Indholdsfortegnelse for 2023-10-06 i Cape Argus

As THE world celebrated International Teacher’s Day, a family were in court because their daughter was molested in school – allegedly by a teacher. The 12-year-old’s friends were overheard chatting about what happened. They said the teacher allegedly inserted his finger in her private part at a primary school close to Milnerton. The incident happened on June 23 and the conversation with the Grade 5 learner’s friends was two weeks ago. A community leader, Vuvu Mukumela, said: “This happened on the school premises, the girl never spoke about the incident, she was hiding it. “Two weeks ago, she was speaking to her two friends who were there when the teacher called her to the classroom. Someone overheard the two friends talking about it and then approached them. “The lady…

UCT and Stellenbosch University (SU) will today host a number of on-campus activities to raise funds to alleviate student debt, among other student-centred programmes. The inaugural UCT Day will be held primarily for students with fee debt, affecting almost half of the student population, the university said. The funds raised will also contribute to four student support initiatives, with the rest being anti-gender-based violence programmes, the student wellness service and the UCT food sovereignty programme. The Development and Alumni Department will run an eight-hour phonathon on the day, and members of the public can make an online donation to any of the four student fund-raising causes. Upper campus will be the epicentre of activity with events planned from 12 noon. A detailed schedule of events can be found on the…

In response to Rob Johnston’s reply (Cape Argus, October 5) to my letter regarding the City of Cape Town and the Steve Hofmeyr debacle, please allow me to give the man a bit of insight. The City does use rates money, I’ll admit to my oversight. But to say that very few poor people own property is either an exaggerated typo or an admission of ignorance. Has Johnston seen that sprawling excess of poverty that is Mitchells Plain? Atlantis? Steenberg or Ocean View? These aren’t plush suburbs, Sir, yet this is the rates cow of not just the City, but the province too. It’s these people’s hard-earned cash that the DA seeks to abuse with right-wing nostalgia and I applaud you for denouncing that part. The lie that the…

Aziz Pahad, a former deputy foreign affairs minister, received a special state funeral. President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered that flags be flown at half mast in honour of a man who had dedicated his entire life for freedom. It was all praise for Pahad as he lay in his coffin on Saturday decked with the South African flag. Speaker after speaker lavished praise on the veteran Struggle stalwart. He was not a controversial public figure but worked quietly behind the scenes for the noble cause of freedom and equality. President Cyril Ramaphosa described Pahad as a “consummate diplomat” who worked tirelessly for the global community. Former president Thabo Mbeki paid tribute to Pahad as a key figure in shaping South Africa’s foreign policy and advocating its non-aligned policy. Both the speaker…

Having suffered a T20I series whitewash in Pakistan, the Proteas Women will look to play positive cricket when they take on New Zealand in the five-match series that starts tonight at Buffalo Park in East London (6pm). The ODI series against the Kiwis was a success for South Africa after they won it 2-1, losing only the final game of the series in Durban last weekend. The tour now switches to T20 cricket, a format in which the hosts have had difficulties after reaching the T20 World Cup final in February on home soil. After that historic final at Newlands, South Africa have played three T20I’s and have lost all three as they were beaten by Pakistan Women, a team ranked eighth in the world. “It was our first time…

The Springboks may be on a Rugby World Cup break this weekend, but that only means all eyes will be on Temba Bavuma’s Proteas team in their ICC Cricket World Cup opener against Sri Lanka in Delhi tomorrow. The Proteas have a chequered history at World Cups since their first attemp in 1992. Over the years, there have been teams stacked with superstars – such as AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn, Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Makhaya Ntini – that have been unable to bring home the elusive trophy. Although Bavuma and his Class of 2023 may not possess the overall individual star quality of previous generations, they are determined to rewrite history over the next six weeks in India. “The boys are excited by the challenge of…

In celebration of Jazzart Dance Theatre Company’s 50th birthday celebration, a special preview was held yesterday at Artscape to see what goes into ensuring that Jazzart Dance will be around for another 50 years. The “50 Years of Dance Celebratory Festival” is an exciting, stimulating and celebratory mixed programme, elevating and honouring the life-changing impact and longevity of contemporary dance in South Africa. Jazzart is SA’s oldest and leading contemporary dance company, and is a registered non-profit organisation that provides a three-year artistic dance programme that enables graduates to carve out a career in dance – whether as performer, choreographer or behind the scenes. The company has changed the lives of not only their dancers but the audience who witness the emotive scenes on stage and become part of the…

Referring “Noah café to provide employment to the elderly” (Cape Argus, October 3). This is a fantastic initiative and must be supported by as many Capetonians as possible. There are various initiatives all around the world supporting the elderly, ex-prisoners, disabled and various other minorities. These initiatives are absolutely fantastic because it draws the public’s attention to them and, invariably, they are innovative and offer a fantastic way of bringing people together. It must be remembered that we are suffering from probably the worst unemployment in the world. It cannot be business as usual. It is vital that all of us join hands in thinking of ways to create jobs and in supporting those jobs once they are created. We cannot leave such a vital project for government to destroy.…

SEVENTEEN years ago, they gathered at the Stone Cottages, descendants of 100 families who were forced from their homes more than 70 years ago. The three cottages lie nestled against a magnificent backdrop of Table Mountain, close to the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens and on the edge of what is known today as the wealthy Cape Town suburb of Bishopscourt. They are what remains of Protea Village. The community was forcibly removed under the 1950 Groups Areas Act to be scattered on the Cape Flats. From there, those families travelled on Heritage Day 2006 to join a celebration to welcome them home again, symbolically held at the Stone Cottages. The day represented a milestone for what was hailed as a case study in successful urban land restitution. Innovative property…

