Indholdsfortegnelse for 2022-06-10 i Cape Argus

A television show that creates a platform for youngsters to showcase their talent in acting, singing, modelling and dancing is to debut on Youth Day (June 16). The show, Dream Factory, showcases incredible talent across nine provinces in South Africa. Dream Factory founder Elsubie Verlinden, who is the 33 and Me Talent Agency head and producer of the International Arts Talent Showcase), aimed to not only make sure the youngsters receive recognition but to also offer them opportunities in arts education. “The inspiration behind ‘Dream Factory’ is to manufacture and develop dreams, to nurture and educate talent through the entertainment and fashion industry. Workshops and training is provided by local and international industry professionals. This allows talented individuals to grow and perfect their craft with the goal of positioning them…

COSATU and the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) Western Cape has reiterated that it would not be involved in any shutdown protest demonstration today. Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said it had not been approached by any organisation to participate in the shutdown, nor did it have any engagements with any bodies regarding a shutdown. “We only just heard about the shutdown and we don’t know where it came from. If you are going to participate in a shutdown as a union your priority is to protect workers, you can’t take workers to the streets without any legal protection. It means you go to Nedlac and apply for a section 77 notice under the LRA. If it is granted then you can declare a strike, knowing that every employed South…

With the liquor industry still recovering from the effects of lockdown and with massive increases in food prices and fuel, local shebeen owners have described as disingenuous the increase in the already high fees of liquor licences. The provincial government has published a draft amendment to the Western Cape Liquor Regulations in the Provincial Gazette, including proposed amendments to liquor licensing fees with public comment open until July 4. The proposed new fee tariffs, applicable to all liquor licence holders in the province, include increases in applications for event liquor licences, an extension of trading hours and fines, and annual licence fees. These tariff increases are part of the provincial government’s proposed amendments to the Western Cape Liquor Act and will come into effect on July 22. Western Cape Liquor…

South Africa is amending its electoral law to make it fairer by enabling citizens to contest provincial and national elections without being forced to join political parties. This follows a 2020 Constitutional Court judgment that found that excluding citizens from being elected as independent individuals was unconstitutional. The court gave Parliament 24 months to amend the 1998 Electoral Act accordingly. South Africa’s Constitution prescribes an electoral system “that results, in general, in proportional representation”. The country has used this system for national and provincial elections since 1994. But in 2020, the New Nation Movement, a civil society body, challenged the electoral system for unfairly excluding independent candidates. In its view, the act makes it impossible for voters to have a direct link to national and provincial representatives who can be…

BENAHAVIS: A wildfire in mountains in southern Spain has forced the evacuation of 2 000 people from the town of Benahavis and injured three firefighters, officials said. The blaze started on the slopes of Pujerra mountain in the Sierra Bermeja, above the Costa del Sol, a magnet for British tourists on the Andalusia coast, Andalusia’s Wildfire Department said on Twitter. Hot summer weather and adverse winds are stoking the blaze. Emergency services set up tents in the town of 7 000. As many as 200 firemen from the department, 100 army personnel and 50 firefighters from other towns are battling the fire. | Reuters…

The US and China are expected to use Asia’s top security meeting this week to trade blows over everything from Taiwan’s sovereignty to the war in Ukraine, although both sides have indicated a willingness to discuss managing differences. The Shangri-La Dialogue, which attracts top-level military officials, diplomats and weapons makers from around the globe, will take place from today to Sunday in Singapore, the first time the event has been held since 2019, after it was postponed twice because of Covid-19. On the sidelines of the summit, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese Minister of National Defence General Wei Fenghe are expected to hold their first face-to-face meeting since President Joe Biden took office. “We expect, from our perspective, the substance of that meeting to be focused on managing…

THE final round of the Currie Cup kicks off at 4pm in Stellenbosch this afternoon where Western Province will do the Sharks no favours in their desperate attempt to qualify for the semi-finals. The fifth-placed Sharks have to win and win extremely well if they are to leap-frog the Pumas, who have a point in hand on the log and host Griquas in Nelspruit. The Sharks have to win with a bonus point and also score as many points as possible to boost their points differential, and even then it might not be enough, and if the Pumas beat Griquas with a bonus point it doesn’t matter what the Sharks do in Stellenbosch. Province meanwhile will be fired up to end their disappointing campaign on a high after winning just…

For the first time since a criminal complaint was laid against him just over a week ago, President Cyril Ramaphosa faced the wrath of EFF MPs who, to his face, called him a criminal. Ramaphosa was at Parliament to present the Presidency’s budget vote speech, but the foremost issue preoccupying EFF MPs was the criminal complaint laid against him by former spy boss Arthur Fraser. For over an hour Ramaphosa was harangued by several EFF MPs, including party leader Julius Malema and his deputy Floyd Shivambu, over a scandal which has engulfed him since last week. Ramaphosa faces a police probe over allegations that he had facilitated money laundering, kidnapping and defeating the ends of justice after a burglary at his Phala Phala game farm in Limpopo in February 2020…

