Indholdsfortegnelse for 2022-02-11 i Cape Argus

Key task of government to create conditions to enable private sector. Those responsible for corruption will be punished Mwangi Githahu mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za THE R350 Basic Income Grant whichbrought relief to the unemployed during the Covid-19 lockdown would continue for another year, President Cyril Ramaphosa said. This as he called for fundamental change to revive the economy if it is to challenge unemployment, poverty and inequality during his State of the Nation Address (Sona) last night. He acknowledged that during a year that unemployment inched closer to 40%, his administration would wage a war on red tape and regulations which stifled entrepreneurship and job creation. He said the problems in the economy were deep and also structural and that the key task for the government was to create the conditions to…

SADLY, the authorities did not take concrete steps to ensure justice and accountability for serious abuses, most of which were committed by the security forces in Zimbabwe. There was no attempt to investigate and prosecute the state security forces for the other serious violations they committed, among them violent attacks, abductions, torture and other abuses against members of the political opposition and civil society activists. Unresolved cases in which there has been no accountability include the abduction and torture of rural teachers’ union president Obert Masaraure, comedian Samantha Kureya (known as “Gonyeti”), activist Tatenda Mombeyarara and students Tawanda Muchehiwa and Takudzwa Ngadziore. The lack of basic rights, such as access to water and sanitation, is affecting citizens’ heath. Thousands of residents of Harare, including those in the nearby municipalities of…

As many watched live the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) interviews for South Africa’s chief justice, patriarchy, the script of meritocracy and power intersected in public view. In the third decade of South Africa’s democracy, it seemed unspectacular that of the four presidential nominees for Chief Justice only one judge was a woman: Justice Mandisa Maya, president of the Supreme Court of Appeal. The others were Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, Gauteng Judge President Dunstan Mlambo and Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo. It seemed unspectacular, that is, until Commissioner Sylvia Lucas had the mettle to call it an “anomaly” and brought Maya to tears – it made perfect sense for many senior professional women. We recognised the gaslighting, dismissal, undermining and sexual innuendos experienced in our own careers – which…

Mwangi Githahu mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za TWO men sentenced to 23 years in jail for a 2020 farm attack have won their appeal in the Western cape High Court to have their sentence reduced to 15 years including time served. Manilisi Sphuhle and Luthando Ngam, who attacked farmer Raymond O’Grady and his wife Betty on their Hillcrest Berry Farm in the Cape Winelands District in August 2020, were found guilty in February last year by a Stellenbosch magistrate. At the time they were convicted on three separate counts: burglary with intent to rob; robbery with aggravating circumstances, and assault with intent to seriously injure. For the first charge both received 15 years’ imprisonment, on the second charge the sentence was three years’ imprisonment, and the third charge carried a sentence of 15 years’…

Mwangi Githahu mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za A WOMAN who was last month evicted by the sheriff of the court from a property owned by social housing giant Communicare has won an interim court order to return to the flat she lived in with her mother and brother at the Sakabula apartments in Ruyterwacht. Goodwood Magistrate’s Court issued the order restoring Rifda and Mogamat Morat and their mother Moerida Morat to their flat on Wednesday. The order from the court read in part: “The court finds that the applicants succeeded in satisfying the requirements of bare po session.” Advocate Thando Dondolo, who represented the Morats, said on Wednesday that Communicare lost the matter because it had not followed the letter of the law in its eviction of the family. However, yesterday, Moerida, 53,…