It’s seldom that unions and business are on the same side of the battlefield. Both business and organised labour have joined forces and called for the beleaguered Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) to be placed under administration, its investments investigated and its employees subjected to lifestyle audits as the fund sinks deeper into dysfunction, and suspicion of corruption grows. The insurance is an employer- and employee-funded social security fund collected through a payroll tax. It is administered by the Department of Labour and Employment, with business and labour playing an advisory role. But for some time now the spotlight has been on the fund, which has been beset by difficulties – including payments to dead or under-aged recipients and prisoners, a faulty IT system which is routinely on the blink and…

Banks playing delaying tactics, advocate says The Competition Tribunal yesterday reserved its judgment to consider a further extension to the interim relief it granted the applicant (Sekunjalo Group of companies). The extension was being opposed by the respondents (the banks). This followed an initial successful interim relief application that was brought by Sekunjalo claiming that the banks’ conduct, in terminating banking relationships and/or refusing to provide banking and payment services to the Group, constituted an abuse of dominance, market power, and/or collusive conduct in contravention of the Competition Act. An interim order was granted in favour of Sekunjalo on September 15, 2022, and extended in March. It prevented the banks involved from closing any of the Sekunjalo accounts for six months, or until the investigation being conducted by the Competition…

POLICE deployments should be based on data that shows where most crimes occur. This was the view of Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Reagen Allen, after shocking statistics by Police Minister Bheki Cele that more than 100 murders were recorded in the province within one week. According to Allen, the police stations where most of the homicides occurred, and like so many others, are severely under-resourced. He said the shortcomings of the police are one of the many reasons why the Western Cape government has stepped in with its Western Cape Safety Plan (WCSP). “From this plan, and in partnership with the City of Cape Town, WCSP activated their Law Enforcement Advancement Plan (Leap) officers in 2020. Leap officers are strategically deployed and their operations are based on evidence…

The South African Policing Union (Sapu) said it welcomes the establishment of the Border Management Authority (BMA) as an entity. President Cyril Ramaphosa officially launched the BMA, which will be responsible for securing all border operations in Musina at the Beitbridge port of entry, which has a high influx of cross-border activities. The BMA was established in terms of part A of schedule 3 of the Public Finance Management Act outside the Public Service. Its functions include facilitating and managing the legitimate movement of persons within the Border Law Enforcement area and at ports of entry. Before the establishment of the BMA there were gaps at all of South Africa’s borders – land, sea or airport – where departments were working in silos without one knowing what the other was…

The South African Poultry Association (Sapa) has placed the number of birds lost as a result of outbreaks across the country of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), commonly known as “bird flu”, at 7.5 million. Sapa’s Broiler Board general manager Izaak Breitenbach said: “This outbreak is unprecedented, one of the worst in our history. To date, we have lost just over 7.5 million birds, for which farmers and producers are not compensated, so they carry the expenses of the birds lost, and the production lost.” According to the Organisation for Animal Health, where outbreaks occur, it is often policy to cull all poultry, infected or not, to contain the spread of bird flu, resulting in heavy economic losses for farmers and long-lasting impact on their livelihoods. Bird flu affects…

LAST year, I visited Upington, Vryburg and Kakamas in the Northern Cape. I was surprised by the poverty endured by the people living there. Some officials asked me to convey their suffering to President Cyril Ramaphosa. I told them that I will do my best. The Orange River flows through the region and there is lots of empty land available. The king and queen of the Netherlands will be arriving in South Africa shortly for an official visit. The Netherlands is one of the largest exporters of agricultural products, including meat, in the world after America. Our government should invite hydraulic engineers from the Netherlands to build canals in the region to grow fruit and vegetables. We should divert the waters of the Orange River, which flows into the Atlantic…

With immense sadness, the nation was told of the passing of ANC Struggle stalwart and medical icon Professor Hoosen Jerry Coovadia. He died at the age of 83. Coovadia was an iconic symbol of true grit, a hero of the Struggle to obtain equality across the world. His courage and strength made one stand in awe. He never blinked. He gave hope to a generation of men and women. He played a pivotal role in our emancipation from racism. Stalwarts like Coovadia made personal sacrifices that enabled us to shed our chains of enslavement and thrust upon us the virtues of liberty and freedom. Sadly, we have lost many other stalwarts during the past three months. They made the ultimate sacrifice and that is why our nation endures. Our future…

New Zealand beat defending champions England by nine wickets in the opening match of the 50-over World Cup yesterday, demonstrating again their knack of punching above their weight in showpiece events. Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra smashed rapid unbeaten centuries to set up New Zealand’s successful pursuit of a 283-run victory target, which they reached with 13.4 overs to spare. It was a rematch of the heart-stopping 2019 final at Lord’s in which England were declared winners via a now-scrapped boundary count-back rule after the game had ended in a tie. Ravindra’s unbeaten 123 off 96 balls, studded with 11 fours and five sixes, earned the 23-year-old the Player of the Match award on his World Cup debut. Electing to field, New Zealand’s bowlers restricted their opponents to 282/9, a…

It is often said that professional sports people perform at the optimum levels when they are enjoying what they are doing and Western Province are certainly doing their best to cultivate that culture at the moment. Province currently top the Cricket SA One-Day Cup table with 16 points after four matches but crucially have been setting the standard through an aggressive approach with both bat and ball. It is a game-plan that has unleashed Nandré Burger, which has seen the left-arm paceman charge in and focus solely on knocking over the opposition’s top-order. There are occasions that he may go for a few runs but at the same time he is picking up wickets at a rate of knots. Burger already has 11 scalps in only three matches at an…