Indholdsfortegnelse for 2022-07-08 i Cape Argus

The Mpisane and Mkhize family topped trends lists this week after shocking abuse allegations were levelled against Royal AM chairperson Andile Mpisane by his former partner and mother of two children, Sithelo Shozi, during a Q&A catch-up session with her followers on Instagram. After being asked by one of her followers what lessons she took away from her relationship with Mpisane, the Durban-based DJ revealed how she was allegedly abused in front of Mpisane’s family and friends. Mpisane and Shozi were once one of Mzansi’s most boo’ed-up couples, with the wealthy son of Mkhize even splurging on a luxury BMW for Shozi. However, the relationship came to an abrupt end, as the public witnessed Mpisane marrying his now wife Tamia Mpisane in an over the top celebration, just three months…

THE court yesterday set down September 5 as the date for former SA Revenue Service (Sars) employee Faried van der Schyff and his co-accused to be served with an official indictment in anticipation of their matter being transferred to the Western Cape High Court. Van der Schyff, Nafiz Modack, his brother Yaseen Modack, his mother, Ruwaida Modack, Bashier Syce, Nadia Sait, Dominique McLachlan, Kulsum van der Schyff and Layla Bedderson appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on charges of racketeering, money laundering, fraud, forgery and uttering and contraventions of the Value Added Tax Act. State advocate Bronwen Hendry-Sidaki confirmed that the State was ready for trial but needed clarity regarding the financial instructions of the accused and whether their legal representation had been given instructions on the merits of…

MORE than 200 employees in uThukela District Municipality in KZN are said to have not been paid their salaries. The workers, who opposition parties had complained were mysteriously hired because of their association with the IFP, or had close ties with mayor Inkosi Ntandoyenkosi Shabalala, were due to get their first salaries on June 25. One employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being victimised, said no money had been deposited into their bank accounts. The employee, who confirmed he was an IFP member, said municipality officials had told them to wait. He said they had heard that the administrator raised questions about their employment without his approval, and therefore flagged their payment. The employee said they had been employed without being interviewed. On Monday, they met…

AFTER the announcement of the Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) Nyoloha Scholarship Programme in April, 89 candidates entered for the opportunity to win a fully paid scholarship to a South African arts institution of their choice. ACT Interim CEO Jessica Denyschen said the return of the programme showed the hunger and desire of so many budding young artists. “The ACT Nyoloha Scholarship Programme, after two years of Covid-19 uncertainty, has filled the ACT team with renewed joy and pride in the immense talent and drive of exceptional youth all over South Africa. “The audition process has revealed a hunger and drive from our applicants in vying for a spot on the three-month-long training programme with exceptional professional mentors,” she said. The ACT training programme starts tomorrow and will run until…

As WE celebrate Eid-ul-Adha, let us solemnly remember the millions of Muslims who were butchered in an orgy of hatred unprecedented in recorded history. Over the past 50 years, it is estimated that about 30 million Muslims lost their lives because of their faith. The rights of Muslims are expendable, their blood is cheap. May almighty Allah flood your life with happiness on this occasion, your heart with love, your soul with spiritual blessings. Your prayers and sacrifices will never go unanswered. May peace, safety, good health and prosperity be yours. Let us hope we can leave behind these challenging times together for a period of happiness, compassion and peace. Eid is a time to amend, forgive and reflect. May we all, my beloved family and my precious friends, find…

A CAPE Flats woman has scooped an award for the best emerging film-maker in the country. Thaakirah Behardien, 30, from Athlone has been in the film industry for more than seven years. She entered the Encounters South African International Documentary Festival with her documentary titled An-Nisaa, meaning “the women” in Arabic. “The documentary looked at three Muslim women in the province and how they use their creative mediums to push back against stereotypes in their communities,” Behardien said. “I followed a visual artist, a social media entrepreneur and a comedian, and how they used those mediums to basically talk back at the narrative against the overall image of what Muslim women look like in the media.” Behardien said she felt she had to change the narrative of Muslim women in…

