Indholdsfortegnelse for 2023-12-13 i Cape Argus

In a collaborative effort led by Pieter Toerien and Cape Town Opera, the highly anticipated revival tour of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s classic musical, The Sound of Music, is making its grand return this December. The Sound of Music holds a special place in the memories of many, weaving its melody into the tapestry of childhood recollections. The familiar tale, inspired by the real-life adventures of Maria von Trapp, introduces audiences to a young woman, who is on the path to becoming a nun. But her life takes an unexpected turn and she assumes the role of governess for Captain von Trapp’s seven children, setting the stage for a touching narrative that resonates across generations. The backdrop of the Second World War adds a poignant layer as Maria injects music and…

SCORES of homeless people living on the grassy patch adjacent to and on the Three Anchor Bay Tennis Club courts will have to pack up their belongings and leave after a court yesterday granted a final eviction order, forcing them to vacate by January 31. The Western Cape High Court order has also interdicted against further unlawful occupation at the tennis court, and other City-owned public spaces in Green Point and surrounds. If the homeless fail to vacate the sidewalk by January 31, the Sheriff of the Court, assisted by the SAPS, has been directed to evict them by February 7; demolish and/or remove any structure on the property; and remove any possessions and/or building materials belonging to the homeless, which will be kept for a month. The City said…

A man died while another was taken to hospital after a drowning incident at the Lagoon Beach in Milnerton. Unconfirmed reports suggested that the pair were part of a group which was reportedly drinking at the beach on Monday. National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) spokesperson Craig Lambinon said residents heard someone shouting for help. “At 1.42pm on Monday, NSRI Melkbosstrand duty crew and CoCT (City of Cape Town) water rescue network were activated following eyewitness reports of a drowning in progress at Milnerton Lagoon Beach. “Milnerton SLC (Surf Lifesaving Club) lifeguards, CoCT lifeguards, NSRI Melkbosstrand rescue swimmers, Law Enforcement officers and Marine Unit, Cape Town Fire and Rescue Services, the SA Police Services, WC Government Health EMS, Community Medics, ER24 ambulance services and Netcare 911 ambulance services responded. “Local residents,…

THE portfolio committee on transport yesterday came out in defence of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) after the entity was publicly slated when its Shosholoza Meyl trip from Johannesburg to Cape Town was forced to halt in Wellington at the weekend due to vandalised infrastructure. Committee chairperson Mina Lesoma said the committee would not do “running commentary” on the incident, while Prasa would instead account to Parliament and provide a briefing of its challenges. “It is odd that some leaders will just dismiss challenges that they know are there as a PR exercise and, without reason or cause, even blame it on the incompetence of hard-working officials. “Prasa had been invited to Parliament to both the portfolio committee on Transport and the standing committee on public accounts…

One of the hottest youth sporting events on the calendar is set to kick off this week. Awqaf SA, in conjunction with Primrose Cricket Club, will host its eagerly anticipated Awqaf SA 100 Youth Cricket Tournament that will take place from December 14 to 18. The tournament in its eighth year will feature multiple categories, catering to the Under 12,14, 16 and 18 age groups as well as an under-19 girls division to shine the light on young cricketing talent. On Monday, Awqaf SA introduced the Awqaf SA 100 Youth Cricket Tournament to the public, and tournament stakeholders including team managers and prominent representatives from the community were present at the Newlands cricket grounds. Awqaf SA’s CEO, Mickaeel Collier said that the tournament aims to continue growing the sports “We…

It is pathetic that the situation in Zimbabwe has reached this stage because of Mthuli Ncube. Development and Investment Promotion Minister Ncube has left Zimbabweans in shock. A lot of people in Zimbabwe are struggling due to poor economic performance; to add insult to injury, the government sees fit to punish the same economically bruised citizens. Ncube is now being asked to give a lecture in London based on finance. The biggest question from Zimbabwe is what is he teaching, as he has failed to resuscitate the economy of Zimbabwe, which is already on its knees, and Zimbabweans are running away from this clueless minister’s policies. The shameless finance minister’s talk in London will leave the audience with an appetite to ruin economies. Ncube failed to resuscitate the Zimbabwean economy…

AMERICAN female civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hammer teaches us that there are two things we should always care about: “Never forget where we came from and always praise the bridges that carried us over”. In the South African context of the Struggle for liberation, Mavuso Msimang is certainly one of the revered bridges that has not been thanked and praised. Allow me, Ntate Msimang, to thank you for the immeasurable sacrifices you have made. Politics tends to be about who controls power and not about how the political system operates successfully. It is my view that the control of resources and lack of ethical virtue are the reasons the mighty ANC is “on its knees”. Reinhold Niebuhr, in Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics,…

“Forward Together” was the theme of Chinese Ambassador to South Africa Chen Xiaodong’s speech yesterday at a reception celebrating 25 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations at the Chinese embassy in Pretoria. Chen noted that although China and South Africa are geographically far apart, the two countries enjoy a long history of friendly exchanges which provides a fine example for China- Africa co-operation and South-South co-operation. This is evidenced by the frequent state visits, as well as the numerous bilateral mechanisms, such as the Bi-National Commission, the Joint Economic and Trade Commission and the Strategic Dialogue. “We have now together entered a new stage of building a high-level China-South Africa community with a shared future,” Chen said. The second pillar of the “Forward Together” theme is the growth in…

