Indholdsfortegnelse for 2023-03-28 i Cape Argus

Film-maker Sihle Hlophe has traded places and got in front of the camera to document her reservations about the transactional, patriarchal, and heteronormative elements concerning lobola. SABC1 recently announced the premiere of the new thought-provoking two-part documentary, Lobola, A Bride’s True Price?, aired last night and on April 3 at 9.30pm. The doccie follows the newly- engaged film-maker as she turns the camera on herself and shares her reservations about this traditional practice. In an effort to learn more about the practice before making her final decision, Hlophe attends the lobola ceremonies of three couples. Their cultures collide during the negotiations, making it abundantly clear that they have different understandings of what lobola is and how it should be conducted. According to a statement released by the…

A TAXI accident early yesterday in Prince George Drive, Grassy Park, left a 42-year-old woman dead and 13 people injured after the driver lost control of the vehicle, which rolled. According to ER24 spokesperson Russel Meiring, rescue services arrived on the scene to find the taxi lying on its side in the middle of the road. Several passengers had been ejected and were lying near the vehicle. “Medics assessed the patients and found one woman had already succumbed to numerous injuries. Nothing could be done and she was declared dead. Another man was found in a severe condition, while 12 others had sustained minor to moderate injuries. “The patients were treated, and the seriously injured man was provided advanced life support before being transported to nearby hospitals. Local authorities…

The arrests of three gang members from the Bonteheuwel area have been lauded as a positive step in the fight against the rampant shootings in the area. The three known gang members between the ages of 39 and 40 are said to be affiliated with the Americans and the Dixie Boys gangs. Two of them were arrested in T block, where the police confiscated two firearms and ammunition, and another one was later apprehended in Mahogany Street with a firearm and rounds of ammunition. T block is one of the hot spot sections in the area and it’s where law enforcement officers were recently attacked after attempting to arrest a man responsible for a shooting in Teak Road. The man evaded arrest while in handcuffs after a group of community…

Cultural Affairs and Sport MEC Anroux Marais has said that 367 libraries across the Western Cape lack access to alternative power sources and the Province estimates that providing alternative power sources to all libraries will cost approximately R110 million. Marais was responding to questions from ANC provincial cultural affairs and sports spokesperson Mesuli Kama, who asked for details of all the libraries that do not have alternative power sources and the department’s plans to ensure that they did. Kama also wanted to know how many libraries lacked internet access, how much it would cost to provide this and when. Marais said that for a standard-size library with enough power for lights, security systems and computers the cost of providing solar panels, an inverter and a battery was estimated at approximately…

AFTER a refusal by Freedom Front Plus MPL Peter Marais to withdraw his comment that black Africans are “foreigners” in the Western Cape, he was expelled from the legislature, where fellow MPLs were debating the second reading of the Appropriation Bill. Speaker Daylin Mitchell expelled Marais from the chamber for the day yesterday after Marais disagreed with a ruling that he should take back his comment and apologise for making it. Marais made the comment during a March 9 sitting of the House, when he referred to ANC MPLs as “foreigners”. Mitchell said: “I regard the reference to South Africans of a particular ethnic group as foreigners in their own country as highly offensive, unparliamentary and in bad taste. This kind of stereotyping of people will not be tolerated under…

Pupils at the Madrasatu Ahlil Quran Muslim school in Newfields were evacuated from their school as the building went up in flames. Three pupils suffered from smoke inhalation, with one rushed to hospital, but fortunately no fatal injuries were sustained. Fire department spokesperson Jermaine Carelse said crews from Gugulethu and Epping arrived at the scene just after 9am to find the first floor of the building gutted, including the roof. Smoke and water damage were restricted to the ground area. “Three individuals (all schoolchildren) suffered from smoke inhalation and one of them was taken to hospital by private transport. A building inspector was requested as the structural integrity may have been compromised,” he said. Outside the building, a helping hand who refused to share his name said: “It is sad…

Chelsea had an overall net loss of £121.3-million (about R2.7-billion) for 2021/22 due to “extraordinary expenses and loss of revenue” after sanctions were imposed on previous owner Roman Abramovich, the Premier League club said yesterday. Russian owner Abramovich put the club up for sale in early March last year following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”. UK government sanctions on Abramovich also complicated the sale. Chelsea were not allowed to sell tickets, resulting in a loss of revenue, while their operational spend was also curtailed due to government restrictions until the sale was completed at the end of May. “During this period, the club was restricted in a number of areas including, but not limited to, its ability to sell matchday and season tickets, sell…

