Indholdsfortegnelse for 2023-04-14 i Cape Argus

The children are back at school after a short holiday break and if you’re lucky to be working from home, you’d be enjoying the tranquillity of the house being yours for a few hours again. While preparing the kids for school this week, and trying to get them back into routine, my preschooler reminded me that there’s still one activity left on the cards – the much-anticipated Cape Town leg of the Peppa Pig tour at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. After a few weeks of touring other parts of South Africa, Peppa Pig and her brother George Pig, together with their special friends Candy Cat and Rebecca Rabbit, embark on their fantastical adventure in the stage show Peppa Pig’s Perfect Day. In this fun escapade, Peppa tries to…

A suspect on the run from Jeffreys Bay in the Eastern Cape and three other suspects found with tik and dagga were all arrested between Hermanus and Gansbaai. Overstrand Rural Safety Unit (Orsu) and the K-9 Unit carried out the operation with the help of Overstrand law enforcement agencies. One of those arrested was Wandile Makwrana, who was out on bail after being arrested for possession of abalone. He failed to appear in the Humansdorp Magistrate’s Court on September 30 last year. Makwrana and his alleged accomplices were arrested on the R43 between Hermanus and Gansbaai on Tuesday. Meanwhile, assisted by the Overstrand law enforcement agencies, three more suspects were arrested in Gansbaai for the possession of drugs, with two being found with tik and one with 51 packets of…

A STATISTICS SA survey has found that about 2.1 million or 11.6% of South African households reported experiencing hunger. The survey said two-thirds of these households were in urban areas, and almost half a million of them were found in the country’s largest cities – Cape Town (240 970) and Johannesburg (238 610). “These two metros are among the fastest growing cities in South Africa, according to projections by the UN and other organisations, partly because they receive large volumes of people seeking employment and better living conditions.” The survey, titled Assessing Food Inadequacy and Hunger in South Africa, used data obtained from the 2021 General Household Survey (GHS) and estimated the country had 17.9 million households in that year. More than half of the households that reported experiencing…

Two Oceans athletes are ready to race the streets of Cape Town on the 53rd edition happening this coming weekend. About 29 000 runners are expected to take on the race, which is aimed at raising R1 million for charity. Tomorrow the ultramarathon will take athletes from Newlands to Fish Hoek and over Chapman’s Peak before finishing off at UCT, with Sunday being an opportunity for the half- marathon enthusiasts to experience the beauty of the Mother City, with lively spectators and a lively atmosphere. Among the runners will be two of the City’s own firefighters, Jermaine Carelse and Renaldo Duncan, who will take on the half-marathon in their fire gear to drum up support (and donations) for the Volunteer Wildfire Service. According to the City, a Wesgro and UCT…

Independent hotel groups from across the world gathered at the Global Hotel Alliance’s (GHA) annual CEO conference in South Africa to discuss the positive global travel industry outlook for this year. The conference took place at Sun International’s The Table Bay Hotel following Sun International joining the GHA last year. The GHA’s headquarters is in the UAE and this was the first time the conference was held in South Africa with leaders of its 40 hotel brands participating and representing 800 hotels in 100 countries. Global Hotel Alliance CEO Chris Hartley said: “With Africa being a key growth market for GHA, and now that Sun International is part of the alliance, it is fitting that we stage our event in South Africa to bring the potential of this region into…

COMFORTABLE as it may have been for Real Madrid in their 2-0 win over Chelsea in the first leg of the Champions League quarter- final, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said his teammates were annoyed they had not put the tie to bed. Goals by Karim Benzema and substitute Marco Asensio gave reigning champions Real control in the Spanish capital, but with Chelsea down to 10 men for more than half an hour, Courtois said the mood was subdued in the dressing room. “Every time you play a big knockout match you’re left with the sensation that you could have, should have killed the tie off,” former Chelsea keeper Courtois said. “This is a good result, but we’re bugged by the fact that we didn’t score a third or even a fourth…

WHEN the Netball League of South Africa started in 2014, it became the first semi-professional tournament of its kind on the continent, and there would have been genuine questions regarding its future and sustainability. Starting with 10 founding teams, the now named Telkom Netball League has slowly, steadily and inexorably marched on, growing in stature and strength. The renewal of the league’s sponsorship for another three years – announced in Sandton on Wednesday – will only help continue that growth, while the addition of two more teams in an expanded 15-team tournament will increase its footprint even more. Netball in South Africa will arguably reach an apotheosis this year when it hosts the World Cup in July in Cape Town, but Netball SA president Cecilia Molokwane is dreaming even bigger…