Israeli tanks and warplanes carried out new strikes on southern Gaza yesterday, and the UN said aid flows to Palestinians facing growing hunger had largely dried up because of the intensity of fighting in the Israel-Hamas war, now in its third month. In Khan Younis, southern Gaza’s main city, which Israel troops began storming last week, residents said tank shelling was now focused on the city centre. One said tanks were operating yesterday in the street where the house of Yahya Al-Sinwar, Hamas’ leader in Gaza, was located. An elderly Palestinian, Tawfik Abu Breika, said his residential block in Gaza’s Khan Younis was hit without warning by an Israeli air strike yesterday that had brought down several buildings and caused casualties. “The world’s conscience is dead, no humanity or any…

Canberra: Major Australian infrastructure projects are under threat from massive workforce shortages, a government report warned yesterday. Infrastructure Australia yesterday published its annual market capacity report, revealing a shortfall of 229 000 public infrastructure workers. The report said the shortfall – as well as a shortage of construction materials – is jeopardising infrastructure projects worth A$230 billion (R2.8 trillion) over the next five years. It marks the third consecutive year that Infrastructure Australia has reported significant workforce shortages. | IANS…

“I feel like I am living in a nightmare I can’t wake up from.” This was how the victim of alleged sexual harassment at the hands of Western Cape acting traffic chief Farrel Payne described her ordeal in a letter to Premier Alan Winde and the provincial Department of Mobility nearly four years on. In the letter, addressed to Winde and head of the Mobility Department, Jackie Gooch, the woman, whose name is being withheld, accused Gooch of withholding the outcome of the internal investigation so that they “do not have to act”. This as Payne was expected to appear in court in February on related criminal charges, and the woman has an ongoing CCMA case against the Department of Mobility. “Numerous requests via email have been made to Ms…

Your edition Friday 8 December 2023 – “V&A slammed for hosting fireworks”refers. It is very unfortunate that we are looking backwards to try and entertain people in Cape Town. The V&A Waterfront is a world class institution which cannot afford the negative publicity and it can’t afford to trash its name as a responsible corporate citizen. I’m sure the V&A management will have a re-look at this and will be convinced that a laser light show with some appropriate classical music will be just as entertaining and probably more attractive to the visitors to this world class shopping and entertainment experience. I had proposed a motion in Parliament four years ago to discourage all fireworks across the board. This motion was passed by the South African Parliament and was supported…

ColonEl Tom Parker, the charismatic manager of Elvis Presley, boasted a rank that existed only in his imagination. His name was also an unofficial adoption following his arrival in the US as an illegal immigrant. Actor Tom Hanks recently portrayed Parker in a film of that name, and I greatly look forward to watching it. Big, boastful and bombastic. Parker was all of these things and, for no particular reason while mulling over these words, the name Fikile Mbalula sprang to mind, for it seems to me the ANC secretary-general is all these things, and more. I had the misfortune the other day to hear, on the radio, a snippet of a speech by Mbalula. He was shouting at his audience, many of whom must have suffered permanent hearing damage.…

Parties pitch to sway the ‘floating voters’ of KZN It is no surprise that the two largest black political formations in South Africa, the ANC, and EFF, have declared that they will host their 2024 manifesto rallies at Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium early next year. Despite its shocking political intolerance incidents such as killings of politicians, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) remains an important political capital in the country’s political landscape due to being the second most populated province in the country. The ANC, EFF, and DA know that the province is not only the second- largest populated province in the country, but it is also the second-largest economy after Gauteng which contributes around 16% towards the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). The fight for KZN’s vote makes political sense for every party…

LAHORE: At least 23 soldiers were killed when militants rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a Pakistan military base yesterday the army said, in an attack claimed by affiliates of the Pakistani Taliban. A suicide squad of six fighters attacked an outpost in Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa near the Afghan border yesterday, the military said. A local official said many of the soldiers “were killed while they were sleeping” in the base, a school commandeered by the army. Another 36 people had been wounded in the attack, he said. Pakistan has had a spike in militant attacks on its border with Afghanistan. | AFP…

The transportation of farmworkers needs serious attention to avoid further deaths. So said Rural and Farmworkers Development Organisation executive director Billy Claasen, yesterday, after a truck transporting more than 70 workers overturned, killing three. Two women and a man died on the scene in Philadelphia while the rest were transported to various hospitals. The accident happened on Occultdale Road as the truck was headed to Adderley Road. The truck reportedly rolled twice before it came to a halt. The male victim lay on the road a few metres from the vehicle and the others were at the rear side of it. “We have highlighted this inhumane transportation of farm workers, and we want the national and provincial governments to come together and do something about this issue. “The transportation of…

