Indholdsfortegnelse for 2021-05-20 i Mercury

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za THE NATIONAL Treasury did not support the Pension Funds Amendment Bill that aims to allow workers who were in financial distress to access their pension savings through loans, Treasury’s tax and financial sector policy head, Ismail Momoniat, said yesterday. This was even though workers were going through a period of severe financial distress caused by the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic because of salary cuts, retrenchments, and illness and death in families, trade union Cosatu told Parliament’s standing committee on finance yesterday. Momoniat told the committee that the aim of retirement reform was to encourage savings and reduce poverty, because South Africa had a very low savings rate, and the household savings that did take place were mostly contractual through the deduction of pension fund contributions from…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za SOUTH African consumers could soon be forking out more for goods as businesses pass on price increases after the annual rate of inflation in April rose to its highest level in 14 months. Data from Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) yesterday showed that the annual rate of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose to 4.4 percent last month, up from 3.2 percent in March. This CPI reading was the highest inflation rate since February last year. Inflation was pushed up by the rising prices of food and transport because of the uptick in economic activity. Transport inflation jumped to 10.6 percent in April as petrol prices reached their highest level on record, with the price of inland 95 octane petrol rising by R1 to…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za MINISTER of Trade, Industry and Competition Ebrahim Patel said yesterday that the government had mobilised at least R240 million from the private sector to support initiatives for localisation of jobs. The department has announced an industrial policy shift to create a more inward-looking and locally-based productive economy focused on manufacturing to boost job creation. Patel said the funding would be used to support the recruitment of technical experts such as industrial engineers, project managers and supply chain specialists who will help identify and implement localisation initiatives. In the Policy Statement on Localisation for Jobs and Industrial Growth, Patel said localisation was aimed at creating sustainable jobs and building the economic base. This policy statement argues that localisation would increase the country’s competitiveness, fast-track economic reforms, develop…

Viwe Ndongeni-Ntlebi viwe.ndongeni@inl.co.za While nutritional support for cancer patients focuses on avoiding malnutrition, some foods are allies, and some are to be avoided. Spokesperson for The Association for Dietetics in South Africa Faaizah Laher offered these tips: Foods to avoid during cancer treatment and recovery: Avoid or limit alcohol. Avoid or limit highly refined, highly processed foods. Limit foods high in sugar, including sweets, cakes and sugary drinks. Limit foods that are high in salt. Limit foods that are high in animal fats. Avoid or limit cured meats such as bacon, ham and sausages. Focus instead on: Eating lots of fresh vegetables and fruits every day. Enjoying lean animal protein such as chicken breast and fish. Including more plant-based foods high in protein such as beans, lentils, peas, chickpeas,…

Sakhiseni Nxumalo and CHULUMANCO MAHAMBA THE announcement by the Department of Basic Education that all contact sports in schools have been suspended with immediate effect has been given the nod by school governing bodies (SGBs) and other education stakeholders. The department made the announcement yesterday, revealing the move was taken by the council of education ministers, during a virtual meeting yesterday. The statement released by the department said non-contact sports training in schools could continue, provided all the Covid-19 safety measures were observed. The department also urged schools to ensure there was no physical contact between participants during training. The decision comes after the department had gazetted directions allowing non-contact sport, sports-related activities, and school-based art and cultural activities to resume without spectators, subject to adherence to safety measures. The…

DUNCAN DU BOIS | Bluff MAINSTREAM media coverage of the US presidency since (Joe) Biden became the White House tenant has undergone a 180-degree turn – from intense scrutiny, fact-checking and denigration to virtual silence. On April 27, the Washington Post, a virulent opponent of former US president Donald Trump, announced that it was abandoning fact-checking of White House media statements. Given Biden’s habit of contradicting himself while his press secretary, Jen Psaki, relies on rhetoric in responding to questions, one would think that fact-checking would be more necessary than ever. When the vote audit in Maricopa county, Arizona, was announced, the mainstream media hyperventilated about the futility of the exercise and how it disrespected the democratic process. But since then it has remained silent about the resistance…

