Indholdsfortegnelse for 2024-04-08 i Cape Argus

A NUMBER of public schools are expected to protest this week following the implementation of a circular by the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) which resulted in the loss of contracted teachers at several schools. A protest took place at Steenberg High School on Friday after the school lost four teachers who were on contracted posts following the implementation of circular 0034/2023. Another protest was scheduled to take place this morning, but was called off as a result of the unfavourable weather conditions. In a statement last Wednesday, Steenberg High School staff called the effects of the circular “nothing short of disastrous”. “The quality of education provided to our learners is now under serious threat. The WCED has provided schools with no solutions to the problems they have created with…

AN OFF-duty Joburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) officer who opened fire at a group of uniformed SAPS officers was shot dead in Soweto on Saturday after a dispute over her son’s alleged reckless driving. It is understood that her 27-year-old son had been driving a Toyota Land Cruiser recklessly when he was flagged down by police, but did not stop until he reached his Dobsonville home. An argument apparently ensued between the SAPS members and the JMPD officer, Linda Mthimkhulu, as the police officers attempted to arrest her son. This apparently led to Mthimkhulu, an officer of 17 years, fetching her firearm in the house and firing at the officers. The SAPS officers fired back, fatally wounding Mthimkhulu. The metro cop’s death is now the subject of an investigation by…

THE Central Line Relocation and Recovery Project Management Committee (PMC) says no land has been acquired in Macassar for the relocation of occupants unlawfully living on train lines. This after it was claimed that the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) intended relocating unlawful occupants from the central railway line to Macassar. The speculation caused outrage among Macassar residents, who opposed the plan. But the PMC, set up to co-ordinate the relocation process, said no land had been acquired for the second phase of the process. The PMC consists of multiple role-players, including the Housing Development Agency (HDA) as the lead implementing agency, Prasa and the City of Cape Town. Hundreds of families have already been relocated during phase 1, to land situated behind the Stock Road transport hub in…

Less than a year had passed since the withdrawal of French troops from Niger when Niamey turned to the US with a similar request. After an unsuccessful visit of an American delegation to the African country in the middle of March, Niger’s military government demanded American troops leave its territory. The States neither followed diplomatic protocol nor informed the host country about the composition of the delegation and the date of its arrival. Moreover, during the visit Americans conducted dialogue in a dismissive tone and even criticised Niger for its relations with other countries. Though the US didn’t react negatively to the military coup in Niger at the end of July 2023 and didn’t take radical measures against Niamey after the change of government, it couldn’t hide behind the mask…

The Consitiution enshrines the right of worship for all South Africans. Yet the anti-Semitic attack on the Marais Road synagogue by Muslims is reminiscent of Nazi Germany in 1938 when on Kristallnacht Jewish houses of worship and Jewish-owned businesses were destroyed. This led up to the slaughter of 6 million Jews in the death camps in Nazi Germany. Have people forgotten Helen Suzman, Denis Goldberg, Joe Slovo and Ruth First, who fought to bring down the apartheid regime? Have people conveniently forgotten that on October 7 Israel was attacked by Hamas terrorists who killed 1200 innocent civilians and took 140 people hostage into Gaza? The intention of Hamas is to destroy the State of Israel and drive the Jews into the sea. The pitiful remnant of Jews who survived…

The Proteas women shift their focus to their much more fancied format – one-day internationals — when they take on Sri Lanka in the first of three matches at Buffalo Park in Benoni tomorrow. The Proteas will need to move on quickly from the 2-1 T20 series loss to the island nation, because there will be automatic World Cup points at stake in the coming days and they cannot afford any slip ups. Proteas wicketkeeper Sinalo Jafta revealed that the team understands the stakes. “We understand how important it is to get to the World Cup without going through qualifiers,” she said. “We are sitting third or fourth on the standings and (the key) for us is to literally have a strong start like we had in (the T20…