THE Western Cape High Court has delivered a groundbreaking judgment which opens the door for foreigners working in South Africa who have children born on local soil. Previously, they had to leave the country after breaking up with their spouses. In terms of sections of the Immigration Act, foreigners’ visas terminated once their relationship with their South African spouses ended. This meant they either had to leave the country, even if it meant leaving their children behind, or they had to reapply for a visa to remain in the country. However, they could only do so from outside the country. Various applicants, who come from countries such as France, Switzerland, Germany and Zimbabwe, turned to the Western Cape High Court to have the relevant sections of the act declared unconstitutional.…

Who has the right to decide on school policy and practice at the local level? Who is affected? And, to what extent are local communities able to enact democracy in schools? These questions can only be contemplated in relation to real contexts and to the extent which the limits are tested on the ground. The story of Heathfield High School and its stances during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic offers the perfect case study of democratic governance at odds with state control, and raises a number of questions about who genuinely has a say in schools and perhaps who ought to. Two years ago, when calls were first being made to reopen schools amid uncertainty about the pandemic, Heathfield High School’s school governing body (SGB) deliberated that the risk…

It is very frustrating how journalists – print and electronic – are reporting on the Meyiwa case. They are bungling their reporting for sensational reasons that have no direct bearing on what is happening in the courtroom. You watch the live broadcasts and then check the reporting – especially when they try to interpret what has transpired – then you have polar opposites. One big mistake they are making is to speculate that Sergeant Mosia’s performance on the stand and the ability of the defence to poke holes in his evidence is going to collapse the case. But this is pure fantasy. For one, what the court should establish is if the crime scene was contaminated. Was this done deliberately or by accident? This is because “contamination” of a crime…

THE iconic ferris wheel at the V&A Waterfront is set to relocate to a new spot that will offer passengers exquisite views of Robben Island and the ships moving in and out of the Waterfront. The new location will be close to the Waterfront’s boardwalk with a more open and welcoming space for all visitors. Situated near Breakwater Park, the wheel will still offer great views of Table Mountain and the City Bowl. The wheel is set to undergo maintenance and will close operations on Sunday, June 19. It will be dismantled mid-June and then be reassembled at the new site with additional new activities such as skilled games and with food and beverage, where it will open in time for the start of the Cape Town summer in November.…

A scandal and national disgrace is how civil society and human rights organisations have described the non-payment of the Social Relief of Distress Grant (SRD) by Sassa to millions of beneficiaries for April and May. These organisations, which include Black Sash, the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ), Pay the Grants, SP and Amandla.mobi have demanded that the government reverse what they said was the inhumane decision to exclude millions from the SRD grant and resolve “these catastrophic payment delays”. During his State of the Nation Address in February, President Cyril Ramaphosa, announced that the Covid-19 SRD grant of R350 would be extended for a year, from April 2022 to March 2023, “to ensure that no person in this country has to endure the pain and indignity of hunger”. Following the…

EVEN though it’s early days, the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial is like Pandora’s box of secrets. The more it unfolds, albeit in early stages of the trial with the first witness on the witness box, the murkier it gets. Unprecedented in criminal cases, there is now discovery that at some point there was another inconclusive police docket. There appear to have been two sets of police investigations. Two different investigations. Hence two police dockets. The questions are: How? Why? The second police docket reportedly entertained the prosecution of the group of people who on October 26, eight years ago, were inside the Vosloorus home of Kelly Khumalo, girlfriend of the former Orlando Pirates and Bafana Bafana goal minder and the mother of his child. The docket suggests those who were…

GOMA: The armed forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo have accused Rwanda of sending 500 special forces in disguise into Congolese territory, the latest accusation in an escalating dispute between the neighbours. Rwanda’s government said it would not respond to baseless accusations. The Congolese military said 500 Rwandan special forces, wearing a green-black uniform that is different from their regular uniform, had been deployed in the Tshanzu area. Congo accuses Rwanda of supporting the M23 rebel group. | Reuters…

Holomisa dismissive of CR’s ‘love letter’ IN A move which had been expected, President Cyril Ramaphosa last night suspended under-fire Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane. Shortly after finishing his budget vote speech in the National Assembly, Ramaphosa’s office released a statement that he had exercised his constitutional powers to suspend Mkhwebane. Her suspension follows numerous adverse court rulings that have called into question her competence, understanding of the law, and her understanding of her constitutional role. But UDM leader Bantu Holomisa fired back, saying Ramaphosa was in contempt of court. “The judgment (which challenged the parliamentary process) is still pending. There’s been no investigation which has been started in Parliament, the ‘love letter’ between him and Parliament’s Speaker means nothing,” Holomisa insisted. He said Ramaphosa was sending a wrong message about…