Lehlohonolo Mashigo lehlohonolo.mashigo@inl.co.za THE Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) yesterday announced the introduction of online payments on the National Administration Traffic Information System (Natis). The RTMC said the new development was designed to enhance online renewals and bookings to create a seamless experience. The corporation said the absence of online payments made it impossible for South Africans to renew their licences without physically going to driving licence testing centres. “The introduction of online payments means that one can avoid long queues and simply renew online, make a payment and opt for home delivery. “Services that will soon be available are as follows: individuals and corporates will be able to register their account online. “Thereafter they will pay the required amount for a vehicle disk renewal online. This payment will…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za SOUTH Africa’s spectrum auction will finally happen within the next month after more than a decade as the government begins to embark on a widespread campaign to cut the red tape and improve the ease of doing business. President Cyril Ramaphosa last night announced a sweeping review of economic policy and regulatory framework as part of the government’s efforts to implement structural reforms. He said that the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) will be spearheading the rolling out of the spectrum to boost investment and create jobs. Spectrum has been one of the major hurdles for investment in South Africa. Delays in rolling out new spectrum auctions have been caused by fighting between Icasa and the Department of Communications. “The auctioning of high-demand spectrum is…

While President Ramaphosa put the final touches to the State of the Nation address (Sona), citizens at home and commentators at their offices were reflecting on how we will make sense of the societal questions and answers the address tabled. As they do so, people read the news, go to work and must face the daily challenges of their communities. Among others, in Khayelitsha and Hout Bay, they face disrupted water supply. In Hanover Park parents protest against vaccinations at a school; at the high court small-scale fishers and environmental activists protest against continuing seismic blasting at the coast; in Delft residents protest about the lack of electricity; in the Overberg the Elim community battle for ownership of land; and in Durbanville the police warn residents to take extra precautions…

Anita Nkonki anita.nkonki@inl.co.za SOUTH Africa woke up to the news that renowned media personality and actress Nomakula “Kuli” Roberts passed away on Wednesday in Johannesburg at the age of 49. The family confirmed the sad news of her passing in a statement and requested privacy during this time as they try to come to terms with their loss. “It is with profound regret and sadness that we confirm the untimely passing of our dear daughter, grandmother, sister and aunt Nomakula ‘Kuli’ Roberts. She sadly passed away late last night in Johannesburg,” the statement read. Roberts was popularly known for her devotion to the world of fashion and beauty. She also built a name for herself in the media industry at large as a TV host, a great journalist and radio…

Itumeleng Mafisa ANC Chief Whip in Parliament Pemmy Majodina has broken her silence about the suspension of ANC MP Mervyn Dirks. She told the SABC’s Sakina Kamwendo that she wanted to clarify that Dirks was not suspended from Parliament but from ANC caucus activities. Asked if she was shielding corruption, Majodina said: “There is no shielding of corruption here”, adding that each and every institution and organisation had its own internal processes that had to be followed to the letter. Dirks was asking for Parliament to investigate President Cyril Ramaphosa’s remarks in a leaked recording where he allegedly admitted knowledge of state funds being used for ANC campaigns. Dirks had previously said he did not regret calling for a probe into the leaked audio. “I don’t need permission to say…

A GLOBAL team of climate risk and heritage experts to which Dr Nicholas Simpson from UCT’s African Climate and Development Initiative (ACDI) was one of the leading contributors, has provided the first comprehensive assessment of exposure of African cultural and natural heritage sites to extreme sea levels and erosion associated with the accelerating sea level rise. The team invested a year identifying and painstakingly mapping the physical boundary of 284 African coastal heritage sites. They then modelled the exposure of each site for future global warming scenarios. They found 56 sites (20%) were at risk from a 1-in-100-year extreme sea-level event including the iconic ruins of Tipasa (Algeria) and the North Sinai archaeological sites zone (Egypt). The paper’s authors said: “By 2050, the number of exposed sites is projected to…

Michael Sachs Some form of basic income support is central to the South African government’s agenda. The Covid-19 lockdown-induced shocks have added to the crisis of structural mass unemployment and of poverty. There also seems to be broad consensus that basic income support is an essential part of the country’s social compact. But the government faces some hard trade-offs to ensure that fiscal risks to the economy are minimised and that other social spending is not compromised. A small cash grant to the poorest workers was introduced as a temporary response to the collapse of employment induced by the Covid-19 lockdowns. The social relief of distress grant operates in terms of national disaster regulations, and its financing depends on periodic extensions announced in the national Budget. The first attempt to…

