Indholdsfortegnelse for 2022-05-11 i Cape Argus

THE family of a slain Cape Town woman say they are still struggling to come to terms with the news of her death, allegedly at the hands of her long-term partner. Candice Robertson’s sisters revealed that the devastated family had only come to know of her death a month after she was allegedly killed at a guest house in Green Point. Robertson’s sister, Chantal Isaacs, said: “My sister was a lovely person, loved and known by many. She didn’t deserve to die in such a brutal manner. “The fact that my family were only notified of her death almost a month after she was killed is something I don’t think any of us will ever understand.” Robertson, who was 38 at the time of her death, was in an abusive…

Sassa in the Western Cape has said it is aware that the R350 social relief of distress (SRD) grant, introduced at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, is not ideal, but it is all the government can afford for the time being. Acting regional executive manager Abraham Mahlangu said this during a briefing to the Social Development Department standing committee, where the topics discussed included the qualifying and assessment criteria for the grant, as well as the extension of the grant to April next year. Mahlangu was responding to a question from committee member Galil Brinkhuis (Al Jama-ah) who said that although the grant had been helpful in 2020, there had since been several price increases with regard to food, fuel, and taxi fares. He asked whether these increases had…

About 49% of the candidates registered to write the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations, sat for the exam sessions. These are candidates who registered for the May/June NSC who are either candidates from previous years rewriting a subject, or adults or out-of-school youth writing the NSC. No current Grade 12 learners were part of this group. A total of 36 379 candidates registered to write exams during the 2022 May/June session, which commenced on Monday. Of these, 13 853 are adults and out-of-school, while 22 526 are writing the NSC in a part-time capacity to either improve their marks or complete their qualification. Spokesperson for Education MEC Debbie Schäfer, Kerry Mauchline, said that overall, the first day went well, however, not all candidates had verified their data in advance. “However,…

The solemn and sombre warning by former president Kgalema Montlanthe that the ANC will lose the 2024 general elections should keep us awake at night. It is an absolute certainty that the ANC will at its apex garner only 40% of the national vote. It will not concede defeat or hand over the instruments of power. In such a scenario, chaos will reign because the country will be plunged into a constitutional crisis of epic proportions. When democracy was attained 30 years ago, we were released from the yoke of oppression. The new political order gave us hope as it changed the political landscape. After our stalwarts retired, the country began its slide into the anarchy that we are witnessing today. Within a few years the nation’s financial capability will…

Ahead of Youth Month and in the build up to Youth Day on June 16, the Cape Argus in collaboration with Double “O” would like to hear the voices of the youth about their concerns as well as hopes, dreams and aspirations for the future of South Africa through an essay writing competition. Students are invited to write an essay of between 450 and 500 words. This contest will be open to all high school students across the Cape Town metro. Also let us know your age, where you live and the name of your high school. The team at the Cape Argus will select four of the best essays, which will be published in this newspaper and on our online platform. Each one of the four winners will receive…

“The ballot is stronger than the bullet,” said Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln’s words in 1861 resonate today with the peaceful election of leaders this week hogging radio, print and television headlines worldwide. Many leaders felt the jolt, including UK’s Boris Johnson, who lost 500 seats in local elections partly due to the Sinn Fein political party. France’s Emmanuel Macron secured another five-year term in office, while newly elected President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos jr will be sworn in as president of the Philippines next month. Perhaps the hardest knock of the week was on Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa. He quit on Monday, for mishandling the economy. The race to the 2023 elections in Nigeria is becoming fiercer and tense. On Sunday, the Lebanese take to the polls hopefully…

A RAPE survivor has bravely testified in the Western Cape High Court about the brutal attack she endured, allegedly at the hands of the same man who pleaded guilty to the murder of 17-year-old Amahle Quku. The woman, who cannot be named, said on the evening of October 26, 2019, as she was leaving a party on her way to purchase cigarettes from a local shop, she felt somebody following her. As she turned around she was tripped and fell. She said the perpetrator proceeded to stab her in the back multiple times, raped her and then pursued her after she tried to escape and stabbed her in the stomach. “I fell, that’s when he started to stab me in my stomach. He stabbed me in my back before he…

Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry has urged interested parties to visit its website to view comments on additional clauses in relation to the Copyright Amendment Bill. This move follows last December’s call by the committee for all stakeholders to submit written submissions on additional definitions and clauses in relation to the bill. Based on the inputs received, the committee intended to go beyond amending the sections in the Act, as envisaged in the Copyright Amendment Bill, as well as substantive amendments to existing clauses. The committee said among the additional provisions to be considered was Section 19D incorporating treaty wording in respect of importing or exporting accessible format copies. This is the section that is at the heart of tomorrow’s landmark case at the Constitutional Court, brought by…

MURDERER Ntuthuko Shoba appears to be hoping for a miracle in his inevitable sentencing. This miracle would come in the form of an imprisonment term of less than a life sentence. Shoba, who orchestrated the brutal killing of his heavily pregnant girlfriend, Tshegofatso Pule, faces nothing less than a life sentence because he was found guilty of premeditated murder. The prescribed minimum sentence for premeditated murder in South Africa, as stipulated in the Criminal Law Amendment Act, is life imprisonment. Acting Judge Stuart Wilson pronounced at the Johannesburg High Court in March that he found Shoba guilty of premeditated murder, as charged by the State. “… I find the accused guilty of the premeditated murder of Tshegofatso Pule,” he said. But yesterday, more than a month after his conviction, Shoba…

The Philisa Abafazi Bethu (PAB) baby saver centre in Steenberg was vandalised on Sunday evening. The damage dealt the organisation and residents a blow, during Child Protection Month. The baby saver is a way for a mothers to safely relinquish their babies, and the trigger switch and bolt lock, which are two key components for monitoring the baby saver door. Director of PAB SA, Lucinda Evans, said a young man from Retreat had walked past the baby saver and fiddled with the trigger switch. Due to the cost of repairs, the building will be closed until further notice. She said the repairs cost up to R3 000 and included welding on the door and a new sensor that the organisation unable to afford at this stage. Evans said: “I’m sad…

Where is the public outcry? Where are the marches in the streets? Millions of fellow South Africans are hungry – even starving. We are a country of gold and platinum. We hosted the 2010 World Cup. We export food to Europe and around the world, yet we cannot feed our own people. South Africa is home to the world’s largest monotheistic faiths. The Muslims understand food deprivation with their Ramadaan Month. The Jewish people understand food deprivation with their five fasts a year. The Christians understand food deprivation with their choice of abstinence in Lent. Let us practise what we have learnt from our faiths and each church, mosque or synagogue choose a project specifically aimed at feeding the hungry. I have read about children in KZN eating sand to…

THIS year’s annual international #AlQudsDay has grown phenomenally with a record number of activities across South Africa and the world, confirming #AlQudsDay as one the most prominent solidarity events across the globe. #AlQudsDay was launched in 1979 in Iran as a day to stand in solidarity with the Palestinians against Israeli oppression. However, the day, as explained by the anti-colonialist leader, Imam Khomeini, is also an occasion to reflect, mobilise and organise against any and all forms of tyranny and oppression. It is in this spirit of internationalism, anti-imperialism and anti-oppression that peoples across South Africa and around the world held events and activities in support of the Palestinian people and against Israeli apartheid. In fact, international Al-Quds Day, this year, took place in more than 100 cities worldwide. The…

The son of late Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos cemented a landslide presidential election victory yesterdday, after Filipinos bet a familiar but tainted dynasty could ease rampant poverty – while dismissing warnings the clan’s return will deepen corruption and weaken democracy. With an initial count almost complete, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr had secured over 56 percent of the vote and more than double the tally of his nearest rival, liberal Leni Robredo. His now unassailable lead of 16 million-plus votes spells another astonishing reversal in the fortunes of the Marcos family, who have gone from the presidential palace to pariahs and back again in the space of a few decades. The Marcos victory is a hammer blow to millions of Filipinos who hoped to reverse course after six years of increasingly…

But ban proposal ‘could ruin the economy’ leading scrap metal industry player SA Metal said Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula’s call for a ban on the export of scrap metal was a bad idea that could ruin the economy. However, the idea has support from the likes of the City and farmers who have wholeheartedly welcomed it and called for the involvement of law enforcement. While addressing a media briefing on the White Paper on National Rail Policy on Monday, Mbalula said the ban would discourage the theft and vandalism of critical rail infrastructure that was sabotaging the country's economy. He said a ban would reinforce the government’s interventions to protect public assets and make the theft of cables and other metals less lucrative. He said that among other things,…

