Indholdsfortegnelse for 2022-07-11 i Cape Argus

While schools are currently closed for the mid-year break, load shedding continues to cause serious disruption to education in the Western Cape as winter school and revision programmes continue through the break. As Grade 12s count down the weeks until they sit for the National Senior Certificate exams, the mid-year break is a time used by most schools to conduct revision programmes. However, the critical time that should be used to crunch in as much revision as possible has been hindered by load shedding. Districts across the province have reported that load shedding is posing a serious challenge to the implementation of these revision programmes and for those who attend winter school. The Western Cape MEC of Education David Maynier said such challenges included students arriving late, because it is…

Researchers and analysts believe we are only now starting to see the real impact the pandemic has had on young people and students, with recent research showing stress and anxiety is at a disturbing high level. According to the second annual Insights and Learning Report issued by online crowdfunding platform Feenix, South African university students continue to face an uphill battle and their stress is mostly related to money and access to funds. According to the report, 43% of university students surveyed have pointed out that they need mental health services but can’t access them. This is an increase from 33% in 2020. Apart from a lack of critical resources, the impact of the pandemic, remote learning, student debt, and a variety of other socio-economic pressures are all adding to…

The countdown is on for the premiere of one the hottest talent search shows, Idols SA season 18. Idols SA is set to make its return to Mzansi Magic on July 17, with some new faces. The theme for this season is “Singing a Different Tune” and it starts with a new panel of judges, which features two prominent and respected newcomers, as well as a long-time fan favourite. Triple threat pop culture’s Thembi Seete and rapper-producer JR Bogopa join the multi-talented choreographer and TV star Somizi Mhlongo. The three will be nurturing and ushering in new talent with judging styles as unique as each of their personalities, skill sets and illustrious careers. Judging from the promo video, the trio are more than ready for the tough task of finding…

Experts have said the sharp increase in kidnappings in the Western Cape point to a new and upsetting crime trend in South Africa. Some of the recent cases include the high-profile kidnapping of businessman Ismail Rajah, 69. The owner of Good Hope Construction was kidnapped in front of his business in Parow at 11am on March 9. He was rescued after being held for 111 days. There was also the case of Shireen Essop, a 32-year-old mother who was kidnapped on May 23 after leaving work. She was snatched by men while driving along Varkensvlei Road in Philippi. Her car was found abandoned. Essop was found three weeks later, at the Klipfontein Mission Station, by neighbourhood watch patrollers who contacted her family. Bangladeshi nationals said five of their countrymen were…

The provincial ANC Youth League (ANCYL) has demanded that the Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Department review or restart the 2021/22 Fishing Rights Allocation Process (Frap) and have urged “all progressive forces” to lodge their appeals on or before the July 29 deadline. In a statement signed by ANCYL spokesperson Mesuli Kama, the league is pressing Minister Barbara Creecy to immediately embark on a widespread consultation process with all small-scale fishing communities on the issue. The ANCYL statement condemned what it calls the practice where fishing rights continue to be awarded to predominantly white establishments while black people suffer and called for lifestyle audits of department officials involved in the Frap process as well as the termination of contracts for international service providers employed in the process. The demands come in…

THE number of house fires is increasing as a result of extended load shedding and South Africans need to be extra careful, Fidelity ADT has warned. “We have been made aware of several instances where fires have broken out in homes because of power cuts,” Charnel Hattingh, the head of marketing and communication at Fidelity ADT, said. Hattingh said in one instance, a resident was cooking when the power went off. She then went to the shops and while she was out the power came back on. She had accidentally left the stove on and a fire broke out as a result of the food burning. In another instance, a resident was running a generator in an outside shed. Because the generator had been running for an extended period, heat…

We are a nation in a crisis. We are on a perilous path. South Africans are losing hope in democracy. This must be the primary concern and cause for deep reflection for all of society. Things can still get even worse. We could even topple over into a political and social abyss, a point of no return. We can avoid this. Much of what we see is social, economic, political and moral destruction. Over the past decade society has witnessed spectacular failure of leadership. We have endured years of a leadership culture that is bereft of moral and ethical content. We have been subjected to profound levels of moral depravity by those we entrusted to lead us. They are the beneficiaries of affection earned from the sacrifices of martyrswho risked…

Sune Luus has admitted that Lizelle Lee’s retirement from international cricket last week came as a shock to everyone in the Proteas Women’s squad. Lee made the announcement last Friday morning, just days before the South Africans start a three-match one-day international series against England, and a few weeks before the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where the Proteas will be one of eight teams in a T20 competition. “It came as a shock to all of us, she’s given eight good years to her country and we all respected her decision,” said Luus. She added that Lee, 30, did not provide any reasons to her teammates for her choice. “It is a personal decision, and we respect her decision, she’s obviously got her reasons,” Luus said. In the statement announcing…