With the ever-increasing cost of putting good food on the table, growing your own vegetables has never made more sense – nor been more essential. This, along with some other factors, was the impetus for the book Woman Zone has produced called Women of Soil – Changing Lives, which is set to be launched next month. Apart from being highly inspirational, the book is extremely practical; within the pages you will find the stories of 10 of the organisation Soil For Life’s remarkable women home-food gardeners, who have set up their gardens within the small confines of their home spaces, often against the odds. They have created vibrant spaces that under their green fingers are alive with edible plants. In the book, the women, who come from diverse backgrounds ranging…

AS SOUTH Africans wait for the actual or scientific cause of the death of the 21 teenagers at Enyobeni tavern in East London, there is an important question we must seek to answer: Is a liberal democratic constitution good for Africans? We ask this question because liberalism puts more emphasis on individual rights than community rights. Perhaps this is more important than the blame game that ensued after the tragedy. Parents blaming police and tavern owners for allowing underage children to consume liquor, but on the other hand, police asking how did parents allow their children to be at the tavern at that time, and what they did to ensure their kids stayed away from consuming alcohol. We must remember that through our liberal democratic Constitution, parents are no longer…

AFTER news emerged that he will be awarded with a honorary doctorate by the University of Cape Town (UCT), Kaizer Chiefs chairman Kaizer Motaung has paid tribute to the late Jerry Sadike. The owner of Kaizer Chiefs is to be awarded a doctorate in Social Sciences ahead of UCT’s graduation ceremony on July 22. As a footballer, Motaung, now 77, is regarded as a South African icon. While he was denied the opportunity to play international football due to his career coinciding with apartheid, he still managed to forge a successful career in the US and South Africa, turning out for the Atlanta Chiefs and Denver Dynamos. Sadike, of Orlando East, played in and scored in Chiefs’ first ever league game against African Wanderers on March 16, 1974. He died…

MEMBERS of non-profit organisation Equal Education (EE) will today protest at the Department of Basic Education (DBE) in Pretoria against the changes Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga wants to make to the school infrastructure law. Yesterday, EE Gauteng members picketed at the DBE offices in Pretoria against the “drastic and unacceptable” changes that Motshekga wants to make to the Norms and Standards for Public School Infrastructure. The minister signed the Norms and Standards into law in 2013. ”Never before did South Africa have a law saying what basic infrastructure a school must have, and by when it must be provided. We went to court in 2018 to get Minister Motshekga to fix gaps in the law, not to water it down,” the organisation said. The EE said the scariest change…

Petrol price increases are mainly based on two points of origin that are political. The first group liable for petrol price increases are beyond our reach. They include the US and Britain and their allies who own the oil industry and decide from whom we can buy oil and so on. The second group liable for petrol price increases are the stupid people who govern this nation. They are liable as they are unable to stop the ruin of our infrastructure or provide options to improve. For example, our railway network was reduced by 50% since apartheid. Much has been stolen or damaged. This is political, as the faction that did not get the security contract allowed the ruin to happen. While citizens were forced into house arrest under the…

The current state of minibus taxi operations is of great concern. Overloading of taxis is commonplace. This is especially the case in the early morning and late afternoon. It seems understandable that taxis try to accommodate passengers who have to rush to and from work, school, hospital or elsewhere when time is against them and the flow of taxis covering that particular route is slow. In such instances, passengers are travelling at their own risk, since they usually insist they want to use the overloaded vehicle, given their own time constraints. When passengers, however, have ample time to get to their destination, there is no excuse for them to board a full taxi. Overloading of taxis poses a serious safety risk. Unlike buses, minibuses are not made for – nor…

