Indholdsfortegnelse for 2022-10-25 i Cape Argus

An application by Ardagh Glass Packaging South Africa (AGPSA), formerly Consol Glass, to mine silica sand in the Philippi Horticultural Area (PHA) has come under fire by the PHA Food and Farming Campaign, which believes the mine will threaten their food production and the wetlands. Regenerative small-scale farmer and PHA Food and Farming Campaign chairperson Nazeer Sonday said the project had an expected lifespan of 25 years and would extract silica sand by removing the topsoil and digging 20m into the Cape Flats aquifer. The PHA Food and Farming Campaign was opposing the application to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) because it believed the mine would have a detrimental effect on the health of the farming communities, the aquifer and the soil. “The Consol mine will…

Acting Judge Alan Maher was only able to get through half of his verdict yesterday and Mohydian Pangkaeker, accused of the rape, kidnap and murder of 8-year-old Tazne van Wyk, has to wait another day to find out if he will be found guilty. Pangkaeker, 57, was charged with 27 counts, including the disappearance and murder of little Tazne, as well as with abusing members of his own family between 2016 and 2019, after he reunited with his ex-wife. In the Western Cape High Court yesterday, Acting Judge Maher said 37 witnesses had testified for the State, with five choosing to testify with an intermediary, while Pangkaeker’s was the only testimony the defence relied on. Judge Maher gave the court insights into the testimony of minor witnesses who testified…

The Back To Work Campaign in Vrygrond and Mike’s Recycling Workshop have called on the City to allow waste-pickers from Vrygrond access to the Coastal Park Landfill Site in Muizenberg. The call comes after a clean-up event that highlighted the need for more jobs for the unemployed in the area. The groups said the City’s decision to restrict access to the landfill site resulted in a loss of income for more than 30 people, waste-pickers, in Vrygrond and surrounding communities as the City started to collect recycling in the areas where waste-pickers and Mike’s Recycling Workshop previously operated. Mike’s Recycling Workshop founder and provincial chairperson of the Back To Work Campaign, Mikel Kumalo, said the Coastal Park Landfill Site was situated on the doorstep of Vrygrond and offered both negative…

Earlier this month, the Re.Bag.Re.Use initiative that started in Hout Bay was awarded the co-winner spot at the ECCO International Communications Network 2022 Awards. The purpose of Re.Bag.Re.Use is to give people the opportunity to put bread on the table by using their skills to crochet products from upcycled plastic, minimising plastic accumulation and keeping it out of landfill. When Re.Bag.Re.Use products are sold, it pays towards a cutter and a crocheter from the local community. A percentage also gets donated to a local charity; the Neighbourhood Old Age Home and the Rotary Club of Newlands, who are the main beneficiaries. “This project from South Africa convinced the jury especially because of its social contribution for women in the current economic crisis and for the benefits towards our environment. We…

The splendour of numerous bright lights and colourful lamps, sweetmeats and new traditional clothing signalled the auspicious occasion of Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, yesterday. Diwali is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains across the world, with the term derived from the Sanskrit word “deepavali” (row of lights). For many, the week-long festivities consist of ceremonies and preparing various Indian delicacies known as sweetmeats. These will later be exquisitely packaged to be gifted to friends and family on the day. Sri Siva Aalayam Spiritual Head and Hindu Association of Western Cape member Guru Krishna said it was ultimately a celebration of good over evil, light over darkness. “There is a term in Hindu scriptures (meaning) ‘The entire humanity in the universe is one family’. In South African understanding, we…

The former deputy mayor of Knysna, on a DA ticket, Michelle Wasserman is the newly-appointed ActionSA Western Cape provincial chairperson. The choice of Wasserman confirmed speculation that she was the party’s pick to replace Vytjie Mentor, who died in August. Wasserman, who holds a Master’s degree in human rights law, first joined ActionSA in June and said what drew her to the party was its ability to attract voters from all the country’s race groups. She said her former party, the DA, couldn’t do this and was well aware of the fact. “Here in the Western Cape, the only province not governed by the ANC, we intend to bring the DA below 50% by demonstrating the huge disparity between the haves and have nots.” Introducing Wasserman, ActionSA president Herman Mashaba…

Chelsea are yet to lose in eight games under Graham Potter, but the Blues are still suffering from the lack of firepower that led to Thomas Tuchel's demise at Stamford Bridge. Jorginho's penalty in a 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Saturday is the only goal Chelsea have managed in their last two games. Even at the height of Tuchel's time at Chelsea, when they won the Champions League in 2021, goals were at a premium, with their success built on a solid defensive foundation. The German was sacked seven games into this season, just days after the end of a transfer window where he had a major influence on Chelsea's recruitment. Tuchel pushed to be reunited with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after their time together at Borussia Dortmund and also championed…

