Indholdsfortegnelse for 2021-09-29 i Mercury

It might have seemed a long shot a year ago when a company built a digital platform for basketball fans to buy and trade video highlights of NBA games that they could probably watch for free online. It was more bewildering when some clips changed hands for tens, or even hundreds, of thousands of dollars. These highlights, endorsed by the US National Basketball Association, were sold as non-fungible tokens, or NFTs – crypto-assets. The NBA platform has proved so popular that the crypto company behind it, Dapper Labs, announced that it was now branching into soccer through a deal with LaLiga. | Reuters…

GLEN CHRISTIE | Durban North The main headline in yesterday’s paper and the contents thereof have been all heard before, two years ago, and on numerous occasions since then – one has to be really naive to believe any of this regurgitated dribble. Among President Cyril Ramaphosa’s comments, there are a few such as: “Over the past two years, we have made important progress in ending state capture and fighting corruption. We have done this both within the government and the ANC.” One has to be illiterate to believe any of this. Going through any past records will reveal that corruption has continued in the past two years without any consequences for those involved. None of those caught has been prosecuted, so how can Ramaphosa say they have…

EBRAHIM ESSA | Durban IT MUST have been an oversight of the honourable Consulate-General of India to have forgotten to greet the Indian Muslims on Heritage Day. He must have not known, seeing that Delhi is 6 000km from Durban, that Muslims in this country constitute a sizeable number of the total Indian population. Even if many of them erroneously think of themselves as Arabs, the fact is that their motherland, like their mother, cannot be erased and is perpetually Bharat, Desh, Hind or India. He must have forgotten that the biggest importers of especially food grains and spices from India, in this country, are Muslim traders. Sad that nobody reminded him that the Haffejees, the Saloojees, the Meers, the Kathradas and other freedom fighters against apartheid were,…

Xolile Bhengu xolile.bhengu@inl.co.za The KwaZulu-Natal province said it would need about R150 billion in the next 10 to 15 years if it was to have a sustainable water supply throughout the province. This was revealed when the provincial government’s Water Master Plan was launched yesterday. At the event, Premier Sihle Zikalala also launched the borehole intervention programme in the Harry Gwala District Municipality. The premier said boreholes were part of efforts to eradicate poverty in the district and the province, adding that since February the province had stepped up emergency water provision with the use of boreholes and static tanks in targeted municipalities as a short-term intervention. The projects that have been undertaken by provincial government include: A R500 million uMshwathi Bulk Water Scheme in November 2020. A R3bn Lower…

IT WAS Amilcar Cabral, the giant of the north, who once said: “Always bear in mind that the people are not fighting for ideas, for the things in anyone’s head. “They are fighting to win material benefits, to live better and in peace, to see their lives go forward, to guarantee the future of their children”. In this passage, Cabral captures with precision the resolve of any revolutionary movement whose revolutionary agenda is rooted in the people. He brings to our attention the nobility of our cause, which is to improve the lives of the people and secure a prosperous future for their children. It is this noble cause that the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) pledged when it was formed back in 2013, and it is towards the grandeur of…

Munich: A Munich court yesterday began hearing a case against a German audit company over failures that led to a dam collapse in Brazil in 2019 that left 270 people dead. The town of Brumadinho and the family of one of the victims are seeking compensation from TUEV SUED, which they claim certified the dam on behalf of mining company Vale, despite significant safety failings. In January 2019, the reservoir, holding millions of tonnes of tailings – mineral-laced mining waste – broke apart, washing over the mine near the town in the south of Brazil. The resulting wave spread toxic mud across the area, engulfing mine workers and local residents.…

Singer R Kelly has been found guilty of leading a decades-long scheme to recruit women and underage girls for sex in New York, with the jury declaring him guilty on all nine counts of racketeering and sex-trafficking charges. The jury, consisting of seven men and five women, convicted Kelly of racketeering and eight violations of an anti-sex trafficking law after nine hours of deliberations in the federal court in Brooklyn, after beginning its deliberations on Friday afternoon. Kelly faces the possibility of decades in prison. An attorney for Kelly said that they were considering filing an appeal as they are disappointed with the verdict. Kelly’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 4 next year. The singer sat motionless in the courtroom as the verdict was read, according to the NYT.…