Boris Johnson was a contemporary at university. We both came from very different backgrounds. Me, a grammar-school boy whose parents had not completed their school education the first, then, of my family to go to any university, let alone to Oxford. Boris, a privileged Etonian, obsessive socialite and rich boy – known even then simply by his first name, and therefore creating a brand that has lasted for well over three decades. Boris was clearly able. He was a witty speaker. His speeches were littered with classical allusions – they often still are. We knew he’d won all the top prizes for classics at Eton. He was keen we knew that too! A blond bombshell – the hair was embryonically untidy even then – I remember him well from Oxford…

SPRINGBOK legend Chester Williams will surely be smiling down from heaven tomorrow when his protege Kurt-Lee Arendse makes his debut for South Africa in Bloemfontein against Wales. The promotion of the electric Bulls winger to the Bok No 14 jersey completes a dream season for the speedster, and at the Bok hotel in Bloem this week he said he would not be there if it was not for Williams, the 1995 World Cup hero who died suddenly in 2019 at the age of just 49. “It all started for me in 2016 when Chester gave me a chance at UWC (University of the Western Cape),” the 26-year-old said. “I knew everything about Chester, we went to the same school in Paarl, Paulus Joubert, (as did a third Springbok in Tinus…

Ramaphosa puts 18 to 21 limit back on the table RAISING the legal drinking age as President Cyril Ramaphosa suggested in his eulogy at the funeral of the 21 teenagers who died at an East London tavern was contained in proposed legislation but abandoned five years ago. The proposal to raise the drinking age from 18 years to 21 is contained in the Draft Liquor Amendment Bill first mooted in 2016. The process was halted before the bill could be sent to Parliament for consideration. The Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance SA (SAAPA SA) and 66 civil society alliance partners, colleagues in the public health and research sectors developed an 11-point plan calling on Ramaphosa to act decisively and effectively by taking steps to initiate an urgent response to the…

STATE advocate Renee Uys called for life imprisonment for the killer of 17-year-old Amahle Quku. Leonard Mzingeli was found guilty on two counts of rape, one count of murder and one count of attempted murder. This charge related to a woman who survived after Mzingeli stabbed her more than 20 times, as well as his attack on Quku. “Gender-based violence (GBV) is this country’s current pandemic that we are facing and no matter how many people are sentenced regularly in these court rooms, there just seems to be no let-up,” advocate Uys said. In explaining the seriousness of the crime and severity of the community’s anger, she said: “When Amahle Quku’s body was discovered, the community’s outrage was so severe that the person who took him to be incarcerated…

Patriotic Alliance (PA) leader Gayton McKenzie has congratulated the DA for winning Wednesday’s Matzikama ward 7 by-election with 62.2% of the vote and taking the seat from his candidate, Rodney Lakay, who came in third behind the ANC. McKenzie said in his message: “Congratulations to the DA and Freedom Front Plus, your strategy to have a joint candidate was brilliant.” The PA, which won the seat at the Local Government Election in November last year, lost it in May after Councillor Christo Boks resigned from the party to join the DA. Boks has now regained his seat on the council. The DA will now govern with the assistance of the FF Plus. DA provincial leader Tertuis Simmers said the party had almost tripled its share of the vote, and the…

The article “Capture of Yanga Nyalara”, refers: With crime and corruption eating away at the fabric of our society, I want to know why it took so long to apprehend a notorious criminal like Nyalara. He preyed on the community in a reign of terror that lasted years and included the murder of 18 people, drug dealing and the possession of weapons, among others. Are the police merely incompetent or are they in cahoots with the criminals? Can they not be more professional and proactive in carrying out their duties? Why must society be held hostage by a bunch of miscreants, while the police are asleep at the wheel? Does Bheki Cele see nothing wrong with the way the police conduct themselves? He is in dereliction of his duty…

For weeks, I have been preoccupied with the Roe versus Wade judgment, mulling why it is important to me over on the other side of the world. I’m trying to make sense of why abortion, as a right, has taken up so much of my brain space. I think it is the principle that women in 2022 cannot and should not be controlled by external laws, especially where their bodies are concerned. Beyond the blatant hatred and disregard for women, it is concerning to have to imagine there are ways beyond those that exist in the systems, governments and structures that want women to bow down to the rule of helplessness. If one were to stand in the middle of the issue of the right to safe abortions and look…