A Mamelodi Sundowns outfit with a reconfigured coaching team will travel to Maritzburg United as the two team meet at Harry Gwala Stadium today. The Brazilians are coming off an embarrassing MTN8 semi-final exit at the hands of Orlando Pirates, leading to the club’s hierarchy feeling a need to redefine the roles of the three coaches in their technical team. “Rulani Mokwena will take over the responsibility of head coach at (Sundowns), Steve Komphela will be promoted to become first team coach and Manqoba Mngqithi will be the senior coach,” Sundowns said in a statement yesterday. Sundowns have been an unfamiliar and jittery outfit since the beginning of the season, producing inconsistent performances, when compared to the all-conquering teams of previous years. Maritzburg, meanwhile, are themselves under different management this…

Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, has been taking public jabs at Trevor Noah for a while now. Earlier in the year, Ye was even suspended from Instagram for what the company described as “hate speech, harassment and bullying” towards the South African comic. In his latest diss, last week Ye referred to Noah as being “not even from America, he just look black”, which sparked uproar on Mzansi’s Twitter. Responding to a question from an audience member who asked him why he was beefing with Ye, Noah shared some of his most open and sincere remarks on the topic. “I was never beefing with Kanye West, I was concerned about Kanye West,” he said, which drew laughter from the crowd. “No, genuinely I mean this.” Noah then…

The three construction workers who died after being trapped inside a drain they were working on in Cape Town last week have been identified. Initially reports indicate that two workers were trapped and died but the company they worked for, CSV Construction, has confirmed that it was three people. Thembela Mapoyi, 35, Johan Lubanka, 44, and Yanga Nayo, 30, were laid to rest on Wednesday last week during a service in the Eastern Cape, director Hannes Coetzee said. Mapoyi and Lubanka had been with CSV for 10 years while Nayo was with them for seven. “Each had been hardworking, loyal, highly skilled and experienced employees who had long service records with the company. “A memorial was held on Wednesday, October 19, and families, colleagues and the community were all able…

Equal Education (EE) and Tshisimani Centre for Activist Education have paid tribute to a formidable activist, Yoliswa Dwane, who strived for quality and accessible education in South Africa. In 2008, Dwane co-founded EE, and would later become the organisation’s chairperson from 2012 to 2018. Dwane died on Friday of liver cancer at the age of 40. In a statement, the EE said it mourned the passing of its formidable co-founder, affectionately known as Sis Yoli. Dwane grew up in Dimbaza, Eastern Cape. She later moved to Khayelitsha, obtaining a Bachelor of Law (LLB) at the University of Cape Town. Dwane led the EE’s research, media engagement, law reform work and publications. She was also integral in the establishment of the EE Law Centre, serving on its first board. In the…

Cape Town security firm Fidelity ADT is warning residents to be extra cautious of what they dispose of in their bins, as thieves may be using discarded items and boxes to gain intel on households. Fidelity ADT head of communications Charnel Hattingh said that the firm had received information of break-ins that have occurred within a day of bin bags being placed outside for collection – a clear indication of what would-be thieves are now using as ammo. She said: “We are resorting to warning residents to be mindful of what they throw away and how they dispose of these items. Not all rubbish bag diggers are as innocent as they appear. Would-be thieves may rummage through rubbish to gain information about households before planning a break-in. “Make a conscious…

Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell has warned that if the population of Cape Town continues growing at the current rate, the province will have to build a new city the size of Bloemfontein to accommodate 900 000 extra people in the next eight years. Bredell was addressing the provincial Standing Committee on Public Accounts during its deliberations on the annual reports of the department for the 2021/22 financial year. In answer to a question from committee member Nomi Nkondlo (ANC) on how the department would mitigate population growth and the demands for resources across the province, Bredell said the topic was one dear to him. “I think that we don’t talk enough about the topic. Some 108 000 people moved to the Western Cape last year.…

Politicians and political analysts have given a lukewarm welcome to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Sunday night address to the nation in which he sought to reassure South Africans that compromised systems were back on their feet, and the crisis of corruption had been averted. Political analyst Daniel Silke said: “Once again we heard lofty rhetoric coming from the president. I think he touched many of the right bases in terms of continuing the narrative he presents of renewal and rebirth, but ultimately the proof will be in the pudding.” Silke said actions would have to speak louder than words and complained that some of the real issues, such as cadre deployment and Chief Justice Zondo’s recommendations on the issue, were skirted around. “Clearly that was a political issue that the president…

AS MATRICS in South Africa brace themselves for the final countdown towards their school exit, according to a new report, children in Africa are five times less likely to learn the basics. The new evidence of low learning outcomes is devastating for Africa. It begs one question: whether the education system on the continent is relevant to the needs of the 21st century. The relevance of matric, for example, in South Africa, has often been questioned. And it will become a talking point again when we see how few make it to university or employment. Among the challenges are hunger, poverty, access to learning materials, language barriers and a challenge reported on previously in this column, inadequate support for educators. Given the evidence, it may not come as a surprise…

