Indholdsfortegnelse for 2022-12-13 i Cape Argus

Rival ANC factions pick sides on Phala Phala A big showdown is looming today between pro- and anti-Ramaphosa groupings within the ANC as both groups have converged on Parliament sitting at the City Hall where MPs will vote on whether to impeach President Cyril Ramaphosa for his involvement in the Phala Phala scandal. On one side of the fence will be ANC Youth League members calling on Ramaphosa to resign as president, while a pro-Ramaphosa contingent of ANC members will be supporting him, with the ANC Women’s League, on Sunday, saying it would also come out in support of Ramaphosa. Inside the building, MPs will be deliberating on Ramaphosa’s future and the Section 89 report, which found that he may have a case to answer before an impeachment committee. But…

FORMER president Jacob Zuma says money has become the determining factor of leadership in the ANC. Speaking at an ANC event in Ekhuruleni, where he also did a walkabout in the township of Katlehong, Zuma said it was a precarious situation the party was facing because people had a sin of loving money. In a veiled attack on ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa over allegations that he used money to win the last conference, he alluded to the idea that Ramaphosa was famed for such practices. “At Nasrec (2017), he was famous for having a lot of money, and even now he’s still famous for that,” said Zuma. He said if people were truly in need of money, they should rather take whatever money was meant for a bribe and spend…

The harsh lightning and thunderstorms that began in the Mother City on Sunday night were expected to continue intermittently with widespread showers and strong winds over the Western Cape until today, as warned by the South African Weather Service (Saws). Saws also issued an advisory for extreme discomfort due to high temperatures. Saws said good amounts of rainfall were measured over the southern parts of Namakwa (Northern Cape) and over the western and central parts of the Western Cape over the past weekend. Models indicated 24-hour accumulated rainfall of 30mm-40mm yesterday, with 50mm-60mm in some places. “Heavy downpours (20-30mm/h), strong and gusty winds (40-50km/h, gusting to 60-70km/h), excessive lightning and large amounts of small hail (1-2cm in diameter) are possible. Redevelopment are expected over the eastern parts on Tuesday (today).”…

To BE in authority you have responsibilities towards yourself and those around you. In SA this is only a pipe dream. Keeping someone responsible is only an imagination. Too many things in our country have gone wrong. We, the men in the street, are wondering what is going on and where this is leading. The trust in our country’s systems … such as our president, law and order, Eskom, Sars, banking system (VBS), Prasa, education, transport, you name it, something is not right … People in their fifties will say: “It was better under apartheid.” What we are experiencing now could never have been predicted by leaders such as Mr Nelson Mandela, Mr Steve Biko, etc. Constantly blaming past atrocities means the nation is not moving forward. We are all…

Sewage cesspool beaches A large number of businesses in eThekwini – which includes the port city of Durban – rely heavily on tourism. It’s a popular holiday destination, only six hours by road from Joburg. Millions living inland head to the warm coastline over the country’s extended December/January school holiday break. But maybe not this year. As Anja du Plessis explains, many of the beaches along the Durban coastline aren’t safe to swim in. She explains what’s happened, and why. The city’s beaches are facing an ongoing sewage crisis. Many have been closed along the Durban coastline. Recorded water quality results show most of the eThekwini municipality beaches are currently not safe for public and recreational activities. Most beaches have critical levels of Escherichia coli (E. coli). This is a…

The European parliament scrambled yesterday to get ahead of the widening scandal of alleged huge cash bribes from figures working on behalf of World Cup host Qatar. One of the assembly’s vice-presidents, Greek socialist Eva Kaili, has been charged with corruption by Belgian prosecutors and her assets have been frozen by her homeland. Three of Kaili’s associates have also been charged, after bags of cash were found in her home shortly after she returned from an official visit to Qatar, and a second MEP’s house has been searched. EU foreign ministers, arriving in Brussels to discuss sanctions against Iran and Russia, warned that the scandal threatens the credibility of European institutions. “The allegations against the vice-president of the European Parliament are of utmost concern, very serious,” European Commission president Ursula…

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni defended his players from accusations of misconduct in their fractious World Cup quarter-final against the Netherlands, insisting yesterday that the game was played in the “right way”. The South American team have recovered from a shock defeat at the hands of Saudi Arabia in their opening group game in Qatar to reach the last four. But the two-time champions were heavily criticised following their bad-tempered last-eight clash with the Netherlands last week. Scaloni’s side threw away a two-goal lead against the Dutch at Lusail Stadium but eventually triumphed 4-3 in a penalty shoot-out. However, the game featured a World Cup record 18 yellow cards and multiple mass confrontations, and Fifa has since opened disciplinary proceedings against both sides. Argentina will be without Gonzalo Montiel and Marcos…