Thabo Bester and Dr Magudumana face the music after landing in South Africa THE “wife” of Facebook Rapist Thabo Bester, Dr Nandipha Magudumana, appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court yesterday facing, among others, charges of murder. She will be holed up in a prison in Kroonstad until her next appearance. Bester, meanwhile, is expected to appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court today, according to the police’s national spokesperson, Athlenda Mathe. Magudumana spent the day under heavy police guard. She seemed a little shaken, but wore a mask and kept her face down. When asked by journalists in the bathroom inside court if they could ask her questions, she hesitantly nodded. When asked if she wanted to say anything, she shook her head while blinking vigorously, as the cameras flashed.…

Details surrounding the kidnapping of little Abira Dekhta stunned the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday when it was revealed her snatchers demanded R20 million in ransom and threatened to sell her on the dark web. The 8-year-old was snatched while sitting in her school transport vehicle parked at Amber Court in Gatesville on 4 November. According to the State’s case, five men using two vehicles had followed her driver and sped off with her in a white Nissan bakkie. More than a week later, cops called her father, Aslam, and informed him they found her in a shack in Khayelitsha following a tip-off. The main accused, Mawande Jobovu, ditched his bail application, along with Sonwabo Malumbozo and Kwanele Jilaji, while the remaining accused Luxolo Mosiza, Sithembiso Qwaka and Adwiore Magura…

The stench of sewage hung over Delft yesterday as the City powered up its Winter Readiness programme in the area. Work is already under way to jet-clean 200km of sewers ahead of winter in hopes of mitigating or preventing seasonal Cape Town flooding risks. With more than 190km of the sewer pipeline already completed, it has been the largest sewer cleaning project undertaken by the City. Previously, only 100km of the sewer pipeline was cleaned ahead of winter. Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis and water and sanitation Mayco member Zahid Badroodien joined the teams cleaning sewers yesterday morning. “We want to reduce the seasonal flooding risks in areas around the City, particularly in informal settlements and poorer communities that often struggle with localised flooding, by being ahead of winter and cleaning blocked…

AFTER years of neglect, the multimillion-rand cleaning of maturation ponds at the Potsdam Waste Water Treatment Works (WWTW) is well under way to improve the quality of treated effluent being discharged into the Diep River and being provided to end users in the northern part of Cape Town. The cleaning began last month and is set to be completed by the end of June, bringing relief and improving the quality of effluent discharged, even before the City’s R5 billion upgrade for Potsdam is completed. This is a small part of the puzzle to rehabilitate the Diep River and Milnerton lagoon. Water and sanitation Mayco member Zahid Badroodien visited Potsdam yesterday to assess the progress and explained that the effluent was meant to be retained in these ponds before release.…

Former and current staff of Mitchells Plain Hospital are expected to gather today in celebration and appreciation, as the facility reaches the 10-year milestone. As the need for district level and specialist health-care services in the community increased, and people were referred and transferred to other health facilities in the Cape Metro, the hospital was commissioned. Department of Health and Wellness spokesperson Monique Johnstone said at the time, 10 years ago, that the Mitchells Plain Community Health Centre was one of the busiest clinics providing primary health-care services to the community. “To cater for the growing community and demand for health-care services, the Western Cape government Health and Wellness opened the Mitchells Plain District Hospital,” Johnstone said. The new Mitchells Plain Hospital opened in November 2013. The hospital had started…

TWO hours after they lost in the Champions Cup quarter-final last Saturday, the Stormers players and staff were already dissecting the match, looking for ways to improve ahead of their next game. And tomorrow’s United Rugby Championship (URC) clash against Munster at DHL Stadium (kick-off 6.15pm) could well be another make-or-break game for the home team. A win over the Irish club will boost their chances of hosting a home semi-final should they progress past the quarters, but a loss could open the door for Ulster to leapfrog them into second place. The only way for them to keep the space between them and Ulster is to come away with at least nine points from their final two round-robin URC matches. The defending URC champions will come up against Benetton…

COULD the Springboks be in danger of being undercooked for the Rugby Championship, and ultimately the World Cup? That became a distinct possibility after the two remaining South African franchises were knocked out of the Champions Cup in Europe last weekend. The Stormers went down 42-17 to the Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park in England in their quarter-final, while the Sharks were dispatched 54-20 by the powerful Toulouse at Stade Ernest Wallon in France. The Bulls had gone down 33-9 to the same Toulouse team in their last-16 clash a week earlier, so now the leading Boks only have the United Rugby Championship games to prepare for the international season. And apart from the second-placed Stormers it is not a sure bet that the Bulls and Sharks are even going…

