Indholdsfortegnelse for 2023-02-21 i Cape Argus

In an already strained economy with interest rate hikes and inflation increases it would be greatly beneficial for any taxpayer to receive some form of tax relief. With an estimated 6.2 million taxpayers, it would seem that South Africa’s tax base is growing comfortably. However, since less than five million of these registered taxpayers actually pay tax, the figures soon start to appear smaller than meets the eye. In his State of the Nation Address (Sona), the president said: “Rather, we are concentrating on those issues that concern South Africans the most: load shedding, unemployment, poverty and the rising cost of living, and crime and corruption.” It would therefore be beneficial to the government for more South Africans to pay their taxes, provided certain rebates or deductions are provided to…

Rapper Nadia Nakia who was dating fellow rapper AKA upon his death finally took to social media to pay tribute to the Fella In Versace hitmaker. The music icon, who was gunned down on Friday, February 10, outside a Durban restaurant, was honoured with a public memorial service at the Sandton Convention Centre on Friday, February 17. The memorial was a celebration of his creative genius and historical contribution to South African hip hop. It was attended by the Megacy, other friends and family. His private funeral took place the following day. Saying her final goodbyes to AKA, Nakai later posted a video on Instagram with a lengthy caption in which she described her grief. The video shows a happy AKA and Nakai showing off their matching tattoos. She wrote:…

Capetonians woke to disruptive weather yesterday after the South African Weather Services (Saws) issued a warning of a cold front. Rain and wind resulted in localised flooding in roads in formal and informal settlements, as well as the uprooting of trees. Seas were rough and choppy, making navigation difficult between Saldanha Bay and Plettenberg Bay. Winds were predicted to moderate and waves subside from the west by late afternoon today. The weather service also issued a warning for storm surge resulting in localised damage to coastal infrastructure expected along the eastern parts of the South Coast (Mossel Bay to Plettenberg Bay) from yesterday afternoon into this morning. The roads were chaotic, with many flooded and traffic lights not working because of load shedding. Trees fell in roads in Westridge,…

It is welcome news that the City of Cape Town will spend R18 billion on sewage treatment, in part to restore our inland wetlands. Three cheers! Not so welcome is the news that the City will continue its century-old practice of pouring raw sewage into the ocean off Green Point, Camps Bay and Hout Bay. During that century, two developments have happened. First, the population of Green Point, Camps Bay and Hout Bay must have increased tenfold. Second, our environmental standards have risen. We no longer treat the sea as a dustbin or cesspool. Screening sewage does not stop it being sewage, and the NGO, Rethink the Stink, deserves our praise for red-flagging the issue. The treatment at the three outlets needs to be upgraded to purify the sewage until…

Great change comes with one’s admission of weaknesses. Recently, new Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi admitted that criminals “do as they please” in his province. This, unfortunately, is the harsh truth and lived reality for residents not only of Gauteng, but all the other eight provinces. Opening his State Of The Province Address, Panyaza said: “If had a choice I would not deliver this State Of The Province Address.” He would instead take everyone to see what he and his government were doing on the ground, Lesufi said. He quoted a journalist who wrote, in response to the recent shocking crime stats, that the ordinary citizens of this country survive “by the grace of God” and the “sheer luck” of not crossing paths with criminals. In response, the province will take…

Jurgen Klopp has urged Liverpool to turn their recent improvement into a season-saving revival as the Reds eye Champions League revenge against Real Madrid. Klopp’s team are showing signs of finally emerging from a dismal spell that threatened to ruin their campaign, having reeled off successive victories over Everton and Newcastle United to give them renewed hope of snatching a top four finish in the Premier League. Saturday’s 2-0 win at Newcastle moved Liverpool to within six points of the fourth placed Magpies with a game in hand. While it is too early to say Klopp has found remedies for everything that has ailed Liverpool in a traumatic season, they welcome Real to Anfield for tonight’s last 16 first leg with morale no longer rock bottom. Klopp will take that…

Apart from defender Sifiso Hlanti, not many Kaizer Chiefs players have put their hands up for Soweto Derby selection and coach Arthur Zwane has a selection headache. After Sunday’s soul-crushing 3-2 defeat at the hands of Golden Arrows, Zwane is faced with the monumental task of rebuilding morale and deciding on a team that will put the smile back on the faces of the AmaKhosi faithful. On Sunday at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, fans jeered and booed Chiefs. Worse was to follow when they chanted “Zwane must go”, and reports say that at the end of the match, the team were escorted off the pitch by police. The problem is that many Chiefs players under-performed on the day. To add insult to injury, Zwane’s substitutions backfired as the…