All things considered, South African rugby can be pleased with its first foray into European Cup rugby and even French star Antoine Dupont might admit that the African teams added value to the two competitions. We should recall, too, how the SA teams struggled in the first month of the United Rugby Championship (URC) last November, and it would seem the Bulls, Sharks, Lions and Stormers are learning fast while the Cheetahs, who are old campaigners in European rugby, showed great nerve to win in Pau. The Cheetahs are in the Challenge Cup, the second-tier competition below the Heineken Champions Cup and it was great to see them emerge from a long period of no rugby to win at a difficult French ground, with veteran Ruan Pienaar showing fine poise…

Former Mamelodi Sundowns captain Hlompho Kekana has expressed his views on the technical team changes at Chloorkop. Rhulani Mokwena and his charges are currently hard at work at Chloorkop as they look to put the final touches on their preparations ahead of the resumption of the Premiership at the end of the month. Mokwena has had an excellent start to his new role as the club’s head coach, claiming two impressive victories while his team scored eight goals in those two league outings. Kekana, who made 339 appearances for the Pretoria-based club and captained them to numerous trophies, believes it doesn’t matter who is handed the role of head coach at the Tshwane club. “I don’t really think it’s a big deal (on who is the head coach), because in…

Brazil’s quarter-final defeat on penalties came as a huge shock after the tournament favourites were knocked out by Croatia, but the South American side lost because their best shooters did not step up first in the shoot-out, Jurgen Klinsmann said yesterday. Croatia, the 2018 runners-up, stunned Brazil 4-2 on penalties after Marquinhos and Rodrygo failed to convert. Brazil’s joint all-time top scorer Neymar, who was fifth in line in the shoot-out, did not even get the opportunity to take his penalty after his teammates missed. “We were freaking out, it was real drama,” Klinsmann said at a Technical Study Group briefing. “We tried to discuss the difference between the drama from the Brazil game compared to the Argentina v Netherlands game and we came up with some ideas. “After conceding…

New Spain coach Luis de la Fuente defended his appointment after criticism he lacked experience at the top level, during his presentation yesterday. The 61-year-old, appointed until after Euro 2024, has coached Spain’s youth teams since 2013, most recently the Under-23 side. De la Fuente replaced Luis Enrique after the former Barcelona coach was sacked following Spain’s shock World Cup last-16 defeat by Morocco. “I was a professional player for 15 years,” De la Fuente said. “I won titles, I was an international (at youth level) apart from with the national team. I have (coached) 16 players who were in the Spain squad at the World Cup. “If there is anyone in Spain who knows the present and the future of Spanish football, it’s me.” De la Fuente was a…

Recently, award-winning rapper Nadia Nakai started her morning with a visit to radio station Kaya 959 for their breakfast show with Sol Phenduka and Sammy T, real name Tongai Mundawarara, who was standing in for Dineo Ranaka. A clip of part of the interview where Sammy T is asking Nakai about her relationship with her former label boss, Cassper Nyovest, has since been circulated. Sammy T asked the reality TV star if being associated with the guys works for her on a relationship level. Nakai calmly but firmly responded that she was not in a relationship with Nyovest. She further stated that she is not “associated” with AKA but is dating him and was previously signed to Nyovest’s label Family Tree. The radio host went on to try…

The 73-year-old Silvertown woman who appeared in the Athlone Magistrate’s Court on a charge of murder after “accidentally” killing her husband, has been released on R1 000 bail. The woman was arrested on Friday after the discovery of her 72-year-old husband’s body in their home. The couple had been married for 35 years and the family openly spoke about their suspicion that she was a victim of abuse. Police spokesperson Malcolm Pojie said, “Athlone SAPS has opened a murder docket for further investigation following an incident which claimed the life of a 72-year-old man after being stabbed by his 73-year-old wife. “Preliminary investigation suggests that the husband arrived home in Calendula Road at about 7pm on Thursday, finding his wife busy preparing food. “A quarrel ensued during which she allegedly…