Moscow: Russian investigators said yesterday that they had launched a new “extremism” probe against jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, pictured, and his top allies. The Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes in Russia, said around 2014, Navalny “created an extremist network and directed it” with the aim of “changing the foundations of the constitutional system in the Russian Federation”. Investigators said that Navalny and his top allies Leonid Volkov and Ivan Zhdanov are suspected of having run an “extremist network”, while Lyubov Sobol and his other allies are accused of taking part. Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s most vocal domestic critic, was detained in January and later saw his network of political offices and Anti-Corruption Foundation declared “extremist” and banned. In recent months, Navalny and his allies have become targets of…

Zaahier Adams zaahier.adams@inl.co.za BANYANA Banyana showcased their strength in depth with a 2-1 win over Malawi in their opening Cosafa Women’s Championship match at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium yesterday. It was Sundowns forward Melinda Kgadiete who wasted no time in asserting Banyana’s dominance with a goal in the second minute to set the hosts on their way. The South Africans doubled their advantage after 37 minutes when University of the Western Cape midfielder Noxolo Cesane capitalised on an error in the Malawian defence. Cesane picked up the loose ball and immediately saw an opportunity to unleash a shot at goal, which ricocheted off a Malawian defender into the back of the net to put Banyana 2-0 up. There was a nervous moment for the home team with halftime approaching…

Sibusiso Mboto sibusiso.mboto@inl.co.za The eThekwini Municipality is set to enter into a multimillion-rand partnership deal with Royal AM Football Club. The financial implication of the deal is R15.75 million, to be paid over a three-year period, with R5.25m per year being paid to the club. However, the deal was questioned by the DA, which said that Royal AM was owned by businesswoman Shauwn Mkhize and, therefore, did not need investment from the city. A report setting out reasons for the deal said that the partnership presented the city, particularly Durban Tourism, with abundant marketing opportunities through which it could engage with potential tourists from across the country. The report said the inclusion of another football team from the province in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) offered the city great economic…

To slow the speed at which high temperatures and warm waters bleach the corals of the Great Barrier Reef, Australian scientists are spraying droplets of ocean water into the sky to form clouds to protect the environmental treasure. Researchers working on the so-called Cloud Brightening Project said they use a turbine to spray microscopic sea particles to thicken existing clouds and reduce sunlight on the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem located off Australia’s north-east coast. The water droplets evaporate, leaving only tiny salt crystals which float up into the atmosphere, allowing water vapour to condense around them, forming clouds, said Daniel Harrison, a senior lecturer at Southern Cross University, who runs the project. “If we do it over an extended period of time for a few weeks to a couple…

SABER AHMED JAZBHAY | Newlands West NOTICEABLY, the scowling face of factionalism hasn’t been disguised by the cosmetic appearance of, and endorsements by, former presidents Kgalema Motlanthe and Thabo Mbeki at the ANC local election manifesto launch. Furthermore, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s promise that the ANC would appoint qualified people to administer metros and municipalities is like a cheque or promissory note which, when presented at the bank, will be returned with the endorsement “refer to drawer”. It lacked the confidence-builder rider, for if people listened with their minds, they would notice he hasn’t said anything against token appointments and cadre deployments. I am not convinced. Action speaks louder than words, Mr President.…

I KNOW it’s hard to believe, but in March next year, I would have been published each weekday in your newspaper for 21 years. To date, I have written 7 500 columns in The Mercury. There have been a handful of times when I have been travelling or out of wi-fi range that very kind editors have re-published a column but, in the main, you have become part of my daily routine and I have loved it. I especially appreciate readers who have followed my work from the beginning. Some readers have created scrapbooks of my columns and, while I am flattered, you have more of my work collected than I do. The truth is that the daily exercise in writing about relationships, mental health and emotional wellness has kept…

PRETORIA pastor William Emeka has been jailed for 37 years for sexual assault and raping women and children in his congregation. The God Is Love Ministries preacher faced multiple charges, involving women or children – and was found guilty of all of them. He is the latest to join the list of men of the cloth who have abused their power. The Seshego Regional Court sentenced the 50-year-old pastor to five life terms in prison, after convicting him on five counts of rape. His victims included children aged between 11 and 13. Another Limpopo pastor, 57, was convicted on two counts of rape, and was sentenced to two life terms in the Mankweng Regional Court. He raped children aged 14 and 16. In the Western Cape, 50-year-old pastor Freddie Jafta…