SABER AHMED JAZBHAY | Newlands West What does President Biden, whose administration sponsors Israeli terrorism, do? He blocks the UN call for a ceasefire? His administration supplies weapons and armaments to the Jewish state. The US will be held accountable. Palestinian lives matter. Just as Black lives matter. Resistance is permissible under international law. What Israel is doing is dispossessing people who have life titles to their land, just like we had in South Africa. The world must know about what apartheid did to us in South Africa and how the world declared it a crime against humanity. So why not Israel? Those who say that Hamas must stop firing rockets because it is giving Netanyahu an excuse to flatten Gaza are mimicking the narrative of apartheid. The real victims…

SPIRITUAL abuse (always on a continuum) is occurring when a pastor, leader or friend: “Hears” God for you and then alienates or punishes you if you do not adhere to their guidance, leadership or authority. This is often subtle, so it is easy to deny. Suggests that rejection of their higher understanding is done at your peril. You will hear things like, “Be careful. You will move yourself from God’s protection if you ignore my guidance”. Rewards your obedience with inclusion and punishes your questioning with withdrawal. You’re stroked or struck. Demands cathartic honesty. Unless you spew out every detail of your life, you must be hiding something. Lavishes you with praise, acceptance and understanding when you are “good” and pushes you away when you are “bad”. You’re stroked or…

Jonisayi Maromo TRADE union Solidarity has said it would serve court papers on Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu over her “importation” of Cuban engineers to help fix leaks and other water problems, including a spillage at the Vaal River. Solidarity said the legal process included the disclosure of information, an interdict to stop the deployment process of the Cuban engineers as well as an application for a review of the government’s decision. The legal action comes after Sisulu did not meet a deadline to submit a proposal to defuse the dispute, Solidarity chief executive Dr Dirk Hermann said. “We are disappointed in the minister. The government came with a request to come up with a proposal and twice we have postponed the deadline for such a…

Mercury Reporter A KwaZulu-Natal Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI) officer has died in hospital due to serious injuries he sustained when he was knocked down by a vehicle on the N2 highway. The provincial transport department said in a statement yesterday that Provincial Inspector Devan Naik, who was stationed at Winklespruit RTI, died at Netcare St Anne’s Hospital in Pietermaritzburg on Tuesday after sustaining serious injuries when he was hit by a vehicle on Sunday. The department said the incident happened when police were pursuing a vehicle on the N2. “The incident happened as members of the RTI were conducting their routine speed operation. It is alleged that a black VW Golf, which was travelling at 200km/h, was transporting drugs when it was chased by metro police and SAPS.” The department…

Mayibongwe Maqhina mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za THE standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) yesterday ordered Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi to institute a forensic investigation into the affairs of the Compensation Fund. Scopa also ordered Nxesi to carry out a performance assessment on Compensation Fund commissioner Vuyo Mafata and Employment and Labour Department director-general Thobile Lamati, who oversee the fund. The fund recorded in the 2019/20 financial year yet another disclaimer of audit opinion. In her latest report, Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke could not express an opinion on the financial statements of the entity. “I was unable to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence to provide a basis for an audit opinion on these consolidated and separate financial statements,” Maluleke said. Scopa chairperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa said the sad state of affairs happened under the…

WINTER in South Africa is probably the season most feared by the less fortunate who are bracing to, once again, face life-threatening dangers, among them the flooding of their homes, and fires. Year in and year out, our news pages are populated by harrowing images of the homeless and those in informal settlements with no roof over their heads and not knowing where their next meal will come from. Four people were killed during the Southern Cape storms in the Western Cape recently, with many farmworkers evacuated from their homes. This marked the beginning of what could be a long winter for millions of vulnerable South Africans. Even more disheartening is that we have yet to hear of any plans by Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu on how the government…