A response to a stolen Checkers Sixty/60 delivery scooter by the City’s Auxiliary Law Enforcement volunteers led to a possible syndicate in Steenberg where stolen scooters were recovered. Safety and Security mayco member JP Smith said law-enforcement volunteers were asked to assist a vehicle tracking company which tracked the scooter to a property in Steenberg at the weekend. The officers also discovered an assortment of disassembled scooters at the premises. On questioning the owner further, Smith said the officers were led to a locked shed where they discovered 12 scooters, all of which had been reported as stolen. He said the owner was arrested for being in possession of stolen property, after admitting that the vehicles were destined for export and resale in East African districts, including Malawi. This is…

Three Belhar residents accused of kidnapping a lawyer appeared in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court yesterday. Almore Schreuder, 40, Charmaine Shreuder, 24, and Garth Weber, 33, were arrested on Saturday after Gerhard Cornelius de Jongh was reported missing by his wife. The three accused are charged with kidnapping and three counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances. The accused appeared dishevelled and agitated before magistrate Nasira Khan. Weber was legally represented by Sameer Sayed while the Schreuders opted for Legal Aid. Attempting to bring a bail application for his client as a matter of urgency, Sayed said, “When I woke up I was a bit disillusioned, we heard a story that a colleague got kidnapped. My colleagues surrounded me and said you ‘would be mad to do this case, decline it’.…

Cane growers are demanding that Treasury accounts to Parliament “transparently” with details on the sugar tax and a planned levy increase set to kick in on April 1. SA Canegrowers has written to Parliament’s standing committee on finance chairperson Joseph Maswanganyi, demanding that the committee hold Treasury to account over its policy-making regarding the health promotion levy. This after the Treasury “failed” to respond to a Promotion of Access to Information Act request for Treasury to give cane growers the reasoning behind the implementation and the planned increase of the levy. SA Canegrowers chairperson Andrew Russell said the organisation had also approached Treasury Minister Enoch Godongwana in its bid to save jobs and an industry that was at risk. He said the growers approached Parliament because they want Treasury “to…

It is an absolute pleasure to bring you good news and uplifting stories from within a space that is rarely positive. Never in my life had I worked as hard and such long hours as when I was homeless, and that was just to survive. But there were days, precious days, when you were made to feel special. You would stop the “skarrel” and go and read a book, or shower on the beach and then lie there like everyone else with a bite to eat and a cold drink. This happened when someone unexpectedly spoiled you for no apparent reason. Thank you to those of you who follow your gut when it says “give”. You have no idea of the impact it has. Giving is by definition unconditional, and…

The South African Rugby Union’s (Saru) decision to withdraw its invitation to the Israeli rugby team, “Tel Aviv Heat”, to participate in a provincial tournament in South Africa needs to be embraced and not criticised. South Africa’s solidarity with the people of Palestine in their struggle against the Israeli apartheid regime is to be commended. To support the Palestinian struggle for freedom is a moral duty. In South Africa, many boycott and sanction movements adopted non-violent approaches to support South Africa’s liberation organisations to pursue political and social transformation. One such movement that comes to mind is the British Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM). Through AAM’s dedication to stopping the repressive laws of the apartheid system, the British public was sufficiently kept abreast of South Africa’s racial segregation policies. For example, after…

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s plan to rebuild quickly after devastating earthquakes rocked the country risks courting another disaster unless urban planning and building safety are carefully reconsidered, architects and engineers say. Days after Türkiye’s worst earthquake in modern history, Erdogan vowed to rebuild the southern disaster zone within a year, an undertaking conservative estimates put at $25 billion (about R453bn) and others expect to be far higher. Authorities say more than 380 000 units in 105 794 buildings are in urgent need of demolition or have collapsed, out of 2.5 million structures across the region. A building boom has defined Erdogan’s two-decade rule, during which his government has collected $38bn in quake-linked taxes, according to some calculations. The tax, still in place, could provide quick financing…