AN EX-husband is set to be evicted from a R2.4 million Pinelands house registered in his former wife’s name, after the Western Cape High Court found there was no oral agreement preserving his half share in the property. The matter ended in the high court on appeal, after the couple signed a draft deed of sale in 2017 transferring the man’s share in the property to the woman. This took place after the woman received a distressing phone call from an attorney representing Standard Bank, who informed her that her husband had signed (the house) as surety for his struggling business. Also, that as a result of its financial difficulties, the bank was on the brink of taking legal action which could result in the man’s share being attached and…

MORE than 1 000 healthcare professionals in South Africa have written an open letter to health regulatory bodies and higher education institutions in South Africa, calling on them to take a firm and unapologetic stance over war crimes committed in Gaza, Palestine and for an academic boycott of Israel to be instituted. The open letter condemning the human rights violations in Palestine and continued attacks on hospitals, healthcare workers and civilians by Israel was signed by 1 281 healthcare professionals in South Africa, making it the most compelling letter emanating from the sector. The open letter was initiated by South African Healthcare Workers for Palestine, who have also held a number of demonstrations calling for a sustained and permanent ceasefire. Several hospitals in Gaza have been directly targeted…

The recent incidents of alleged sexual abuse at Hope School in Joburg and the dismissal of 48 teachers across South Africa for sexually abusing pupils serve as stark reminders of the urgent need to address this epidemic. The alleged rape of a Grade 4 pupil at Hope School by an 18-year-old matric pupil is a shocking example of how vulnerable children can be preyed upon even within the supposed safety of their school environment. The school’s alleged attempts to cover up the incident raises serious concerns about the institution’s commitment to protecting its pupils and upholding their well-being. The dismissal of 48 teachers for sexual abuse further highlights the widespread nature of this problem. These incidents have shattered the trust of parents and pupils alike, casting a shadow over the…

There was no column last week because I had undergone some surgical procedures related to my 7-year-long affair with prostate cancer. This hiatus could as easily have evoked a sigh of relief from some readers, as well as a despairingly few calls from loyal readers asking for their “Wednesday fix”. Whichever the case, we can safely assume that “Lulu’s back in town.” The procedure included the implanting of nuclear (radiation-emitting) material up my royal hoosegow. The ten days of mandatory semi-isolation from family, pets, pregnant women and the folk who populate my world is extremely trying. After this coming Wednesday, I should be fit again for social intercourse. The semi-isolation replicated that which we practised during the Covid-19 period. But I had a few laughs when pals phoned in and…

With reference to Farouk Araie’s letter “Savage display of raw power does not augur well”. War is not a new phenomenon. In World War II an estimated total of 70-80 million people perished. The human race has survived it all. Israel is accused of using banned weaponry such as “white phosphorous”, but this has not been proved. Its weaponry is completely legal. Israel has committed itself to the international laws of war and uses Article 52 Protocol 3 to support its actions. Egypt administered the Gaza strip through a military governor, from 1948-1967, as a “controlled territory”. The Egyptian state and its citizens reject the “alleged” plan to re-colonise Gaza while using Egypt as a conduit. Arab countries refuse to accept Palestinian refugees for obvious reasons. Hamas has violated the…

Different reports have raised the alarm about kidnappings which are a growing concern in South Africa. A number of crimes were reported for the second quarter of 2023 in Gauteng with the high number of kidnapping cases featuring prominently: Kidnapping: 2 194 cases Kidnapping for ransom: 81 cases It was also recently revealed that South Africa is currently among the top 10 countries in the world in terms of the high rate of kidnapping for ransom. This subject has also gained attention on social media where many people are reported as missing in different parts of the country. SAPS Deputy National Commissioner for Crime Detection Shadrack Sibiya also said kidnapping for ransom was growing and raising concerns about safety in the country. According to statistics, there have been 15 000…

Moscow: The Kremlin yesterday criticised what it called “interfer-ence” by the US in the case of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, whose allies have said they do not know where he is. The US a day earlier said it was “deeply concerned” by Navalny’s team saying they have had no access to him for almost a week and reports that he was taken out of the prison where he has been held for months. “We are talking about a prisoner who was found guilty by the law and is serving the prison sentence he received,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. The US said Navalny should “never have been jailed”. | AFP…

Washington: There have been at least 1 600 deaths, 2.6 million illnesses and 26 000 hospitalisations from flu so far this season in the US, according to the latest estimates of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Seasonal influenza activity continued to increase in most parts of the country, with the south-east and south-central areas reporting the highest levels of activity, according to the CDC weekly review. The number of weekly flu hospital admissions continued to increase. Four flu-associated paediatric deaths were reported in the week ending December 2. | IANS…

There was some fighting talk from Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Lesiba Nku before today’s Premiership match against lowly Cape Town Spurs in Pretoria (7.30pm kick-off). Since the match is between the Premiership’s No 1 team and the team that is stone last in the standings, it has the look of a David versus Goliath contest. At least, that is how the speedy Nku views the contest at Loftus Versfeld. “Spurs will be fighting for their lives and we will be fighting to win. We want to win every game,” said Nku, who has been mainly used off the bench in recent times. He has been competing for a place in the run-on XI with the likes of Neo Maema, Gaston Sirino, Junior Mendieta, Lucas Ribeiro Costa, Thapelo Maseko, and Themba Zwane.…