Melbourne: Asian energy officials yesterday disputed the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) call for no new oil, natural gas and coal investments for the world to be able to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, viewing that approach as too narrow. The IEA, which has previously championed the oil and gas industry, this week outlined a path to net-zero emissions that suggested stopping new investments in oil, gas and coal supply, retiring coal-fired plants in advanced economies by 2030, and banning sales of new internal combustion engine cars by 2035. Energy companies in Australia, the biggest carbon emitter per capita among the world’s richest nations, and officials in Japan and the Philippines said there were many ways to get to net zero, even as the IEA said its pathway was…

BEIRUT: Caretaker Lebanese foreign minister Charbel Wehbe submitted his resignation letter to President Michel Aoun yesterday after the backlash over his comments about Gulf Arab states, a statement by Lebanon’s presidency said. The Lebanese minister said his resignation decision came to avoid the exploitation of what he has said in offending Lebanon and the Lebanese. During an interview on Al-Hurra TV channel on Tuesday, Wehbe blamed the Gulf states for the rise of the extremist Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. His comments were met with heavy criticism by the Lebanese and Gulf officials and nationals.…

The IOC reassured an anxious Japan yesterday that the Tokyo Olympics would be safe for athletes as well as the host community, amid mounting opposition to the Games and fears it will fuel a spike in Covid-19 cases. Speaking in Tokyo alongside senior Japanese officials, IOC chief Thomas Bach said he believed more than 80% of residents of the Olympic Village would be vaccinated or booked for vaccination ahead of the Games set to start on July 23. He rejected growing calls to cancel the global sporting showpiece, already delayed once due to the pandemic, saying that other sporting events had proved the Olympics could go ahead with strong Covid precautions. Bach's comments came as Japan kept up its battle on a fourth wave of infections, although a slow vaccination…

INVESTEC Property Fund (IPF) declared a 47.71 cents per share final dividend in the six months to March 31, bringing the full year dividend to 92.23c per share and reflecting a 95 percent of distributable earnings payout ratio. Distributable earnings fell 33.8 percent year-on-year to 97.08c per share, but the gearing was at 38.3 percent at year-end, allowing IPF to continue paying out dividends throughout the pandemic and leaving it well position- ed for future growth, a statement from the group said yesterday. Joint chief executive Andrew Wooler (pictured) said the South African portfolio weathered a greater Covid-19 impact. Europe, however, saw logistics demand and structural changes accelerate through the pandemic, underpinning the fund’s stability through the downturn. Delivery on strategy through the global uncertainty and…

DUAL-listed Resource Generation announced the passing of non-executive director, Konji Sebati. Chairperson Lula- mile Xate said Sebati had a distinguished career and lived a very full life. “Konji was an affable person who contributed tremendously to the board of Resource Generation since her appointment in 2015. We will sorely miss her.” Sebati was a medical practitioner specialising in rural child health, held senior positions with Roche and Pfizer in the US and was appointed South African ambassador to Switzerland in 2004 and ambassador to France in 2008. Sebati also sat on the board of the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) and headed the Innovative Pharmaceutical Association of South Africa. MMV chief executive, David Reddy, said Sebati’s legacy would live on through the many projects that she helped to nurture. “We…

JOE NOTHNAGEL | Warner Beach MESSRS Coetzee and Everitt, I have been a loyal supporter of the Natal/Sharks teams over the past 60 years. I even attended their matches in the days of gloom when we languished in the B-Section of the Currie Cup. The hiding the Sharks got on Saturday at the hands of the Bulls was a long time coming. Nick Mallett remarked that the Sharks forwards “gave up”. That is not entirely true. They were out-muscled and bullied by much stronger and tougher opponents. Jake White, to his credit, did a fine job during the lockdown period to assemble a broad base of very powerful and aggressive forwards – and it is showing. The sad truth is that the Sharks have only one or two…

PROFESSOR Pieter Scholtz, the convenor of the St Clement’s arts soirée, is by professional training a thespian – the stage. Yet he has enthusiastically written and published a succession of short books –not short stories in the tradition of O Henry or Herman Charles Bosman – but short and usually quirky little books. His latest is The Olive Branch, in which a girl named Becky, finding her comfortable life in London utterly meaningless, drops her small art gallery (and boyfriend) to move to Crete and find meaning in life. An arresting passage is when Becky takes a dip at a nudist beach. Skinny-dipping is not quite for her. She wears a bikini. She gets into difficulties and is rescued by a handsome fellow named Ryan. As they get into shallower…

