready for bloodshed and another unnecessary massacre in South Africa. History reminds us that protests require a careful response aimed not only at extinguishing the protesters’ fury, but at addressing the genuine issues that trigger people to protest against the state and those in power. With former president Jacob Zuma and his supporters taking a position to protest against what they deem a “travesty of justice”, one has to caution those agitating for…

CAIRO: The megaship MV Ever Given which blocked the Suez Canal for six days in March headed out of the waterway yesterday as Egypt and the vessel’s Japanese owners signed a final compensation deal that lifted its arrest. The ship weighed anchor and started to move north from the central canal city of Ismailia towards the Mediterranean Sea. The nearly 200 000-tonne container vessel became wedged across the canal during a sandstorm on March 23, blocking a vital artery from Asia to Europe that carries 10% of global maritime trade and pumps vital revenues into Egyptian state coffers. After a round-the-clock salvage operation to dislodge it, Egypt seized the ship and demanded compensation from Japanese owners Shoei Kisen Kaisha for lost canal revenues, salvage costs and damage to the canal.…

ZAAHIER ADAMS zaahier.adams@inl.co.za THE phrase “long term” and Chippa United coaches have not been synonymous over the years. Just last season the Eastern Cape-based team went through a string of coaches, namely Lehlohonolo Seema‚ Dan Malesela‚ Siyabulela Gwambi and Serbian Vladislav Heric. Everything begins and ends with club boss and self-made millionaire Siviwe Mpengesi, who runs Chippa like his personal spaza shop. He hires and fires at will. But South African football’s own Mike Ashley has arguably pulled the biggest cat out of the bag yet with the arrival of Gavin Hunt in Gqeberha. With all due respect to the aforementioned gentlemen and others like Roger Sikhakhane, Kosta Papic, Farouk Abrahams and Englishman Mark Harrison who have all experienced the poisoned chalice of being Chippa coach, they cannot tie Hunt's…

A business-like Novak Djokovic threatened to short-change over 14 000 fans who had forked out £170 for yesterday's Centre Court tickets when, after only 19 minutes of action, he stood on the cusp of bagging the first set 6-0. Trailing 0-5 and 15-40 on serve, it seemed like Marton Fucsovics's first foray into a grand slam quarter-final would be short and not very sweet. But somehow the 29-year-old avoided disappearing into a Wimbledon sinkhole for two hours and 17 minutes before Djokovic pushed him over the edge for a 6-3 6-4 6-4 win that secured him a place in the All England Club semi-finals for a 10th time. Playing in his 50th grand slam quarter-final, Djokovic recorded a century of tour-level wins on grass and his 315th victory at a…

WYNONA LOUW wynona.louw@inl.co.za Western Province 28 Tries: JJ Kotze (2), Sergeal Petersen Conversions: Tim Swiel (2) Penalties: Swiel (3) Yellow card: Lee Marvin Mazibuko Griquas 30 Tries: Ashlon Davids, Daniel Kasenda, Cameron Lindsay Conversions: George Whitehead (3) Penalties: Whitehead (3) GRIQUAS scored a try in stoppage time to secure an impressive 30-28 victory against Western Province in an entertaining Currie Cup contest at Cape Town Stadium yesterday. Going into the fixture, Province were no doubt the favourites. Not only did they play at home, but they had also enjoyed a neat run in their campaign. They are, of course, also traditionally the stronger team. WP got off to a solid start and got an early maul try through JJ Kotze, with flyhalf Tim Swiel converting to take the score…