AT LEAST 41 schools in the Cape Winelands, Overberg and Helderberg will be closed today, as gale-force winds continue to wreak havoc across the province. Wind speeds of up to 100km/h at the weekend, expected to persist today, damaged infrastructure in Paarl, Stellenbosch and Somerset West, while scores of trees were uprooted in Macassar, Sea Point and Philippi yesterday. Education MEC David Maynier said the 41 schools will be closed today, including Helderberg Primary, False Bay Primary and Strand Senior Secondary, while the department may also close more on an ad hoc basis if damage to a school building requires it. “We have not taken the decision to close these schools lightly: we have done so out of an abundance of caution to protect our learners and school staff. It’s…

PRE-PAID electricity and water meter users have been urged to update their devices before they stop working on November 24. The update was urgently required as the standard system that provided unique re-charge codes would soon run out of unique numbers to issue, Finance and Economic Opportunities MEC Mireille Wenger cautioned. Failure to complete the reset will leave residents unable to buy electricity and municipalities unable to generate revenue from the sale of prepaid electricity or water, she said. “Households, businesses and communities across the country face being completely cut off from electricity and water if they don’t update their pre-paid meters. “The blackout is looming unless pre-paid users reset their meters, using a unique code, which will be issued in line with each municipality’s approach to the reset process.…

THE famous giant strawberry at Mooi- berge Farmstall along the R44 that was blown to the ground by gale-force winds at the weekend might have to be replaced. The iconic strawberry was not spared as wind speeds of up to 100km/h swept through Stellenbosch. Thirsty Scarecrow, based on Mooi- berge Farmstall, suffered damage to its roof, windows, electricals, doors and company vehicles. Co-owner of Thirsty Scarecrow, Kelly Zetler, said they were saddened to confirm the building sustained extensive damage. “Our top priority remains the safety and well-being of our patrons and staff. “We are currently assessing the situation and taking necessary measures to address the damage. “We must express our hope to see the giant strawberry replaced, as it has truly become an iconic landmark for our beloved town. “Let's…

South African elections are quickly becoming the “silly season”. The term, first used in 1861, refers to the northern summer period when the UK parliament was in recess and there was not much politics to report on. Newspapers filled their print space with “slow news season silly stories”. We have an election 51 days from today and we are yet to see important issues being debated across the major media channels. The May 2024 election has been described as the most important election since the dawn of our democracy and yet it feels like a slow news season. While politicians are making speeches filled with some highly contentious content, it appears to be ignored or dismissed by the media instead of being analysed and debated. One gets a sense that…

With reference to “Israel’s ultimate goal the annihilation of Palestinians” April 2, 2024. I would like to make a few points with regards to the above. After October 7 I have done much searching and reading to try to understand the conflict. Some salient pieces I have come across include the following; Jews have lived in the land of Israel for nearly 4 000 years going back to the period of the Biblical patriarchs. The story of Abraham begins when God tells him to leave his homeland and make a new home in the land of Cannan, which was later renamed Israel. So it would seem that Jewish people are not aliens in this piece of the earth. Jerusalem was never the capital city of any Muslim…

It is clear that South Africans remain somewhat insouciant to the enormity of the EPCR Champions Cup, and its second-tier tournament, the Challenge Cup. Loftus lacked a degree of interest this past weekend as the Bulls whipped French Top 14 club Lyon, while Cape Town Stadium enjoyed a bit more support in the stands, but perhaps not enough befitting the arrival of one of the best rugby teams in the world, La Rochelle. The defending champions narrowly pipped their hosts the Stormers in dramatic fashion, proving once again their stellar credentials. Meanwhile, the build-up to the Challenge Cup clashes that involved the Cheetahs, Lions and Sharks have been rather muted, either due to those teams’ poor current standing within the consciousness of South African rugby, or due to those unions…