BEN LEVITAS | Cape Town RAMAPHOSA’s pontification from on high: “Our experience with the democratic transition is a lesson about the power of empathy, negotiation and compromise”, is wasted and misplaced by his misinformed and partisan rant against Israel. He knows nothing about the root causes of the issue and his failure to even acknowledge the indiscriminate firing of thousands of rockets at Israeli citizens and the malintent of the Hamas terrorist organisation completely discredits his argument. It is simplistic, to argue as Ramaphosa does that “the latest violence was sparked by an Israeli court decision to evict a group of families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood in East Jerusalem to make way for Israeli settlements”. After a series of attacks by Palestinians against Jews…

Lisa Isaacs and Siyavuya Mzantsi A UN women’s rights committee has found that South Africa’s low levels of prosecution and conviction in domestic violence cases and the frequent failures by police to serve and enforce protection orders exposed survivors to repeated abuses and resulted in the violation of women’s fundamental rights. In the scathing report published earlier this week, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women said available evidence indicated that the scale of domestic violence, including femicide, was alarmingly high in South Africa. Committee members visited South Africa in September 2019 to conduct a confidential inquiry into allegations by civil society organisations that women in the country were subjected to extreme levels of domestic violence. They found that many women and girls, especially in rural areas, were…

Jolene Marriah-Maharaj jolene.marriah@inl.co.za An Inanda man who raped his 10-year-old stepdaughter for more than two years until his arrest has been jailed for life. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in KZN confirmed the 46-year-old’s sentence this week. The rapist, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victim, was convicted and sentenced in the Ntuzuma Regional Court. In addition to a life sentence, his name will be entered into the national register of persons unsuitable to work with children, the NPA said. According to NPA spokesperson Natasha Kara, the victim, who was 10 at the time of the rapes, lived with her mother and the stepfather. “He raped her whenever her mother went out on Sundays and it continued until she was 12. She did not report the…

Karen Singh karen.singh@inl.co.za The national Department of Health (DoH) has confirmed that people will not have to pay to receive vaccines from private providers. This comes as South Africa started Phase 2 of the vaccination roll-out for people over 60, those with comorbidities and health-care workers this week. Clicks and Dis-Chem pharmacies, among others, have said they were on board to support government’s vaccination roll-out strategy. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize’s spokesperson Lwazi Manzi said the R70 administration fee and the cost of the vaccine would be paid for by the state or medical aid. Principal officer of Bonitas Medical Fund, Lee Callakoppen, said Bonitas was more than willing and able to collaborate and assist the Department of Health (DoH) and other service providers with the vaccination process. Callakoppen said Bonitas…

NEARLY two centuries ago, at the height of Napoleon’s power in Europe, Austrian politician Klemens von Metternich famously said: “When Paris sneezes, Europe catches a cold.” To reflect the US’s 20th century economic muscle, the expression became, when America sneezes, the world catches a cold. Today, the US retains its seat at the head table of power, alongside China and other Asian nations and European nations, but the single most menacing contagion in the global village is the unresolved geopolitical and human rights crisis in the Middle East. Unlike the response to the coronavirus, there’s been no mad scramble for a vaccine. The world’s collective failure to treat the underlying causes – Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land and systemic undermining of the rights of Palestinians – has created a…

President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday appointed judge Martha Karambu Koome as Kenya’s first woman chief justice, making her the first woman to head any of the three branches of government. Koome, 61, a calm but staunch women’s rights crusader, takes over the judiciary ahead of next year’s general elections and would likely play a decisive role in adjudicating any eventual election disputes. She inherits a Supreme Court that in September 2017 annulled the presidential election results in a historic ruling under her predecessor, David Maraga, that strained its relationship with the executive. The University of London-trained appeals court judge was seen as an unlikely candidate in a list of 10 including the lawyer who represented Kenyatta in the 2017 case. Kenyatta gazetted her appointment hours after parliament okayed her nomination, setting…

