Indholdsfortegnelse for 2022-04-06 i Cape Argus

Microbiologist turned visual artist Ayanfe Olarinde is riding international success and using blockchain technology to safeguard her work AYANFE Olarinde, like many children of the African soil, was born to parents who wanted nothing more than for her to succeed. And succeed she has, but maybe not in the way her Nigerian parents had anticipated. Like many who choose a career in arts, Olarinde also had a fall-back solution. With her microbiology degree under her belt (completed in 2018), she is garnering international recognition for her work and has stepped into the whizzy world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). According to Wikipedia, an NFT is a “non-interchangeable unit of data stored on a blockchain ... that can be sold and traded”. Recently, Olarinde moved to convert some of her art into…

THE Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) this week announced its intention to amend the JSE Listings Requirements to enable the listing of actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Actively managed ETFs are different from passive, index-tracking ETFs. “This is an important change that will allow institutional and retail investors an opportunity to develop beneficial investment strategies. We therefore invite market participants to comment on the proposed amendments,” said Valdene Reddy, a director of Capital Markets at the JSE. The closing date for comments is May 2. “There is rising appetite locally for listed actively managed ETFs. This is in line with international trends where demand for active ETFs is growing and is expected to significantly surpass the current $300 billion (R4.35 trillion) in assets under management in the coming years,” Reddy said.…

GAUTENG traffic police are investigating a hitch-hiking incident after two videos emerged online showing a daring man riding in a shopping trolley while holding on to the back of an Engen petrol tanker as it charged down the N1 South, east of Pretoria. In the first video, the man pulled off his stunt in the pouring rain as he smiled and waved. There is no indication as to how fast the truck was moving, but the trolley rider appeared to be secure as he held on for the ride. A second angle of the video posted online shows him smiling as he waves to onlookers and points in the direction he is heading. The trolley rider did not have on any protective gear. He was dressed in a hoodie, cap…

STELLENBOSCH University (SU) is celebrating the achievement of one of its scholars, who persevered to obtain her doctorate despite being diagnosed with life-threatening brain tumours three times. Durbanville resident Amy Martin will today receive her PhD in Ancient Cultures after completing her studies with a focus on the notion of a female poetic tradition in ancient Greek literature. Narrating the 33-year-old recent graduate’s life before her time at the university, senior science writer Alec Basson said Martin had her world turned upside down when she was diagnosed with life-threatening brain tumours at the age of 14, 17 and 18. “What makes Amy’s achievements so remarkable is that she achieved so much despite only having 75% of her brain left after multiple operations to remove the tumours. She currently has four…

WHILE trade unions are hopeful that doing away with the national state of disaster will enable the economy to grow and create jobs, there is still uncertainty from some analysts. On Monday President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the country was moving out of the national state of disaster, ending many restrictions limiting economic activity. These restrictions include full-time mask wearing in public and restrictions on the number of people at a gathering. The transition out of the national state of disaster was expected to last 30 days, with some regulations still in place. South Africa’s unemployment rate is 35.3% and the majority of unemployed are young people. Economist Makwe Masilela said he believed Ramphosa’s announcement would not have much impact on job creation. “This won’t do much or bring major…

Farmers have said the country’s food security is being endangered by the deteriorating road network and have called on the Presidency and the Investment and Infrastructure Office within the Presidency to act urgently before the situation worsens. A survey by Agri-SA shows farmers rely on road transportation to move an average of 94% of their produce, and that small-scale farmers in particular are the worst affected. The survey was initiated to determine the impact of deteriorating road infrastructure on the sector. Although the survey found farmers in the Western Cape had the fewest complaints about roads, the chief executive of Agri Western Cape, Jannie Strydom, said this did not mean the problems were less urgent. “We have problems with our rural roads, especially the gravel roads, but we’re in constant…