Nigeria women’s national team coach Randy Waldrum vows his team won’t sit back to defend their lead against South Africa’s Banyana Banyana tomorrow evening in Pretoria. In Friday’s Olympic qualifying first leg clash in Abuja, hosts Nigeria significantly advanced their qualification claims for Paris 2024 by defeating the South Africans 1-0. Waldrum said the second leg clash at Loftus Versfeld will give his team a chance to show the South Africans that “we are the better team again” after the Nigerians dominated the first leg. Before he departed for South Africa, the confident sounding American gave the local media some insight into his approach for the second leg clash. “We don’t want to go there to sit, try to defend and hold on to this victory,” said Waldrum. "We want…

Milnerton High, widely regarded as the minnows of school rugby in the Cape, scored a huge upset on Saturday at Rondebosch by beating the high-riding home side 34-33 in an epic encounter. It was also the first time ever they have recorded a win over Bosch. It was an amazing performance by the Tier 2 visitors, who were reduced to 14 players after copping a first-half red card. The Light Blues, to their credit, never gave up trying in swirling conditions, in spite of trailing 19-3 at the interval. Playing with the wind, the heavier Rondebosch forwards had the edge in terms of possession and territory. Their driving play proved unstoppable and kept the visitors’ defence busy. It was a maul, with captain and lock Tom Barnard prominent, that led…

A GRANDMOTHER’S birthday celebration turned fatal in Tafelsig, Mitchell’s Plain, at the weekend, when the family's house burnt down, leaving one person dead. The house in Wolfberg Street was destroyed when the fire broke out on Saturday evening. Laylah Jumat, 38, said the one moment they were celebrating her mother Atonette Meyer’s 64th birthday, and the next, the whole house was engulfed in flames. She said the fire started in one of the rooms after a wall plug exploded. “The electricity went off, we punched in units then the plugs caught alight in the room. “The wendy house at the back also burnt after the two rooms burnt. “It was not that a flame was made, it was an electrical fault,” she said. Jumat said strong winds fanned the flames,…

WITH no positive leads yet on missing Joshlin Smith’s whereabouts, Police Minister Bheki Cele said bloody clothing items found in Saldanha Bay were confirmed not to be hers. Today marks 42 days since Joshlin was reported missing. Cele said even though four people were behind bars, including the 6-year-old’s mother, Racquel “Kelly” Smith, police were no closer to finding her. Weeks after her disappearance, police found bloody clothing items suspected to be Joshlin’s, but Cele confirmed in a TV interview that the DNA results proved negative. “Unfortunately, the DNA on the pieces of clothing that were found didn’t indicate that those clothes belonged to Joshlin. “When it came back from the laboratory it came back negative.” He said they were not only searching in the country for the Grade 1…

Standard Bank and ABSA - two of the country’s big four banks - have handsomely rewarded their chief executive officers with big pay days after strong performances as seen in their financial year end results. Standard Bank CEO Sim Tshabalala and his ABSA counterpart, Arrie Rautenbach, were paid R123 million between them. Together, their pay for 2023 could fund the annual salaries of over 500 of their lowest paid workers. Tshabalala’s total remuneration package increased from R55.7 million in 2022 to R83.3 million in 2023, while Rautenbach earned R40.03 million, a R4.75 million decline from his 2022 remuneration of R44.78 million. Banks generally release their financial results at the end of March, with these often containing the substantial compensation packages they pay out to their chief executives. Standard Bank said…

THE story “Girl, 8, sole survivor of Limpopo bus tragedy” (Cape Argus April 4), refers. This is not only horrific for all the families involved, but it’s a horror story for all of us who read it on Thursday. One hopes and prays that the Road Accident Fund (RAF) does the decent thing and takes over the cost of upbringing for that girl. We keep reading stories about how the RAF has failed road accident victims in the past. Here they have a chance to at least do something decent and come forward immediately. I look forward to reading positive reports in the Cape Argus as to what the fund has done for the young lady, Siako.…