Stuart Hess stuart.hess@inl.co.za WITH Kane Williamson out injured and Ross Taylor now retired, Devon Conway looms as the major batting threat for New Zealand in the two-match Test series against the Proteas that starts next week. Once upon a time, Conway may have been donning a green cap with a protea emblazoned on it, rather than a black one with a silver fern, but his life took a different direction, much to the benefit of New Zealand. Conway has played nine Test innings for his adopted nation, and on five occasions he has surpassed 50, turning three of those into hundreds, including a double century at Lord’s on debut last year. He made two hundreds in the last two Tests the Kiwis played against Bangladesh. “He’s had a great start…

Mthuthuzeli Ntseku mthuthuzeli.ntseku@inl.co.za POLICE are investigating a robbery at Durbanville Post Office in which R50 000 in cash was stolen. On Wednesday, five men allegedly entered the premises and held the staff at gun point. They fled with the cash in a white Toyota vehicle. No shots were fired. Police spokesperson André Traut said the suspects were yet to be arrested. The robbery happened a day after Durbanville police warned residents not to keep large amounts of money in their homes or safes after a spate of house robberies. Post Office spokesperson Johan Kruger said no injuries were reported, and staff received trauma counselling. “The branch was closed for the rest of the day to allow the forensic team from SAPS to complete their investigation. Members of the public with…

Shakirah Thebus shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za LAND and housing activists held a mock auction dubbed “The People’s Auction”, bidding off some of the City’s best-known buildings for a greater social good outside Cape Town Stadium yesterday as the City’s auction of several land sites got under way. The Housing Assembly, Reclaim the City, Singabalapha, Intlungu Yase Matyhotyhombeni, Ndifuna Ukwazi and community members gathered outside the stadium in protest against the auctioning of 14 city properties against a backdrop of a huge need for housing. Reclaim the City leader Karen Hendricks said they were there to disrupt the auction and to draw attention to City land being sold to private developers in the midst of a housing crisis. “There are no public participation processes for communities to engage with the City around access to…

Siyabonga Mkhwanazi siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) yesterday received mixed reactions, with some analysts saying his address was riddled with “a lot of gimmicks and little substance”. “When we talk about the state of the nation, it is not an accounting exercise. It is about what South Africans feel. What they are faced with is a multiple crisis. “When you read the July unrest report by the panel, it indicates a crisis and that factional battles have become a threat to the economy,” political analyst Sipho Seepe said after Ramaphosa delivered his Sona for 2022 at the Cape Town City Hall. Ramaphosa laid out plans of reviving the economy, fixing the rail network, fighting crime and corruption and extending the R350 social relief grant for…

Cometh Dube-Makholwa | Midrand Monetary compensation for patients who have suffered some loss is used as a deterrent to keep health-care workers on their toes. The ballooning of medical negligence claims, which reached R147.12 billion in the financial year 2019/2020 according to The Star, is shocking, but it is proof of how dysfunctional our health services have become. In the past it was inconceivable that the country could have such high levels of negligence claims, if any at all. Monetary compensation for patients who have suffered some loss at the hands of health-care workers is internationally used as a deterrent to keep them on their toes. But in this country there are some inconsistencies in the way the process is applied. For instance, there was a case of…

Ebrahim Essa | Durban LABOUR inspectors are now very proudly going around, catching, warning and fining companies breaking the UIF rules. Employees are being forced to work extra hours without extra pay. Meantime, youth unemployment rate is now reaching almost 66%. It’s one thing to promulgate and enforce strict laws, but it’s another thing to balance this with trying to find some job for everyone. This balance can never work, especially not with numerous factors stacked against us at present: Covid, which has caused so many businesses to shut down. The totally avoidable July unrest, which led to many businesses shutting down permanently. The stagnant pre-Covid economy – which was already the case world-wide. The horrible corruption in this country that made just a handful of vultures…