Over the last two years, many South Africans have lost their jobs, had their businesses closed and many were restricted from seeing their families and friends, due to the various lockdown levels associated with the National State of Disaster. When President Ramaphosa announced that the National State of Disaster would come to an end, many South Africans breathed a sigh of relief. However, on 15 March, draft regulations to the National Health Act 61 of 2003, namely the regulations relating to the surveillance and the control of notifiable medical conditions were published in the Government Gazette for public comment. I am writing this letter to you to raise my concerns about these draft regulations as I fear that these regulations will be used as a continuation of the lockdown regulations,…

SOUTH African champions Mamelodi Sundowns have drawn Petro de Luanda of Angola in the Caf Champions League quarter-finals after the draw was held at the governing body’s headquarters in Cairo yesterday. The first legs of the quarter-finals are scheduled to take place on April 15 and 16, and the return second legs on April 22 and 23. Sundowns, the Group A winners, are away for the first leg and will travel to Luanda. Petro de Luanda were the runners-up in Group D. Sundowns were hugely impressive in the group phase, and along with Tunisian giants ES Tunis, were the only two unbeaten teams. Sundowns, however, set a group phase record by scoring 16 points after six matches and kept five clean sheets. The winner of the Sundowns-Petro de Luanda quarter-final…

WITH the umpteenth mass killing, this time in Delft where three people were shot dead, the local community policing forum (CPF) has slammed the police, the City’s Safety and Security Directorate and the Department of Community Safety for their alleged stagnant and outdated approach to addressing crime trends in local communities. Over the past few days, a local crime watch group, Spot on Crime and Emergencies, reported several violent incidents that showcased the grim reality facing local communities. Delft CPF chairperson Charles George said that as long as the government and police refused to respond to crime, using innovative and current crime prevention tactics, local communities would remain the playing ground for violent criminals. George was speaking in response to the recent shooting of three men in Jerusalem informal settlement…

The Constitutional Court has upheld a high court decision which found the police minister liable for not conducting a proper search and investigation in the case of a woman who was attack- ed, robbed and held captive in Gqeberha. The judgment could have far-reaching implications for the quality of police investigations and improve public trust in the police. Andy Kawa was accosted by a man at King’s Beach on December 9, 2010. She was assaulted, robbed of her belongings and later taken into the bushes and dunes where she was raped and held in captivity for more than 15 hours. She was reported missing by her family that same day which prompted a search by police. They found her vehicle at the beach at about midnight on the very same…

Trade union United Association of South Africa (UASA) has brought an urgent application in the Labour Court to get state-owned conglomerate Denel to honour all contractual obligations and pay outstanding remuneration to its members, dating back to August 2020. The union is seeking court intervention regarding a R1 billion payout Denel is expected to receive from the Denel Medical Benefit Trust (DMBT) following a court order on February 24 this year that excess funds may be allocated to the company. Denel said the high court granted an order on February 24, following its application, which would enable it to arrange individual annuities for the DMBT members. This means Denel could access the surplus funds held in the DMBT fund to ensure the well-being and welfare of those who are part…

The lifting of the state of disaster has led to fears of homelessness among people who until now had “sheltered” under regulations prohibiting evictions for the duration of the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. Ndifuna Ukwazi research head Michael Clark said lifting the ban on evictions would drive even more people into homelessness, overwhelm the courts and have potentially disastrous public-health consequences. “We’ve seen that in other countries where eviction moratoria have been lifted, that a slew of illegal and legal evictions (followed), forcing many out into the cold.” Among those affected by the changes announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday is Ruyterwacht Community Association chairperson Mandisa Zamile, who said she now fears that social housing giant Communicare will be ruthless in its pursuit of evictions. “Communicare will continue mercilessly with…