Activists in Denmark are planning a protest in solidarity with Syrian refugees after Denmark revoked residence status for more than 200 Syrians, the BBC reported yesterday. The British broadcaster said that, last month, Denmark became the first European country to revoke residence status, arguing that Syria’s capital Damascus and neighbouring regions are safe. Authorities in Copenhagen faced condemnation from European Union lawmakers, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and human rights groups regarding the decision, the BBC added in its report. Speaking to the BBC, 19-year-old Sara said Danish authorities notified her family in February that her parents and younger siblings could no longer stay. “All my life is here. How can I go back to Syria now?” she said. Sara speaks fluent Danish and is due to sit for her…

HERMAN GIBBS Kaizer Chiefs assistant coach Dillon Sheppard has urged his players to be alert to early scoring opportunities against hosts Simba SC in the return leg of their Caf Champions League quarter-final tie at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Saturday. Sheppard reasoned that because of his team’s 4-0 aggregate advantage after the first leg at FNB Stadium, Simba will be hell-bent on scoring an early goal to spark a miraculous comeback, much like they did 42 years ago. In a social media post on Tuesday, Caf reported that Simba overcame incredible odds in the past. In 1979 they staged a miraculous comeback after losing 4-0 at home in the first leg of a Champions League first-round match against Zambia’s Mufulira Wanderers. In the return leg,…

Sandile Mchunu sandile.mchunu@inl.co.za NINETY One plc yesterday reported its first full-year results after unbundling from Investec in March last year and reported a record performance from its assets under management (AuM), which rose by 27 percent to £130.9 billion (R2.6 trillion) supported by positive market movements. The group also benefited from the market recovery following the initial downward market impact at the start of the financial year as market and foreign exchange impact added £27.7bn in the year to end March compared to a loss of £14bn to AuM last year. This performance was offset by net outflows of £200 million compared with net inflows of £6bn reported last year. Chief executive Hendrik du Toit paid tribute to their clients for their support during the challenging year…

Viwe Ndongeni-Ntlebi viwe.ndongeni@inl.co.za There are many ways to achieve optimum health and some of the ways to obtain that lifestyle may leave you scratching your head. Here are some strange but healthy tips to make you more healthier. Skip energy drinks when you’re tired According to Time Magazine, energy drinks contain up to five times more caffeine than coffee, but the boost they provide is fleeting and comes with unpleasant side effects like nervousness, irritability, and a rapid heartbeat, says Amy Goodson, dietician for Texas Health Ben Hogan Sports Medicine. Plus, energy drinks often contain high levels of taurine, a central nervous system stimulant, and at least 50g grams of sugar per can (that’s 13 teaspoons). The sweet stuff causes your blood sugar levels to spike, only to crash…

GABI MARAIS | Gillitts THE logistics involved are obviously onerous. However, one needs to ask whether the large pharmacy groups that have offered their services will be engaged. The nursing staff in these pharmacies have experience as they administer flu shots every year, and while one knows that there is a difference between the Covid-19 shots, I am certain they will cope. It would take pressure off the centres that have been designated and, in some cases, also be safer. As an Upper Highway resident I most certainly will not want go into Pinetown. I am sure I am not the only one. I would rather pay an admin fee or even for the shot, instead of risking my life in a crime hot spot. What…

VALERIE SMITH | uMhlanga I KNOW there has been a lot of negativity about vaccine roll-outs, but I have to congratulate Mahatma Gandhi Hospital on the second roll-out of the vaccine. As a senior citizen, I got an SMS saying, “go between 8am and 10am for vaccine to Mahatma Gandhi Hospital”. Three other OAPS and I went along. The way everything was handled was great: staff were so courteous and helpful, lots of smiles around and the vaccination was painless. I have been one of the doom-and-gloom people after reading about snarls in queues for the vaccine. I wondered if we’d even get ours today or wait until at least the end of the month, or even next month. I was very surprised to get the SMS to…

