Indholdsfortegnelse for 2023-04-13 i Cape Argus

Award-winning rapper Shane Eagle has finally given his fans and himself something to hold onto while he works on his upcoming project. Hold You is Eagle’s new boom-bap single, where he once again joins forces with Los Angeles producer LIKE. Looping over classic piano samples and a distinct New York-inspired boom-bap beat, Eagle creates harmonious melodies as the introduction to the track and then hits home with heartfelt, heavy-hitting bars. “LIKE has been a part of my discography, from projects Never Grow Up and Dark Moon Flower. “We call it dream music. You know, he sounded so classic. It has elements of French jazz and piano, all the elements that I love in music.” The two work well together. This is proved by the success of Chocolate Milk, which is…

After two murders in as many days the residents of Macassar have called for more police to patrol their area. This after another stabbing incident was reported in the area at the weekend. Morgan Jaars was stabbed to death, allegedly after a fight at Chris Hani Park on Saturday. The community are also seeking a meeting with Western Cape police commissioner Thembisile Patekile. Community leader Christiaan Steward said the area had been relatively quiet, but in the past month someone had lost their life every week, with youngsters bearing the brunt. Cameron Kirchner, 23, died on April 1 at the Vincent Pallotti Hospital after he was stabbed. On March 25 Lorenzo Mynard, 36, sustained fatal stab wounds to the chest following an altercation that erupted between him and Shoprite store…

The system of laws, including the regulations and structured environment, is needed to ensure that society runs smoothly and that proper governance prevents anarchy and a breakdown of the system. Rules and regulations have been part of our society for thousands of years. Without adherence to these rules and regulations, the entire system will collapse, and the structure will not hold. For these rules and regulations to be effective, we cannot only rely on the policing and enforcement of these rules. The law requires legitimacy, understanding and buy-in from the people who are going to be subjected to those laws. Notoriously, laws that are not respected and held in low esteem will find very little following. In our labour legal system, we are seeing less and less adherence to the…

The phrase “memory is the weapon” is such a powerful one, coined by the South African writer Don Mattera, that it sits consciously in my mind when I think about education in the world, particularly in South Africa. Schools should be vibrant places for learning. When one walks into a school, one should immediately be struck by a spirit of people wanting to expose young people to new ideas and students wanting to open themselves to the new discovery of knowledge. In my 39 years of teaching since 1977, I always enjoyed the interaction with parents, teachers and students. I have enjoyed the many hilarious and serious moments in my teaching career. I have enjoyed various funny moments in interactions with schooling communities. When one looks at situations in schools…

US President Joe Biden urged political compromise in Northern Ireland yesterday, using a visit to Belfast to promote the benefits of enduring peace and investment, but he faced heated criticism from pro-UK hardliners. “I hope the (Northern Ireland) Executive and Assembly will soon be restored,” Biden said in a speech at Ulster University, urging feuding political leaders to restore the power- sharing government which has been suspended since February last year. Biden touted the “unlimited possibilities” for investment and growth offered in the UK-ruled territory, 25 years after a historic peace deal brokered by the US government. But peace and stability must be guarded, he added, saying the January 6, 2021, riot at Congress in Washington had proved that in every generation, “democracy needs champions”. Biden met British Prime Minister…

San Francisco: US radio broadcaster NPR yesterday said it was quitting Twitter, in the first significant defection by a major news outlet since Elon Musk’s takeover of the platform. The exit caps a row over Twitter’s decision to label National Public Radio as “state-affiliated media”, branding it the same way as it does major media outlets in authoritarian countries. NPR had already suspended tweets from its main account as it waited for Twitter to change course, which it did only by modifying its label for NPR to “government-funded media”. NPR said Twitter had undermined its credibility. | AFP…

Two Egyptian nationals charged with murder and kidnapping are expected to appear in Mitchells Plain Magistrate’s Court today on murder and kidnapping charges. Hazem Elbherey, 29, from Strand, and Mustafao Al Sherbheney, 32, of Site C, Khayelitsha, are accused of murdering a fellow national and former business partner who was killed and buried in a shallow grave along Baden Powell Drive last month. The two were arrested in Grabouw and Queenstown respectively. Police spokesperson Malcolm Pojie said a preliminary investigation by an integrated team of detectives, led by provincial detectives, suggested that the victim, Saeed Mansour, was visited by the accused at his business in Grabouw on March 31. The duo allegedly confronted him about a substantial amount of cash from the business profits they suspected him of taking without…