With ongoing concerns about the backlog in DNA testing at the police national forensic science laboratories, newly appointed police commissioner Fannie Masemola has committed to employing more scientists to get back on track. He said the machines needed to process DNA samples in the country’s forensic labs had been repaired and that more effort would go into ensuring that they remained in good working condition. Masemola said the backlog had to some extent been reduced. He said his third priority was to fight the gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) scourge, and would ensure police and police stations were geared up to assist victims. By September last year, the backlog exceeded 240 000 cases, and last month Police Minister Bheki Cele said it would be cleared within six months. Ilitha Labantu…

YESTERDAY’S rainy weather conditions were just the beginning as the Cape Town Weather Office has predicted another weak cold front will make landfall today, with light rainfall to continue until noon tomorrow. Forecaster Lauren Smith said the rainfall should have cleared by the late afternoon, but it was predicted to move along the South Coast where showers were expected until tomorrow. Thereafter, Capetonians can expect sunny conditions. However, Smith said residents should prepare for cold, wet and windy conditions when a severe weather system occurred. The City said the seasonal outlook from the South African Weather Service (Saws) indicated below-average rainfall during autumn and the early part of winter. This autumn looked to be an extremely windy one after Saws released a weather warning level 1 for damaging waves from…

THE latest fuel price increase, which kicks in today, could have been worse, were it not for the government’s decision to decrease the fuel levy. Last week Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced the reduction to the fuel levy, which would be implemented from today until the end of May to offer some relief to consumers who have felt the effects of rising fuel prices that have resulted from numerous factors, including the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. “This intervention will bring much-needed relief to motorists because it will cushion the high fuel price increases that were anticipated this month, which were as a result of the global factors. The increases in both petrol and diesel would have been close to R2 per litre and over R3 per litre respectively if…

SOCIAL development standing committee chairperson Dan Plato (DA) said he would meet with legal advisers and officials in the premier’s office to see if the committee could discuss the issue of the sexual misconduct allegations against former Community Safety MEC Albert Fritz. Plato made the promise at the end of a 3-hour briefing by the provincial social development department to the committee on the twin issues of a sexual harassment policy and the provincial gender-based violence (GBV) implementation plan, during which the ANC pushed for a discussion of the issue. During the briefing, committee members Rachel Windvogel and Mesuli Kama (both ANC) repeatedly asked questions relating to the Fritz matter, saying that some of the allegations against him came in the period when he was Social Development MEC before May…

The Covid-19 pandemic which struck the country two years ago, has taught us a lot about the people we have elected to power and the appetite for corrupt civil servants and connected business people to loot state coffers. Who can forget how the power that came with the pandemic was abused by the government of the day? Instead of coming up with health measures to contain the pandemic, the politicians used the opportunity to consolidate and abuse their power. Some of the politicians, under the guise of managing the pandemic, started coming up with absurd regulations, such as banning the sale of pies, fried chicken and baby clothing. We were all left puzzled how baby clothing spreads Covid-19. On Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the state of disaster had been…

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky challenged the UN to “act immediately” or “dissolve yourself altogether” during a blistering address in which he showed a harrowing video of dead bodies, including children, he said were victims of Russian atrocities. Likening Russia’s actions in Ukrainian cities such as Bucha to violence carried out by “terrorists” such as the Islamic State group, Zelensky called on the 15-member council, which aims to ensure international peace and security, to expel Russia “so it cannot block decisions about its own aggression, its own war”. Russia, as one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, has a veto, which it has repeatedly wielded to block resolutions and negotiations on the global stage. ”If there is no alternative and no option, then the next option would be…

IF Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber is serious about building depth ahead of next year’s Rugby World Cup, he needs to blood a host of young players in the three-Test series against Wales in July. There are so many options to choose from that Nienaber could pick an exclusively South African-based side if he wanted to – and it shouldn’t just be in the final, hopefully dead-rubber Test in Cape Town on July 16. The first two matches are on July 2 (Pretoria) and July 9 (Bloemfontein), and the only way any newcomer will learn the ropes of international combat is under real pressure. It just wouldn’t be the same kind of scrutiny if the Test series were to be already won 2-0 by the time South Africa arrive in the…