The insurance gap in South Africa is a cause for real concern, with the Association for Savings and Investments South Africa (ASISA) research released late last year confirming that many working individuals have a shortfall of at least R1 million in life cover and R1.4m in disability cover at the end of December 2021. According to the findings of the 2022 Life and Disability Insurance Gap Study, 14.3 million local breadwinners had only enough life and disability insurance to cover 45% of the total insurance needs of their households. “The average South African household supported by at least one income earner would, therefore, be forced to cut living expenses should the earner die or become disabled, and no other source of income can be found,” the report said. The life…

THE campaign by Sans Souci Girls’ High School to collect cans of food to help those in earthquake-stricken Türkiye and Syria, the idea of Grade 12 pupil Chloe Jooste, culminated in a special handover ceremony to the Gift of the Givers (GOTG) yesterday. The pupils built towers with the food tins before handing them over to GOTG, which was one of the first international rescue agencies to respond to the disaster, and also runs the largest hospital in the north of Syria close to where the earthquake occurred. GOTG would be delivering the goods to the earthquake survivors Jooste said she was struck by the devastation and pain of the survivors of the earthquake, which occurred on February 6, and felt the need to step up in whatever way possible…

The removal of a mobile police station from the Dunoon taxi rank to the clinic on Monday last week has led to renewed calls for a permanent police station to be built for the swelling population. The Dunoon residents had started a petition for the return of their mobile police station while calling for the provision of a permanent one. The community said the Table View and Milnerton police stations were far from their area and that with the rampant crime in their community, most people were not able to report incidents of crime. The petition author, Thembelani Ndabezimbi, said earlier this year the community was surprised yet happy to realise that they had been given a mobile police station within walking distance, after numerous requests for a permanent…

Experts and environmental activists waging war against ocean sewage pollution from the City of Cape Town’s marine outfalls are finding international support for their cause. Their fight was reinforced by fresh support from Norwegian and other international academics at a stakeholder engagement last week on the impact of outfalls on Cape Town’s marine environment. Numerous groups have challenged the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment’s decision to grant the City a five-year permit to pump sewage into the ocean via marine outflows at Green Point, Camps Bay and Hout Bay. Local and international academics gave alarming input relating to the effects of this discharge into the ocean at a stakeholder engagement meeting in Durbanville at the weekend as part of a project funded by Sanocean, a bilateral research co-operation…

Given the volatility of our currency and international oil prices in the past few months, it is not easy to predict April’s fuel price, but the good news is that the equation has turned positive. The news is particularly good for those with diesel vehicles. According to the latest daily snapshot from the Central Energy Fund, diesel is looking set for a price reduction of around 60c a litre from early April. But due to a strong over-recovery, that figure is growing by the day and in the coming week it could rise to about 75c if current trends persist. It’s less rosy on the petrol front, where we’re currently seeing an over-recovery of about 1c per litre, growing by about 1c per day, so if oil prices hold steady,…

An unemployed Johannesburg mother has bagged the biggest Powerball jackpot for the year. The unemployed woman, who was an occasional player of the lottery games, won a staggering R75 million after she bought a ticket at Spar Kingfisher for the March 17 draw. “When I checked the results at home and realised I had won, I became very excited. I was always hopeful I would one day win the jackpot. Now that I have won, I am looking forward to living comfortably. I am going to buy a house and invest in my children’s education,” she said. Ithuba CEO Charmaine Mabuza said: “The exciting times continue for us at Ithuba with the new PowerBall multimillionaire winning the highest jackpot of 2023 so far. We congratulate the latest winner…

BAfana’S ability to deal with mind games, intimidation and physicality could be their undoing in Monrovia tonight. Coach Hugo Broos has done a fine job rebuilding the team, but the mental area seems to have been neglected. In September 2021, Bafana scored an upset 1-0 win over four-time African champions Ghana in a World Cup qualifier in Joburg. Bafana kept Ghana quiet and only allowed them three shots on goal. In contrast, Bafana had 15 shots on goal. Then, in November, when Ghana’s qualifying hopes were hanging by a thread, they bossed and bullied Bafana as they won 1-0 to knock Bafana out. As the match wound down, Bafana lost focus and would have sensed the frustration of Broos, who can be utterly dramatic. Now, in March 2023, nothing has…

Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy admits the Premier League club have a fight on their hands as they scramble to save their season after Antonio Conte’s turbulent reign came to an end. The Italian’s departure appeared almost inevitable after his extraordinary post-match rant following a 3-3 league draw at bottom club Southampton earlier this month. But Sunday’s divorce by “mutual agreement”, with just 10 Premier League games remaining, is a gamble by the Spurs hierarchy, who are desperate to secure a place in the lucrative Uefa Champions League next season. Tottenham are fourth in the Premier League table but are just two points ahead of Newcastle having played two games more - finishing in the top four guarantees entry into Europe’s elite club competition. Cristian Stellini, Conte’s assistant at Spurs,…

While John Wick: Chapter 4 more than delivers on the super-violent action that previous instalments have become well known for, there are moments when the action does feel too choreographed. In the latest entry of the successful action franchise, John Wick (Keanu Reeves) uncovers a path to defeating the High Table. But before he can earn his freedom, Wick must face off against a new enemy with powerful alliances across the globe and forces that turn old friends into foes. Reeves is joined again by Laurence Fishburne’s character (Bowery King), as well as by action legend Donnie Yen as Caine, an ex-assassin and an old friend of Wick’s. Additionally, Ian McShane is back as Winston, owner of the Continental Hotel, while Lance Reddick returns as the concierge, Charon. Bill Skarsgård…

Five ‘KZN hitmen’ traced to Belhar POLICE are keeping a veil of secrecy over the arrests of five men on Sunday afternoon who have been allegedly linked to the murder of rapper Kiernan “AKA” Forbes and his friend Tebello “Tibz” Motsoane. Plainclothes police officers arrested the three suspects at an ATM inside the Erica Square mall in Belhar. In a follow-up, two other suspects were arrested in a different part of Belhar. AKA, 35, was shot at close range on Friday, February 10, as he was leaving the Wish restaurant on Florida Road in Durban. He had been in the city for a live performance later that evening. According to Netwerk24, all the suspects were being interrogated and had been under surveillance for two weeks and traced to Cape Town…

Health and Wellness MEC Nomafrench Mbombo has said the estimated backlog of elective surgeries affected by Covid-19 has been reduced by 70% since June last year, thanks in part to the use of robotic surgery. The Western Cape’s backlog of elective surgeries stands at 20 849, down from the 77 000 operations that needed to take place in June last year. Mbombo said the backlogs were severely impacted during the pandemic, but the additional focus and interventions the department had taken had brought better outcomes and resulted in many more operations being performed. Mbombo was responding to questions from health standing committee chairperson Gerrit Pretorius (DA) who wanted to know how many robotic surgeries had taken place at Tygerberg and Groote Schuur hospitals using the department’s Da Vinci XI surgical…

A new Statistics SA survey has revealed that South Africa’s population is increasingly ageing and that the cohort of those aged 60 and older now makes up 5.6 million people or 9.2% of the population. Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke said this data, taken from the General Household Survey, was further confirmed by the increase in the ageing index, which measures the proportion of people aged 60 and older to the population of children aged 15 and younger. The ageing index increased from 30 in 2017 to 33 in 2022, showing that the population is progressively ageing. The survey also found that the older population is disproportionately female; older people in all provinces are more likely to be female. Maluleke said the South African population structure was characterised by declining birth…

Bafana Bafana have seemingly turned what appeared to be one the easiest ways to qualify for an Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) tournament into an anxiety-filled mess. Bafana’s calamitous final 20 minutes against Liberia last week has thrown their chances of qualifying up in the air as they face an uphill battle in needing to secure their spot away in Monrovia. Coach Hugo Broos and his charges will need to rid themselves of the emotional turmoil of their previous encounter when the two sides reconvene again today (6pm kick-off). Bafana are still the favourites against a Liberian side ranked 150th in the world. Although guilty of not being able to finish the job, the likes of Themba Zwane, Percy Tau and Lyle Foster showed the difference in quality between the…

Brad Binder and Red Bull KTM will have learnt much from their RC16 machines after the season-opening Portuguese Grand Prix on Sunday. The 27-year-old started the MotoGP race in 15th position and in an almighty effort, battled his way to a respectable sixth, one position better than teammate Jack Miller. Suffering from a neck and shoulder injury, Binder managed to out-race Miller, who started fifth on the grid, and pushed as high as a possible fourth-place finish before Johann Zarco took advantage of that scrap to sneak into the position during the last two laps of the race. Binder might be building a reputation as ‘The Sunday Man’ but his qualifying pace remains a concern, and although he can be well pleased with his performance at the Algarve International Circuit,…