“We have to win all our games now.” That was the simple and straightforward message Proteas coach Mark Boucher issued after his team’s T20 World Cup opener was abandoned due to rain in Hobart yesterday. The tournament may still be in its embryonic stages, but such is its cut-throat nature that any points dropped puts a team at a major disadvantage of progressing to the knockout stages. The Proteas, of course, have first-hand experience of this after failing to progress to last year’s semi-finals due to an inferior net run-rate despite losing just one of their five group matches in the UAE. In a group that consists of subcontinental powerhouses India and Pakistan, the southern African derby against neighbours Zimbabwe would have been targeted for a full house of points,…

A few short months after being reopened following a 5-year closure, the popular Newlands swimming pool in Cape Town has been closed again due to a chlorine gas leak in the swimming pool plant room. No people were affected but the facility was declared unsafe and closed to the public. Community services and health Mayco member Patricia van der Ross said the leak was related to the ageing infrastructure in the swimming pool plant room, noting that this plant room had been considered for future maintenance, repairs and the upgrade of certain components. “There have been no persons affected by the chlorine gas leak, but the facility has been declared unsafe in terms of occupational health and safety requirements, which is why the facility is still closed to the public,”…

A 53-year-old soldier from the Polokwane Military Base has been handed a life term for the murder of his wife in 2019. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi said the Limpopo Polokwane High Court sentenced Maesela Lucas Ledwaba to life imprisonment for murder, unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, possession of a prohibited firearm and defeating the ends of justice. Judge President Ephraim Makgoba ordered the sentence to run concurrently with the other counts. Malabi-Dzhangi said the accused and his wife had an argument at their marital home on October 15, 2019. “The accused shot and killed his wife, Pheladi Beauty Ledwaba, while she was asleep.” Malabi-Dzhangi said the next day the accused had cleaned the room and removed the cartridge. She said the accused had covered…

Following the outcry by residents last week about the continued pollution and environmental degradation of the Milnerton Lagoon after the recent fish die-off, the City has announced that it is compiling a plan of action to restore the Milnerton Lagoon environment in the shortest possible time frame. The City was busy with appointing environmental consultants to help investigate and assess possible short-term interventions. Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said restoring the health of the Milnerton Lagoon was not optional and that professional consultants will help the City with time and cost interventions to steadily close off pollution sources to the lagoon over time, building up to the ultimate goal of dredging the water body and removing the sediment containing decades-long build-up of pollution in the shortest possible time. However, in the…

Bo-Kaap is gearing up to host the famous Red Bull Box Cart Race. Stephen Walker, of team Potjie Boytjies, said drivers would take to the streets on November 6. “We’re so excited to be a part of the Red Bull Box Cart event and even just to work with Red Bull. Our team has been working hard on our performance and we can’t wait to put on a show for everyone. “This exciting non-motorised race offers spectators an action-packed thrill like no other, as they get to witness carts go through the challenging slope, like the track in the Bo-Kaap in Cape Town. “Teams will have their driver skill and the craftsmanship of the box cart put to the test as one of the main sponsors, BFGoodrich, has added a…

Trade union Solidarity is following through with its threat to take Dis-Chem to court after the pharmaceutical giant missed the Friday, October 21, deadline to indicate whether it had withdrawn its controversial ban on employing and promoting white people. Solidarity legal matters spokesperson Anton van der Bijl said the union would be serving legal papers on Dis-chem later this week after writing to it on October 18 threatening action if the controversial ban was not withdrawn by last Friday. The furore began when an internal memorandum from Dis-Chem chief executive Ivan Saltzman, dated September 19, was leaked on social media a month later. In the memo, Saltzman announced that the pharmaceutical giant was placing a moratorium on the hiring of white managers in a bid to improve its employment equity…

The Milnerton Central Residents Association (MCRA) has taken legal action against the City of Cape Town and a property owner establishing illegal boarding houses in the area. This after the City’s alleged failure to act against the owner establishing the illegal buildings at four different properties without zoning approvals. In February, the residents were shocked by the sudden establishment of several illegal informal structures, prompting the MCRA to seek interventions from the City to act against the “greedy landlord” whom it said had disregarded land-use laws. Over the weekend, the association held a meeting with the residents to provide feedback about its legal action. The association said it had established a task team of affected residents in January, which logged the necessary complaints and collected evidence. After months of escalations…

Nomvula Kgoale is enjoying spending time with her family after taking a sabbatical from football to focus on her mental health post Banyana’s Wafcon success. After a stint with the University of the Western Cape Ladies’ team, Kgoale has spent most of her career abroad, including in the US and most recently in Spain. But her exploits were duly rewarded early this year when she made Banyana’s final squad for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) in Morocco. Kgoale grabbed that opportunity with both hands. She and her teammates qualified for the 2023 Fifa World Cup and won their first African crown. Nevertheless, he 26-year-old has conceded that all the travelling that she’s done in the last few years took a toll on her mental health. “Life has been…