FATHER of four and ex-policeman Jean-Paul Malgas made his first appearance in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court for allegedly killing three people during a shooting at the New Somerset Hospital. The 39-year-old from Vredenburg abandoned his bail application after he was charged with three counts of murder, robbery, possession of an unlicensed firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition. At this stage, the State has only confirmed the identity of one victim, police officer Donay Phillips who was on duty at the hospital guarding a patient. It is alleged that Malgas, who was a patient, disarmed Phillips and opened fire. Phillips and two others were killed. The State opposed applications from the media to take images of Malgas due to the fresh nature of the case. State advocate Adenaan Gelderbloem said…

Members of the public hurried to locate the family and arrange for the burial of a woman who died in hospital last month. Ruwayda Tol, 32, was admitted to Victoria Hospital on April 17 and died on April 19. Muslim undertaker at Khan and Sons, Umr Khan, said the funeral home was contacted but the family could not be identified and reached. He said that once every three months the funeral home was notified about such cases. Khan would then put a notice on social media, while arranging the funeral. “What very often happens, a family member does contact us but because of fear that they might have to contribute towards the funeral cost, they normally just tell us to go ahead and let them know as to where the…

The EFF has said it would table a private member’s bill to amend the South African Airways Act to split government shareholder responsibility in SAA to more than one minister. It said this would ensure a far more comprehensive public consultation process before disposal of any of the airline’s shares. Currently the responsibility to acquire a strategic equity partner for SAA sits with Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, as the department is the representative of the government as the shareholder. Last week Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) heard from the Office of the Auditor-General that SAA would still need to account for the public funds it was allocated when it underwent business rescue, and 51% of its shareholding was disposed of. The Department of Public Enterprises has…

WITH the extended appeals deadline for the Fishing Rights Allocation Process (FRAP 2022) fast approaching, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment responded to small-scale fishers and fishing groups who believed the entire fishing rights allocation process was fundamentally flawed. South African United Fishing Front chairperson Pedro Garcia said the fishing rights allocations needed to be observed from different angles, and that the application process, in its entirety, was placed beyond normal fisherfolk in communities. “Online processes are not something that our people are very familiar with. The ground support that was given was grossly inadequate for people to really make a difference in terms of filling in their applications,” Garcia said. Garcia added that the FRAP took away the fishing resources and then tied them up for the…

In March, Judge Patricia Goliath of the Western Cape High Court gave several groups of objectors leave to appeal against the decision made by the Western Cape government and the City of Cape Town to give the green light to a development at The River Club in Observatory. In doing so, Judge Goliath stated, inter alia, that “the fact that the development has substantial economic, infrastructural and public benefits can never override the fundamental rights of indigenous people”. This has caused a huge brouhaha for a multitude of reasons. First, the development has the active support of a substantial segment of the Khoisan community, which seriously undermines the argument that the site is “sacred” in the eyes of the Khoisan community. Second, the site has operated as a golf course-cum-conference…

Ukraine said yesterday its forces had recaptured villages from Russian troops as it pressed on with a major counter- offensive in the northeast of the country that could signal a shift in the war’s momentum and jeopardise Russia’s main advance. Tetiana Apatchenko, press officer for the 92nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, the main Ukrainian force near Kharkiv, confirmed that troops had recaptured Cherkaski Tyshky, Ruski Tyshki, Borshchova and Slobozhanske, in north of Kharkiv in recent days. Yuriy Saks, an adviser to Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, said the successes were pushing Russian artillery out of range of parts of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, which has been under bombardment since the earliest days of the war. “The military operations of the Ukrainian armed forces around Kharkiv, especially north and northeast of Kharkiv,…

Mark Boucher is close to a broken man after the ordeal he has endured over the past 12 months, which is now “finalised and closed” after Cricket South Africa dropped all charges against him yesterday. It has been a tumultuous time that saw Boucher and his family endure “considerable anguish”. It would be entirely understandable that Boucher would hold Cricket SA – his employers – in contempt for orchestrating a virtual witch-hunt to have him dismissed from his post as Proteas Men’s coach. The fact that the “gross misconduct” charges were based on allegations of racism would have incensed Boucher even more, particularly after he was the sole white former national men’s player to issue a personal apology when his black former teammate Paul Adams revealed at the Social Justice…