THE police in Adelaide, Australia exhumed the corpse of a man who has been dead for more than 70 years to identify him and solve a mystery that has captured the popular imagination, authorities said yesterday. The police will attempt to recover DNA material from the body known locally as the “Somerton Man”, first found in 1948 slumped against the seawall of Somerton Park beach. The man was buried at a local cemetery under a simple gravestone that reads: “Here lies the unknown man who was found at Somerton Beach, 1st Dec. 1948”. “The Somerton Man is not just a curiosity, or a mystery to be solved, it’s somebody’s father, son, perhaps grandfather, uncle, brother, and that’s why we are doing this and trying to identify him,” Detective Superintendent Des…

Kailene Pillay kailene.pillay@inl.co.za Former Eskom CEO Matshela Koko has accused the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture of coaching witnesses to present answers that fuel a witch hunt against him. Koko is currently testifying at the State Capture Commission in Johannesburg on Eskom-related evidence. He was responding to Tuesday's testimony from two travel agents who told the commission that his international travel was billed to the account of Gupta associate Salim Essa. Travel agents Sameera Sooliman and Halima Allana of Lenasia-based company Travel Excellence presented evidence at the commission. The travel agents said that not only did Essa instruct Sooliman and Allana to arrange flights for Koko and his family to travel from Indonesia to Dubai and South Africa, but he also paid R100 000 to settle the bill. Allana…

Rodney Mazinter | Camps Bay Abbey Makoe’s descent into rewriting history has reached a nadir of distortions and inaccuracies (Cape Times/Pretoria News/The Mercury May 18). His wilful twisting of history and presenting the resultant farrago as fact speaks of the anti-Semitic, bigoted outlook he glosses over in his letter. All his assertions to the contrary, Palestinian refugees came about in 1948 largely as a result of the surrounding five Arab countries insisting that all Arabs leave the emerging Israel, returning when the Jews had been “driven into the sea”. A corresponding number of Jewish refugees who, simultaneously, had been expelled from Arab countries, instead of being used as political pawns, were quickly absorbed into, and settled in Israel, which has not at any stage of their citizenship victimised…

Phnom Penh: At least 11 Cambodian villagers have died after drinking toxic home-brewed rice wine, a health official said yesterday, amid a government ban on alcohol sales imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19. The victims drank the hooch at a funeral in their village on May 10, head of the health department in Kandal province told AFP. Since then 11 people have died and another was rushed to a hospital in Phnom Penh in a critical condition yesterday, he said. The victims were tested negative for Covid-19, but tests showed high levels of methanol, said Kouy Bunthouen.…

Mike Greenaway THE Sharks have had mixed news on the injury front, with by far the worst of it being a serious knee injury to Sikhumbuzo Notshe that will make him an unlikely contender for the Springboks in their series against the touring British and Irish Lions. While Notshe wasn’t expected to make the starting line-up for the Test series — he rivals incumbent Duane Vermeulen at No 8 — he would have hoped to make the greater Springbok squad. However, he injured a knee cap playing against the Bulls last week and according to a statement from the Sharks, he has “undergone surgery and will be out for a few months”. The Lions arrive in South Africa in about six weeks time, putting Notshe in a race against time…

Eshlin Vedan Fans who missed out on Tuesday’s DStv Premiership fixtures did not miss out on any goals as Moroka Swallows and Stellenbosch as well as Baroka FC and Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila both played out to 0-0 stalemates. But the results did have a significant impact on the relegation battle. The only game which ended up producing goals, and an entertaining finish, was Bloemfontein Celtic’s come from behind 2-1 win over Chippa United. Though they are not yet mathematically confirmed to go down, it is safe to say that last-placed Black Leopards, who are currently six points adrift of nearest rivals Chippa United, will be relegated. Lidoda Duvha have hardly put up a fight this season and it’s hard to see their form dramatically improving in their final three games.…