The City’s metro officers have taken two suspects into custody following patrols in Manenberg and Heideveld. The City said: “Metro police officers recovered four firearms in Manenberg and Heideveld. Officers on patrol in Manenberg noticed a male behaving in a suspicious manner and sought permission to conduct a search. “They found him in possession of a .38 Special revolver with the serial number filed off, and five rounds of ammunition. “Two hours later, in Heideveld, officers received a tip-off about illegal firearms being kept at a house in the area. As they arrived at the address, a man standing at the gate ran into the house, with officers in pursuit. They found him hiding in a bedroom and requested permission to search the premises,” the City said. Two suspects aged…

HEALTH Minister Joe Phaahla says hospitals and clinics have another crisis: 18 804 vacancies for doctors, nurses and medical care personnel – largely due to budget cuts. This means the department had only a 31% “achievement rate” in filling its vacancies from the previous year, Phaahla said in a Parliamentary reply to DA MP Michéle Clarke. In June last year, Phaahla told Parliament there was a vacancy rate of 27 137 doctors, nurses and Emergency Medical Services staff across the country. Clarke asked what steps his department had taken to fill the positions and the reasons that medical students are still struggling to be placed in internships, considering the vacancies. “As of February 28, there were 18 804 vacant posts of doctors, nurses and medical care personnel. This is a…

Rotational stage 5 and 6 load shedding has been implemented until further notice after embattled power utility Eskom was unable to recover from an extremely fragile system. Eskom blamed the escalation to higher stages of load shedding on the increased demand after the long weekend and the additional strain that re-opening schools put on the system. This coupled with a generating unit being taken off-line for repairs at Duvha Power Station and delays in returning units to service at various power stations contributed to the capacity constraints and placed the country under the threat of stage 6 once again, according to Eskom. The power utility’s system report on Tuesday night indicated that it had narrowly avoided this prospect, but yesterday morning Eskom abruptly announced that the country would be returning…

Khotso Moleko’s letter “Trump's humiliation sparks real unity among Christians” (Cape Argus, April 12) was an eye-opener. I never had him pegged as being so woke. The thrust of his letter is that Trump must be a good guy because he claims to be Christian, and seems to have the support of some Christians – this is the same approach as the wokies who support transgender males who claim to be women. Well done Khotso! A step closer to real Christian acceptance that ALL people are loved by God – the transgenders, the philanderers, the liars and cheats, and all the other nasties. A well disguised letter of hope.…

No matter how evil a son is, a mother’s love knows no bounds. Sons who are murderers and rapists cause their mothers much worry, anguish and pain. In a heart-wrenching interview, Thabo Bester’s mother, Maria Mabaso, poured her heart out to an eNCA reporter, saying she longed to see her murderer and rapist son and give him a warm, motherly hug. Like many children in South Africa, Bester was brought up by his maternal grandmother from the age of 1, as his mother was too busy earning a living. When the grandmother fell ill, she went to live with her daughter. Bester disappeared out of her life. Maria couldn’t visit her son in prison in Bloemfontein as she didn’t have the money to travel that distance. Neither did Thabo Bester…

Washington: Global government debt is on track to reach levels not seen since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said yesterday. China and the US were responsible for the vast majority of the expected debt increase over the next five years, the IMF said. The US government debt-to-GDP ratio was expected to surpass its pandemic-era peak by 2027. China was expected to see its debt-to-GDP ratio rise every year. Its debt burden is forecast to be almost double its pre-pandemic levels by 2028. More than 60% of countries had declining debt-to-GDP ratios over the next five years. | AFP…

Madrid: The latest data from the Spanish State Meteorological Agency revealed that last month was the second hottest March of the 21st century recorded in the country, with the least rainfall in about 30 years. The average temperature for the month was 11.6°C for mainland Spain, which is 1.8°C above the average for the period of 1991-2020, the agency said. A record high of 33°C was recorded in the city of Murcia in south-east Spain, while the average temperature in the Canary Islands off the north-west coast of Africa was 3°C higher than normal. | IANS…

MPs grill security bosses on Bester escape TWENTY-THREE. That’s the number of G4S officials who were on duty and “looked the other way” as Facebook rapist and murderer Thabo Bester pulled a Houdini in the wee hours of May 3, 2022, beating a camera system that still relies on VHS tapes. Directors for G4S, the security company which manages the Mangaung Correctional Centre, were grilled and their version of events scrutinised on day one of a two-day sitting by the justice and correctional services committee in Parliament, which zeroed in on the daring prison break, the company’s contract with Justice and Correctional Services, the contract “breach”, and questionable camera angles, among other issues. MPs described G4S’s presentation as a “pure lie”, a “whitewash” and taking the country “for a ride”…