FOLLOWING two years of virtual graduation because of Covid-19, the University of Cape Town (UCT) will host ceremonies in person this month. Approximately 106 PhD graduates will be celebrated, while seven distinguished individuals will be awarded honorary doctorates. The honorary doctorates will be awarded to Dr Rob Adam, doctor of science; Sir Franklin Berman QC, doctor of laws; Geoffrey Budlender SC, doctor of laws; Trevor Jones, doctor of music; Professor Khaya Mfenyana, doctor of science in medicine; Kaizer Motaung, doctor of social science; and, Mzolisi ka Toni, doctor of social science. The in-person graduation will take place on July 22 at the Sarah Baartman Hall on Upper Campus. The ceremonies are scheduled for 10am and 2pm. UCT vice-chancellor Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng said that in the past two years, the university’s…

Edtech start-up Mindjoy is offering artificial intelligence (AI) boot camps during the school holidays. The holiday boot camps are based on an existing hackathon series that has seen the company host coaching sessions at several innovative schools. According to computerscience.org, coding acts as a translator. Since computers do not communicate like humans, code converts human input into numerical sequences that computers understand. Once computers receive these messages, they complete assigned tasks, such as changing font colours or centring an image. Students will be immersed in a world of code during the three-day event, planned for July 12 to 14. This will allow them to learn with some of the most advanced AI technology in the world. Students are given “kid-shaped” problems – such as doing their homework – to solve…

Seeks to lift threshold from R350 to R624 MORE Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant applicants may now be eligible to qualify as Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu has proposed adjusting the income threshold from R350 to R624. This change is contained in the Government Gazette published on Friday with comments open until July 29. In the gazette, Zulu indicated that from time to time, with the agreement of the Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, the income threshold would be amended. Zulu’s proposal follows intense public pressure from civil society organisations that have, among others, demanded she lift the income eligibility threshold from R350 to R624, the food poverty line, and lift the budget cap of R44 billion to cater to all those who qualify for the grant. They also demanded…

nomalanga.tshuma@inl.co.za The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) has sent two investigators to Worcester to conduct an inquiry into a small plane crash in which two people were injured. The incident occurred on Saturday morning, when the light aircraft tried to re-land at Worcester Aerodrome. Emergency role-players, including the local municipality’s fire and rescue services, responded to the incident. Breede Valley Municipality spokesperson JP Myburg said: “From what I understand, the sudden increase in wind speeds led to the accident. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured, and the emergency services were quick to respond.” Myburg said the craft was identified as a light plane from the Worcester Flying Club. The club’s chief flight instructor, Pieter Wise, said the club could not release any information until the SACAA had finalised its…

Municipalities across the Western Cape are pulling out all the stops to reduce energy consumption from Eskom while cutting down on electricity costs and increasing sustainability. Currently 21 out of 24 municipalities allow small-scale renewable energy on the grid, and 20 have feed-in tariffs that allow households and businesses to be compensated for feeding excess energy back into the network. George portfolio member for electro technical services Nosicelo Mbete (DA) said the 300 kilowatt peak solar plant at the Civic Centre parking lot was the first solar project to be completed and was commissioned last September. Mbete said: “The energy produced from the system supplies the Civic building and the excess flows into the grid and supplies neighbouring houses.” She said the plant produces on average 41 500 kilowatt hours…

The renowned Miss Global Heritage beauty pageant which focuses on promoting global diverse heritage is set to take place on September 24, a day that South Africa celebrates as Heritage Day. With South Africa chosen as a host this year, women from other parts of the world will travel to Limpopo at Kalahari Waterfront Nandoni, where the event will take place. Miss Global Heritage co-founder Ronald Tisauke said he hopes this pageant will help create jobs by engaging with different communities. Countries including Japan, France, US, UK, Canada, Ghana, Zimbabwe and several other African countries are set to take part in the pageantry.…

EBEN Etzebeth is set to win his 100th cap for South Africa in front of his home crowd in Cape Town in the series decider against Wales on Saturday and while he was in good form at the weekend in Bloemfontein, he will know he has to set a better example after his disciplinary implosion in the last quarter. The Boks were up 12-3 and on course to wrap up the series when their discipline failed them and allowed Wales to mount a comeback, and three of the infringements they made were by the most experienced Bok on the pitch. Etzebeth was the only player retained in the starting XV from the first Test and should have been a pillar of composure. Until then, he had been at his robust…