This is in reply to K Moleko’s letter dated December 9, “Make SA a Christian constitutional democracy”. Let me remind you that the “apartheid regime” professed to be a Christian democracy that misrepresented and misquoted the Christian Bible and democratic practices as it suited them. I, as a Christian, am not in agreement with this suggestion. The SA population consists of various religious groups, including Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus, and more. Religious practices should be encouraged, as the core of our society is breaking down to the extent that lawlessness, corruption, gang violence, murders, extortion, xenophobia, etc, are overtaking law enforcement inefficiencies. In other countries governed by religious majorities, minority religions are persecuted, as in India, Iran, China (Communism – the state comes first), etc. SA is a young democracy,…

When did humans first begin to speak, which speech sounds were uttered first, and when did language evolve from those humble beginnings? The questions have long fascinated people, especially in tracing the evolution of modern humans and what makes us different from other animals. George Poulos has spent most of his academic career researching the phonetic and linguistic structures of African languages. In his latest book, On the Origins of Human Speech and Language, he proposes new timelines for the origins of language. We asked him about his findings. Research carried out for this study indicates that the first speech sounds were uttered about 70 000 years ago, and not hundreds of thousands or millions of years ago, as is sometimes claimed in the literature. While my research has been…

“The fact that I am not in Australia is really motivating me to score as many runs as I can,” Ryan Rickelton stated after another match-winning performance for the DP World Lions in the CSA One-Day Challenge on Sunday. Rickelton, along with Western Province’s Tony de Zorzi, are the two in-form batters on the domestic circuit, but for Rickelton, his omission from the Proteas touring squad for the three-match Test series Down Under hurts. He made 99 on Sunday in the Lions’ victory over the Gbets Rocks, falling one run short of what would have been his fourth century in the last month. “I’m obviously desperate to get back in the Test team again and pushing hard for an ODI spot, which would be great. The fire is burning inside…

England captain Owen Farrell said Eddie Jones was one of the best coaches he has ever worked with and described his sacking as “unbelievably disappointing”. Jones was sacked by the Rugby Football Union (RFU) last week following a review of England’s November series, with the team winning only five of their 12 Tests under him this year. “It’s unbelievably disappointing,” Farrell told the BBC on Sunday after his Premiership side Saracens defeated Edinburgh in the Champions Cup. “Eddie had been a big part of England Rugby for a long time now and he has been one of the best coaches I have ever had so, for that, I’m massively thankful. “We are disappointed it has finished early and we owe a lot to him. “I have been around for…

Non-profit organisation Action Society has dismissed the DNA backlog numbers provided by Police Minister Bheki Cele as misleading and not being an accurate reflection of the backlog faced. The organisation said there were about 18 000 new entries monthly and that it was impossible to bring down the total backlog, adding that the office was ring-fencing the original total from last year and not considering new cases. Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Reagen Allen reported on Sunday that the DNA backlog at the provincial police Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) showed a reduction from 25 290 in August to 15 259 last month, a reduction of 10 031 in the backlog. Allen said this meant that since October 1 last year, when the backlog stood at 89 158, the FSL…

Much of what we believe today has origin in religion, but people have forgotten historical context. Example: humans, to some degree, are alien to Earth, as part of our creation is from elsewhere. The Abrahamic tradition of Judaism, Christianity and Islam clarifies that Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden and sent to wander the Earth and atone for a prescribed time. What is not common knowledge is that before human arrival, other creations inhabited Earth. They defied the Creator and after that creation was vanquished, humans were sent to inhabit Earth. After the Creator replaced the previous creation, angels were instructed to visit Earth to collect “sounding clay” of various shades from which the original human prototype was fashioned. This is the reason why humans have…

I WANT to show communities how they can help in our quest to end chronic homelessness by taking those first but very important steps in this process. I am inviting the public, politicians, church leaders and a few friends who, like me, have actually lived on the streets, to come and visit areas in which I stayed as a homeless man on Christmas Day. We will be handing out essential care packages as a neighbourly gesture to those living on the streets to let them know that their community cares about them. I will also use this opportunity to launch EVERYBODY COUNTS, which is a community centred campaign to get homeless communities counted and assessed by those with lived experience. The data to be collected will be crucial if we…

AS we enter day 6 of Stage 6 load shedding, long-suffering South Africans find themselves at their wits’ end, praying for some light at the end of this dark tunnel of relentless power cuts, three times – and for up to 8 hours – a day. It’s unsustainable and unacceptable. You simply cannot live and work under these conditions. Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, apologised to the nation last week, saying the crisis was as a result of “malfunctioning within the Eskom systems and possibly sabotage”. It was one cause or the other, or both. The minister was not convincing in his explanation at all. Gordhan seemed to pass the blame on to mysterious saboteurs with unclear aims. And in yet another promise to solve the ailing power company’s…