Two police officers have been granted R5 000 bail each at the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court following their arrest on charges of corruption, defeating the ends of justice and theft. Nolisihdo Carol Kondlo, 38, and Bayanda Ernest Matiwane, 35, were each granted bail of R5 000 following the hearing of their bail application in court. The matter was heard on Tuesday. The allegations against them are being investigated by a SAPS Anti-Corruption Unit. It is alleged they worked in tandem with four other officers stationed at different locations across the city. An earlier report said: “They are accused of corrupt activities where boxes of abalone were seized from suspects on a number of occasions without making any arrests or handing in the abalone as exhibits. “They are also accused of…

What was meant to be a fun family vacation ended in tragedy for the Barnard family from Germiston when they lost their son, Christopher, 16, who drowned while fishing with his father at Fransmanshoek in Vlees Baai. The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) in NSRI Mossel Bay was activated at 10.08am following reports of the drowning. Rescue swimmers responded directly to the scene, while the NSRI rescue craft St Blaise Rescuer was launched. “Our NSRI rescue vehicle towed the NSRI rescue craft Rescue 15 Bravo to the scene, which was launched on-site. The SA Police Services, Police Sea Borderline Control and WC Government Health EMS responded. “Arriving at the scene, the teams determined that Christopher, together with his father, aged 47, had been swept into the sea off rocks on…

The City is extending the deadline for local vendors to apply for trading bays at the My Cape Town Market Green Point, to take place at the Old Bowling Greens in Main Road. Traders have until 5pm on April 14 to submit their digital or hard copy applications. The market will take place on April 30 and May 7. Each trading bay is R107.20 a day for the duration of the event (R214.40). Forms can be obtained from the following offices on weekdays between 9am and 3pm: 1st Floor, 44 Wale Street, Cape Town; Ground Floor, Administrative Block, Goodwood Municipal offices, Voortrekker Road, Goodwood; Block C, Stocks and Stocks, Ntlazane Road, Khayelitsha; Ground Floor, Plumstead Offices, 3 Victoria Road, Plumstead Or contact Keziah Ruiters at KeizahAnn.Ruiters@capetown.gov.za. Or access the form…

What is going on at the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) and Public Investment Corporation (PIC)? During 2011/12, a few pensioners became suspicious about events regarding their pension money and started asking questions. The GEPF responded through the pensioners’ elected trustee member and assured them time and again how well things were going with the largest and best-managed pension fund in Africa. Then the bomb exploded in August 2014 when African Bank collapsed with a loss of R4 billion for the Public Service Pension Fund. This was slightly downgraded by the GEPF as a result of the 2008 global recession. The damage was a small percentage of many assets. Everything was supposedly in order. It was not, and after that, one inconsistency after another was uncovered by AMAGP (Association for…

Tunis: Ten migrants from sub-Saharan Africa drowned off Tunisia after their boat sank while trying to reach Europe, the coastguard said yesterday, with at least 20 more reported missing. “Seventy-two migrants were rescued and 10 bodies recovered after Tuesday’s shipwreck” off the city of Sfax, it said. Between 20 and 30 more African migrants were listed as missing. All those killed hailed from sub-Saharan African countries. The coastguard also said it had foiled another illegal sea crossing from the northern coast. The shipwreck was the latest tragedy after boats had capsized on Friday and Saturday off the Tunisian coast, claiming 27 lives. | AFP…

BAYERN Munich manager Thomas Tuchel had hope of a miracle comeback after his side’s 3-0 loss to Manchester City on Tuesday night in the Champions League quarter-final first leg. Bayern host Man City in Wednesday’s return leg and despite the thrashing Tuchel said the outing at the Etihad Stadium was “fun”. “Today I felt a bit of a shock with how much I’m in love with my team,” Tuchel told Amazon Prime. “It was a lot of fun today. How we did it, we were strong, we were emotional, we were clever.” The loss was Bayern’s worst in the Champions League since 2017, when they were hammered 3-0 by Paris Saint-Germain. In April 2014, they lost 4-0 to Real Madrid. Tuchel was coaching his fourth match – and first Champions…