Actor Chris Hemsworth felt the need to up his game in Thor: Love and Thunder, especially with the bar raised in Thor: Ragnarok. Hemsworth, who plays the lead character, Thor, God of Thunder, also wears the hat of executive producer. The film opened in cinemas on Friday and has already had a cracker of an opening weekend. “There was a huge amount of pressure coming into this. There was a big expectation of what we’ll do next, so I wanted to do something different. I want to always do better with this character and to have had the opportunity to do another film was just awesome,” said Hemsworth. Going into filming he was adamant about hanging on to a new version of Thor, which he had the opportunity to explore…

Another week of load shedding is expected to negatively impact critical City infrastructure, especially at Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTWs) and pump stations, after Eskom announced that more power cuts would be experienced this week. Eskom alerted that Stage 4 load shedding would be implemented until midnight on Monday, load shedding would be reduced to Stage 2 until 5am on Tuesday, after which Stage 4 would resume. Eskom said this load shedding sequence would probably be repeated throughout the week. This was a result of the loss of five large generation units and a delay in returning five units to service. Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said as the generation capacity shortages persisted over the next few weeks, load shedding would continue to be implemented at various stages. However, this period of…

SAPS officers have opened a murder case after a woman, 35, was found dead in Westridge, Mitchells Plain. Police spokesperson Frederick van Wyk said the body was discovered early on Saturday morning. She had serious head injuries, and was pronounced dead at the scene. Further investigations will follow. Van Wyk said Khayelitsha police were investigating a robbery that took place at Thembokwazi Mall. He said four suspects, aged between 20 and 25, were arrested and would appear in the Khayelitsha Magistrate’s Court on Monday. Operation Restore members arrested a 37-year-old man in Browns Farm in Nyanga while doing stop-and-searches in the area. The man was arrested on charges of illegal firearm possession and is expected to appear in the Philippi Magistrate’s Court today. Operation Restore members acted quickly in response…

Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has said it is investing R16.1 billion in infrastructure at the Western Region’s ports of Cape Town, Saldanha and Mossel Bay in a move to increase trade efficiency. TNPA managing executive for the western region, advocate Phyllis Difeto, announced the allocation of R5.5bn to the Port of Cape Town, R2.2bn to the Port of Mossel Bay and R8.4bn to Saldanha over a 7-year period. She said the capital investment plan demonstrates TNPA’s commitment to the initiation of its “reimagined TNPA” operating model launched last year. “We are intentional about prioritising capital projects that will create future capacity while not neglecting the immediate needs required to enhance port efficiencies.” In the current financial year 2022/23, TNPA has a capital investment programme of R452 million…

The Garden Route experienced yet another wildfire over the weekend, this time over Mooihoek, north of Robinson Pass. When reported on Saturday afternoon, the fire-line was approximately 2km in length and burning in the direction of farm houses with a strong wind fuelling the fire. The Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) control room received an emergency call at around 1pm on Saturday from the Mossel Bay Fire Services, notifying them of the veld fire at Mooihoek. The GRDM crew started with firefighting operations immediately on the head of the fire. The team managed to stop further spread but a few hot spots persisted late on Saturday. GRDM acting chief fire officer Deon Stoffels said: “Two structures were in direct danger. Both Oudtshoorn and Mossel Bay Municipality Fire Services responded to…

Novak Djokovic stayed serene amid a frenzied atmosphere to tame fiery Australian Nick Kyrgios in an engrossing final yesterday, lifting a seventh Wimbledon title and taking his Grand Slam count to 21. Rallying from a set down, Djokovic exhibited ice-cool nerves in sweltering conditions to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3) for his fourth consecutive trophy at the grasscourt major to close in on Rafa Nadal’s record 22 major crowns. Competing in a men’s record 32nd Slam final on a sun-bathed Centre Court, the 35-year-old was facing an unseeded opponent who had never been beyond the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam before. In their only two previous meetings, both in 2017, Djokovic did not win a set, did not once break the Kyrgios serve and had only a single break point…

Enoch Nkwe wants to utilise the expertise of former Proteas players, including former captain Graeme Smith, who held the position of Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) director of cricket immediately before him. Nkwe, who will be conducting a series of seminars and a ‘road show’ to introduce himself formally to the provincial union officials and coaches over the next few weeks, said the involvement of former players would be beneficial to him and, more broadly, South African cricket. Smith did not renew his contract at the end of March and took up a stint as a commentator at the Indian Premier League recently. He was exonerated by an arbitration panel after CSA’s Social Justice and Nation Building (SJN) report had made damning findings about him, which included that he overlooked Nkwe…