Shakirah Thebus shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za THE South African Constitution says the most basic forms of health care should be made accessible to all who reside in South Africa. However, this is not the lived experience of so many. With the launch of its new campaign ahead of Valentine’s Day, Sonke Gender Justice’s (SGJ) #UnderTheBlankets campaign aims to shed light on refugees’ and migrants’ right to access sexual and reproductive health services in South Africa. The non-profit organisation believes that everyone can work together to resist patriarchy, advocate for gender justice, and achieve gender transformation. South Africans and non-South Africans are encouraged to visit their web page and read about how to access government sexual and reproductive health services in the country, and to remind health-care workers that everyone, regardless of their nationality,…

Nomalanga Tshuma nomalanga.tshuma@inl.co.za DOZENS of South African civil society organisations from across the country have banded together to form a coalition to denounce the decision by the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) to donate R50 million to Cuba. The announcement of the intended donation was made by Dirco Deputy Minister Alvin Botes, on February 2, to the department’s parliamentary portfolio committee. It gave the ministry the go-ahead, saying it understood and valued the historical-political connections between South Africa and Cuba. Committee chairperson Supra Mahumapelo said the committee supported South Africa-Cuba relations because they serve as an exemplary model of South-South co-operation. “We applaud the government for its consistency in supporting Cuba. We thank the Cuban people for having fought selflessly alongside the people of South Africa during the…

TYLA DALLAS REMEMBER the story of the man in the boat caught drilling a hole under his seat? “But it is only under my seat,” he responds. “Yes, but when the water comes in, we shall all drown.” This is how Rabbi David Rosen summarised climate change which, after the temperature in Table Bay reached 45.2°C on January 23, cannot be ignored. Climate change was the focus of our annual UN World Interfaith Harmony Week event this year, at the suggestion of Ann Harris, chairperson of our interfaith and inter-community subcommittee. The subject was discussed with passion and a sense of urgency by our panellists, Bishop Geoff Davies, founder of the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (SAFCEI); Imam Salieg Isaacs, a director of SAFCEI who serves on the Muslim…

The next leader of Islamic State is likely to be from a close circle of battle-hardened Iraqi jihadists who emerged in the aftermath of the 2003 US invasion, two Iraqi security officials and three independent analysts said. The group of potential successors to Abu Ibrahim al-Quraishi, who blew himself up during a US operation to capture him in Syria last week, includes one commander whom Washington and Baghdad declared killed last year, the Iraqi officials said. The death of Quraishi, 45, was another crushing blow to IS two years after the violent Sunni Muslim group lost long-time leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in a similar raid in 2019. Quraishi, an Iraqi, never publicly addressed his fighters or followers, avoided electronic communications and oversaw a move to fighting in small devolved units…

Mihlali Baleka mihlali.baleka@inl.co.za MAMELODI Sundowns co-coach Manqoba Mngqithi feels that how mistakes are punished is what separates the domestic league from continental football. Sundowns have been in cruise mode in the Premiership. The defending champions are at the top of the standings with 47 points, 17 ahead of the second-placed Orlando Pirates. They also reached the Nedbank Cup last 16 after beating Richards Bay 4-0 last Friday. However, they’ll turn their focus to the opening round of the Champions League group stage when they host Sudan’s Al Hilal at Royal Bafokeng Stadium today (6pm kick-off). But do not expect the Brazilians to take this match for granted, though. Firing on all cylinders in domestic football after scoring 35 goals and conceding nine in the league notwithstanding, Africa is a jungle.…

THE South African Football Association (Safa) must count themselves lucky that Carlos Queiroz declined their offer for the Bafana Bafana coaching job. His entitled demeanour would have sent us into further disarray, to be quite honest. Do not get me wrong, Quieroz is a good coach. After all, he’s one of the protégés of the great Sir Alex Ferguson. As a head coach, he’s had spells at national team and club level with Portugal and Real Madrid. Between 2011 and 2019 he led Iran to two World Cups and two Asian Cups before he joined the Colombian national team, where he came up short in the Copa America final. Quieroz’s reputation suffered a further dent with the South American side after a horrible campaign in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers,…