Laura Wolvaardt will walk out at Newlands this evening in front of all her family and friends. It may not seem significant to some, but it means the world to the Proteas Women’s opener for the opportunity does not come around very often. In fact, despite debuting for the Proteas back in 2016 and playing over 131 matches across formats for her country, she’s only ever played a single international on her home ground with Table Mountain in the background. And that was last week’s ICC T20 Women’s World Cup opening game defeat to Sri Lanka. She, and the rest of the entire country, will be hoping for a better result against Bangladesh that will ensure progression to the semi-finals, but Wolvaardt is not allowing the magnitude of the match…

AmaZulu FC president Sandile Zungu has urged other PSL clubs to show faith and patience in their head coaches, as Mamelodi Sundowns did with Pitso Mosimane all those years ago. Zungu spoke to Independent Media following the club’s decision to extend coach Romain Folz’s contract, which was set to expire at the end of this season. Usuthu, however, opted to pin him down until June 2026. Zungu, a renowned Durban businessman, has highlighted the importance of investing in plans for the sustainability and success of his club and believes that if clubs are to keep up with international standards, they have no choice but to follow the Sundowns blueprint. “I need continuity in my team,” he said. “Sundowns have shown us the way. I want to make our very…

Australian police have launched an investigation after the bodies of a South African couple were found in their Perth home. WA Today reported that the bodies of Ernie Gielink, 70, and his wife, Linda, 66, were discovered by their daughter on Sunday who went to visit them at their Cooloongup home after she could not reach them. According to a neighbour, the woman found both her parents’ cars on the property and the alarm went off after she entered the house. Police teams arrived shortly thereafter. A police spokesperson said officers from the major crime division were probing the circumstances. Police said there did not appear to be third party involvement or danger to neighbours. The couple moved from South Africa to Perth many years ago and had two daughters…

ITALIAN restaurant Bardelli’s, a pizza and pasta joint in the leafy suburb of Kenilworth, is temporarily closed after a blaze that destroyed part of the building. The restaurant established in 1992 has been running for more than 30 years and had been voted third-favourite pizzeria in South Africa in 2021 with most of its staff being with the place for more than 10 years. Owner, Grant Hawkins said he was alerted to the fire in the early hours of Sunday morning by the manager in charge. The blaze was contained to the kitchen and the front of the house where there is extensive damage. The cause of the fire and the extent of the damage are not yet known. “We are working on a plan to keep our kitchen staff…

The water and sanitation directorate has suffered a double blow after vandalism to its water supply network in the Wallacedene, Bloekombos, De Novo and Kraaifontein areas in the early hours of Thursday and Friday last week. The City said that last Thursday, February 16, vandals damaged the electricity supply to the pump station and control mechanism. On Friday, in another attack, they ruined the telemetry of the water supply network at the Bloekombos and De Novo reservoirs. “The vandalised installations and equipment are critical to the control and operations of the water supply to and from the reservoirs that supply drinking water to these areas. “The vandalism directly interferes with management of a sustained water supply in the reticulation network. As such it places the entire system under severe risk,”…

Regarding the proposal by councillor Yagyah Adams, for a “qualified vote”, (February 15), it was interesting to read the favourable response by Rob Johnston and the rejection thereof by Philip Bam (February 16). Paradoxically, all three are right, kind of. I like the idea of each voter having the potential for 10 votes. It would depend on how much each pays in tax, their education or skills level, how many people they employ and various other to-be-determined factors. However, this, or any similar proposal, would work only in a nation where everyone of school-going age has equal access to free education. Those with the intellect and will to succeed would eventually attain their qualification to have all 10 votes at their disposal. The reason this won’t happen any time soon…

Hats off to Professor Bonang Mohale, chairperson of Business Unity South Africa, for saying the quiet part out aloud: “We are not a failing state, but a failed state” (Business Report, February 17). This has been increasingly obvious countrywide, with the exception of the Western Cape which has managed to withstand some of the ANC-inflicted looting and incompetence. The irony of this tragic situation is that before 1994, it was the ANC’s policy to make the country ungovernable. Nearly 30 years later, they have succeeded. All three levels of government are bloated by cadre deployment, profligate spending and arrogant indifference to the batho pele principle – “we serve”. What passes for government by the ANC is characterised by internecine warfare between factions that resort to killing to gain access to…