THE SA Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) has called for a national shut down in protest against the rising cost of living and the problems plaguing South Africa’s working class. During a media briefing yesterday, Saftu announced that it was in consultation with various stakeholders to embark on a massive strike against a litany of issues that faced the country. These include the high cost of fuel, food, electricity, the loss of jobs and the growing unemployment figures, which mainly affect young people. Saftu’s office-bearers were briefing the media following its national executive committee meeting. Saftu said it would hold a workers’ summit before the federation goes ahead with the strike. The summit will be open to all like-minded trade unions and NGOs. Saftu president Ruth Ntlokotse said the day…

THE Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance in SA (Saapa SA) welcomes the president’s weekly message mourning the deaths of 21 teenagers in the Enyobeni Tavern tragedy. It is correct that a national tragedy warrants a national response. But is that response adequate? Saapa SA challenges the characterisation of the problem as one of underage drinking. Underage drinking is a symptom of a much greater problem and, unless that is recognised, appropriate solutions will not be found. Furthermore, there is the issue of accountability. While the president doesn’t “blame” parents and learners for the tragedy, as many others have sought to do, the focus throughout his message is on what people in communities should or shouldn’t do. Families must set boundaries; children mustn’t drink if they’re underage; adults mustn’t send kids…

Scandal-ridden Boris Johnson announced yesterday that he would quit as British prime minister after he dramatically lost the support of his ministers and most Conservative MPs, but said he would stay on until his successor was chosen. Bowing to the inevitable as more than 50 ministers quit and MPs said he must go, an isolated and powerless Johnson said it was clear his party wanted someone else in charge, but that his forced departure was “eccentric”. “Today I have appointed a cabinet to serve, as I will, until a new leader is in place,” Johnson said outside his Downing Street office where his speech was watched by close allies and his wife Carrie. “I know that there will be many people who are relieved and perhaps quite a few who…

Springbok head coach Jacques Nienaber’s match-day 23 for the second Test against Wales took everyone by surprise, there can be no doubt about it. There had been rumours and whispers that changes were coming but it is fair to say that 19 new selections would never have been predicted. Since the announcement on Tuesday, much has been said regarding the team that will take to the field tomorrow at Free State Stadium. Many see it as an exciting prospect, others a dangerous gamble. For a group of Welshmen, it is a move that devalues the game and an unparalleled opportunity to finally beat the Boks in SA after nearly 60 years of trying. Those are the words of Sir Gareth Edwards – the British & Irish Lions and Wales legend…

PROTEAS stand-in captain Keshav Maharaj is hoping the “exuberance of youth” will provide the energy needed to take down world champions England on their home soil in the upcoming one-day international series. The Proteas ODI squad departs today for the first leg of a two-month long tour of the United Kingdom that also includes three T20s and three Test matches. There are also two T20s against Ireland sandwiched between the T20s and Tests against England. Maharaj has taken over the leadership reins in the ODI format for the tour due to regular captain Temba Bavuma being ruled out with an elbow injury. Bavuma suffered a blow to his elbow in the fourth T20 against India last month. Fast bowling spearhead Kagiso Rabada has also been rested for the three ODIs.…

THE Bulls are on course to meet Western Province in the main game of the Craven Week tomorrow after their comfortable 34-15 win over a gallant South Western Districts team in the late game yesterday. Notwithstanding the margin of defeat, the team from the Southern Cape were by no means outclassed, as they gave as much as they got but were out-muscled by the heavier Bulls pack. The game was played in a slight drizzle with the team from Tshwane adapting better to the conditions. They played percentage rugby, scrumhalf Jacobus Nel making judicious use of the boot. He was particularly effective when the Bulls were under pressure. The game started off with SWD opening the scoring courtesy of a penalty by fullback John Schoeman in the second minute. Their…