SA NATIONAL Parks (SANParks) in conjunction with Table Mountain National Park (TMNP) apprehended two suspected poachers through an anti-poaching crime prevention operation. SANParks rangers said they received information about illegal poaching activity taking place within the no-take zones along TMNP’s marine protected areas. Spokesperson Lauren Howard Clayton said: “Rangers geared up and went out to sea at 7pm to follow up on the tip. However, after two hours at sea, no activity was sighted, and then an alert came through that a suspicious vessel was heading in the direction of Olifantsbos from the Cape Point section of the park. “The suspects then sped past the rangers, resulting in a hot pursuit which led to the successful arrests. The suspects were found in illegal possession of 5 015 West Coast rock…

It’s a known fact and family-embedded ambition that our children should be, and become, better than we and the previous generation were. As the principal of Maitland High School, together with my staff members and additional assistants, it has become almost impossible to get the learners to understand and adopt the notion that their future prospects and desires to excel are shaped by their commitment and willingness to assume responsibility by attending school. Moreover, in that way, their education and our interventions can be accelerated for them to grow and develop their ambitions. Every day, I have the daunting task of collecting learners who are either roaming the streets before school or arriving at school at odd times. Others choose not to come to school and to rather spend their…

Inflation was one of the top issues affecting citizens of countries around the world last month, as revealed in the Ipsos study, “What Worries the World for May”. The market research company’s monthly What Worries the World survey explores what the public thinks are the most important social and political issues currently across 27 countries. May’s What Worries the World study revealed that worry about inflation had increased for the 10th month in a row and remains the number one concern, with a global average of one in three (34%) participants saying inflation was one of the top issues affecting their country. According to the study, all 27 countries surveyed have a higher “worried about inflation” figure in May than they did at the start of the year. South Africa…

Narrative frames are fundamental to unifying ideologies. They frame what is possible and impossible, which ideas can be accepted and which must be rejected. In her book, Digital Democracy, Analogue Politics, storyteller and political analyst Nanjala Nyabola examines the framing of the Fourth Industrial Revolution narrative in this light. She argues that it is being used by global elites to deflect from the drivers of inequality and enable ongoing processes of expropriation, exploitation and exclusion. During a recent policy dialogue on the Future of Work(ers), she commented: “The real seduction of this idea is that it’s apolitical. We can talk about development and progress without having to grapple with power.” The Fourth Industrial Revolution’s chief ideologue is Karl Schwab, chairperson of the World Economic Forum, who published an influential book…

Beijing: One person has died and two were injured when a fighter jet crashed in central China yesterday, state media reported. The plane, an Air Force J-7, “had an accident during training and fell in the vicinity of an airport ... causing damage to private homes”, said state broadcaster CCTV. The pilot parachuted to safety and had been transferred to hospital along with the other injured. The cause of the crash in Xiangyang, in Hubei province, was being investigated. Footage of the crash site showed black smoke billowing into the air from a street in Xiangyang. Several buildings appeared flattened. | AFP…

Bangkok: Thai authorities have seized 200kg of crystal meth hidden inside a replica Easter Island statue awaiting shipment to Taiwan, police said yesterday. Thai drugs officers working with Taiwanese police raided a shipping company in the port city of Laem Chabang, 50km south-east of Bangkok, to examine six statue heads. A UN report published last month said a record 1 billion methamphetamine pills were seized in East and Southeast Asia last year. Myanmar’s northern Shan state is the region’s primary source of meth and production is at unprecedented levels. Myanmar’s lawlessness is providing ideal conditions. | AFP…

THERE will be no keener eye on the URC semi-finals this weekend than that of Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber, who will continue his evaluation of backup players for the imminent series against Wales and the better they perform in the elevated pressure of knockout rugby against the competition’s best, the more they will impress. On Wednesday, Nienaber said it is vital that this year is used to grow depth in every position ahead of next year’s World Cup. He added that the Boks need to grow their game plan and with the Bulls and Stormers both playing an entertaining brand of offload rugby, the further they advance in the URC, the better the chance of Nienaber allowing the Boks to play more adventurously. The Bulls have off-loaded the ball more…

THERE can be no arguing that right now Red Bull are hot, hot, hot and are in the pound seats for this year’s F1 titles. They lead both championships – defending world champion Max Verstappen is on top of the world drivers’ title; while the team holds a 26-point advantage in the less prestigious, but more important constructors. Right now they have the most powerful car, with excellent reliability, which is the fastest car on the straights, and no squealing pig in the corners either. Verstappen is arguably the best driver in the paddock – his form and talents fusing together to make him a consistent force on the grid. Quite frankly, he is the driver to beat, but my big question is, will Red Bull allow it? Verstappen’s teammate,…