The Willow Arts Collective (WAC) supported by the Ndifuna Ukwazi advocacy group protested as they challenged their eviction from a space close to Hartleyvale Stadium in the Cape Town Regional Court. The space they currently occupy is owned by the City of Cape Town. In March 2023, in supporting the WAC community, Ndifuna Ukwazi undertook various methods to reach landowners across Cape Town for space for the 25 WAC community members to erect the emergency shelters with the kits offered by the City. “The post was boosted with paid advertising to reach neighbourhoods around Observatory. The post reached just over 10 000 people but no offers of assistance were received.” The matter was heard before magistrate Reaz Khan in the Cape Town Regional Court where occupiers filled the courtroom,…

Agriculture MEC Ivan Meyer has described the ANC as the party that has spent the past 30 years stealing the freedoms of South Africans. Meyer, who is also the leader of government business in the provincial legislature, was contributing yesterday to an ANC-sponsored debate on the topic, “Socio-economic freedom for some people in the Western Cape”, in honour of Freedom Day. Meyer, who had the first bite of the cherry in the debate, took the opportunity to attack the ANC, calling it the party of “state capture and load shedding”. He ridiculed the provincial ANC for failing to hold its provincial conference, and said: “They cannot even arrange a drunken party in a winery.” In her contribution to the debate, ANC provincial spokesperson on social development, Gladys Bakubaku-Vos, spoke of…

The WESTERN Cape High Court has dismissed an appeal against an arbitration award, brought by a firm of consulting structural engineers relating to the failure of the screed flooring at the V&A Waterfront’s Silo Hotel. The firm, GR Sutherland and Associates, originally oversaw the modification and adaptation of an old grain silo into the hotel and has been in arbitration proceedings with V&A Waterfront Holdings to determine liability for remedial work on the silo building. The work required the floor levels in the section of the structure that houses the hotel to be raised above the level of the solid floor slabs and was done using a special type of lightweight screed. However, the screed did not function satisfactorily, and the floors became uneven. In the arbitration process, V&A’s claim…

THE RELEASE of a second video showing kidnapped South African paramedic Gert Jacobus (Gerco) van Deventer has given his spouse and family a renewed sense of hope that his captors are willing to recommence negotiations for his release. While on his way to the Awbari power plant in Libya, where he was to be stationed as an on-site paramedic for a Turkish company, Van Deventer was kidnapped along with three Turkish engineers on November 3, 2017. Eight months later, he was reportedly sold to Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), an al-Qaeda affiliate branch in Mali. Gift of the Givers has been involved in the case since 2019, after having been approached by the family. At the time, Van Deventer’s captors demanded $3 million, which was later negotiated down to…

IN track and field parlance, Arsenal would have hoped their relentless pace over the last few laps of the Premier League race might have taken the sting out of sprint finish specialists Manchester City as the bell approaches. Arsenal’s seven-match winning run in the league allowed them to maintain their lead over their pursuers but they have simply not been able to crack Pep Guardiola’s side. And this weekend they might well start to feel City’s hot breath on their backs with the gap most likely to be cut to three points by the time they kick off at relegation-threatened West Ham United on Sunday. Reigning champions City have countered every Arsenal move in recent weeks and appear to be reaching top gear at the perfect time, just as they…

WHILE signing England international lock Charlie Ewels is a “double win” for the Bulls, coach Jake White doesn’t think it will result in an influx of foreign players looking to join South African teams in future. The Bulls confirmed yesterday that the 27-year-old second-rower will move to Pretoria on a short-term deal until the end of the season as he makes his return from a serious anterior cruciate ligament knee injury. Ewels is trying to find some form and match-fitness in a bid to impress England coach Steve Borthwick and force his way into the World Cup squad, and White sees real benefit for the Bulls. He won’t be involved in either the Currie Cup game against the Sharks or the United Rugby Championship clash against Zebre this weekend due…

JON RAHM may have put his Masters celebration plans on hold so he can play this week’s PGA Tour event at Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, but the Spaniard is already thinking about his Champions Dinner menu choice. A tradition of Masters week is the previous year’s winner choosing what is served when former champions gather on the Tuesday of tournament week in the clubhouse at Augusta National Golf Club. Rahm wants to talk with two-time Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal, who is from the same part of Spain as him, to learn what he served at his Champions Dinner. “I have one of the appetisers down, which would be jambon, Spanish ham, the dessert, which I won’t be disclosing, and the wine,” Rahm said at Harbour Town Golf…

THE TotalSports Two Oceans Marathon is fondly referred to as ‘the world’s most beautiful marathon’ – but it is a moniker many participants would probably not agree with … After all what can be so beautiful about traversing a 56km route teeming with hills that leave you broken? Chapman’s Peak is a peak! But high as it is, it does not kill you because it comes early on in the race when legs are still strong and race spirit is still high. Not so Constantia Nek, which comes just after the 42.2km mark when you are lekker tired and contemplating just how you are going to get yourself through the remaining 14km. I once saw a big lad standing against a wall around that area and bellowing like a bull…