Israel and its allies Britain, France, the US etc have killed 34 000 Palestinians, including 15 000 kids. Once we pass the emotional issues, the agenda is obvious. Zionism is a Godless, racist ideology that wants to establish itself globally just like the Nazis of Germany intended. Killing will continue as Zionism is inspired by a misguided mental and spiritual evil that disregards the humanity of others. Zionists like “Muslims” who commit terror in the name of Islam have a spiritual and mental illness. Israel with deliberate precision murdered the World Central Kitchen delegation. The message to all other charitable organisations is obvious, Zionists do not want anyone to feed starved Palestinians. When you are Godless and evil, you enjoy the suffering of others. When you consider your ethnicity superior…

Since 1994, the post-apartheid ANC-led government has embarked on transformative measures that seek to address the injustices of the past. Among others, the governing party introduced Broad-based black economic empowerment (BB-BEE) and race-based affirmative action policies. To deepen the implementation of the policies, the ANC adopted the cadre deployment strategy deploying its cadres to strategic governance positions, including Cabinet portfolios. A political party uses cadre deployment to achieve its policies and party objectives by deploying members who share the same ideologies and values of the party. In this regard, the ANC has deployed its cadres to senior public administration positions to execute its programmes and initiatives. However, the policy has been scrutinised for being ineffective and providing fertile ground for poor service delivery, corruption and nepotism. Significantly, the ANC has…

The Israeli military has withdrawn more ground troops from the southern Gaza Strip, leaving just one brigade there six months after the start of its offensive, a spokesperson for the force said yesterday. The military has been reducing numbers in Gaza since the start of the year to relieve reservists and under growing pressure from its ally Washington to improve the humanitarian situation. It did not give details on its reasons for withdrawing soldiers or the numbers involved. Meanwhile, Egypt is preparing to host a new round of talks aimed at reaching a ceasefire and hostage release deal, which both Israel and Hamas said they would attend. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would not bend to international pressure and give in to “extreme demands” by Hamas, the Islamist movement…

Cape Town City 0 AmaZulu (0) 1 Dion 71 VISITING AmaZulu bagged their first DStv Premiership win of 2024 following a narrow and hard-fought victory over Cape Town City on a day they bravely battled the fierce Cape of Storms in Green Point yesterday. The on-off fixture started as scheduled at 3pm after it was initially decided to postpone the match earlier in the day. The decision was made because of the threat of high-speed winds, with the Mother City bracing itself for a major storm surge. After consulting the referees, and after both teams had arrived at the venue, match commissioner Enock Molefe announced the match would proceed. AmaZulu FC manager Pablo Franco expressed his disappointment that the match went ahead because his club had been informed that it…

THE Springbok Sevens team showed improvement in Hong Kong at the weekend and, critically, earned enough log points to qualify for the Grand Final of the World Sevens Series in Madrid at the end of May. The Blitzboks finished sixth at the Hong Kong Sevens tournament, which was their third-best finish in the season so far. They remain in the top eight on the overall log and will be part of the winner-takes-all spectacle in Spain. “It was important for us to stop the slide down the rankings, and I am pleased we could do that,” said interim head coach Philip Snyman. “We also topped our pool for the first time in a while, which is evidence of the team’s improvement from the North American leg.” However, after topping their…

CAMERON Delport turned back the clock to help the Tuskers shock the Titans with a six-wicket victory at SuperSport Park yesterday. Delport, who is a much-travelled T20 specialist with previous stints in the Indian Premier League, Pakistan Super League, SA20 and Caribbean Premier League, among others, smashed an unbeaten 83 off 49 deliveries (including five fours and six sixes) to guide the Tuskers past the Titans’ 165 with 2.2 overs remaining. It was the 34-year-old’s 32nd T20 half-century. The Titans’ defeat was a major setback in their bid to haul in the Dolphins to claim that elusive fourth play-off spot. It was even more critical after the Dolphins beat the North West Dragons by 19 runs in the other fixture yesterday. The Dolphins’ victory was earned through a magnificent contribution…