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s population size this year saw its sharpest percentage drop since 1950, a report said yesterday, as coronavirus-induced travel restriction kept foreigners away. It was the second consecutive year the city-state saw its population shrink and only the third time it had negative growth since 1950, according to a report. The population, which includes foreigners who live, work and study in Singapore but are not permanent residents, dropped by 4.1%. The government has offered one-off payment to encourage Singaporeans to have children during the COVID-19 pandemic…

Four Tunisian political parties yesterday urged President Kais Saied to reverse a recent power grab, warning that his controversial moves could stoke violence. At a press conference in Tunis, the four left-leaning parties accused Saied of violating the country’s 2014 constitution, after he moved on July 25 to sack the government of Hichem Mechichi, suspend parliament, scrap MPs’ immunity and seize control of the prosecution. The president last week suspended parts of the constitution and installed rule by decree, sparking angry weekend protests in the only democracy to have emerged from the 2011 Arab uprisings. “We believed the president had good intentions, (but) with the stroke of a pen he installed one-man rule,” said Democratic Current chief Ghazi Chaouachi, whose party has 21 seats in the now-frozen parliament. Accusing Saied…

Women will no longer be allowed to attend classes or work at Kabul University “until an Islamic environment is created”, the university’s new Taliban-appointed chancellor has announced. “As long as a real Islamic environment is not provided for all, women will not be allowed to come to universities or work Islam first,” Mohammad Ashraf Ghairat said in a tweet. The new university policy echoes the Taliban’s first time in power, in the 1990s, when women were only allowed in public if accompanied by a male relative and would be beaten for disobeying, and were kept from universities entirely. According to the New York Times, some female staff members, who have worked in relative freedom over the past two decades, pushed back against the new decree, questioning the idea that the…

Marchelle Abrahams marchelle.abrahams@inl.co.za You know when local television Anele Mdoda has a story to tell, it’s going to be juicy. The 94.7 Breakfast Club host shared an interesting post over the weekend alongside a picture of herself wearing a moon boot. Without giving too much away, she wrote: “What a bloody long day !!!! You won’t believe what happened to me resulting in this moon boot. “It’s the most bizarre thing to happen… as it was happening I was in disbelief. “Anyway I will tell the story 7.10 on Monday on @947joburg it’s too long of a tale to tell here but madness was the order of the day. I am fine but I was a little sad, shame. I had a cry or two.” Fans were eager to hear…

Sibusiso Mboto sibusiso.mboto@inl.co.za THE eThekwini Municipality has been urged to speedily deal with the sewage spills that are plaguing Durban’s beaches if it hopes to capitalise on tourism spend during the festive season. Last Friday, the municipality said it had closed some central Durban beaches after “beyond normal” E-coli levels were found. At the time, the city said teams were working on a malfunctioning sewer pump station that was constantly being vandalised for scrap metals. On Saturday, it said that the Addington, South and uShaka beaches had been reopened after the E-coli levels had improved. Environmental activist Margaret Burger says last week’s closure of many Durban beaches and the subsequent loss of revenue over the long weekend should serve as a warning to city authorities to be on high alert…

DUNCAN DU BOIS | Bluff POLITICS makes strange bedfellows. The protest by anti-Covid vaccination groups in Durban and the reasons for their opposition (The Mercury, September 28) reflects much of what informed opinion abroad has stated. The protesters are correct. Covid-19 is not a pandemic, because upwards of 96% of those infected survive. If 30% of the population had died, it would have been a pandemic. In the US, 27 000 doctors have accused the government of falsehood in proclaiming Covid-19 a pandemic. In Europe, 600 doctors in Spain and 500 in Germany have voiced the same indictment. The wearing of masks is another fallacy. The Covid-19 virus is 5 000 times smaller than the weave of any mask, so we kid ourselves in believing that masks are…

FAROUK ARAIE | Benoni Imam Abdullah Haron was brutally murdered by the apartheid state security forces 52 years ago. We as a nation must remember him for his dedication to free South Africa from oppression and express our admiration and the deepest respect for his courage and steadfastness to give his life for the cause of righteousness, justice and equity. His death will serve to remind generations of our countrymen of a generous and fearless personality, and of a life of nobility and patriotism, service and sacrifice. Those who hounded and killed him have changed the course of South Africa. What they will probably get is his near deification in the hallowed halls of martyrdom, and the certainty he is an even greater political icon in death than…

THE Poms are going through a crisis that could become a winter of discontent. The supermarket shelves are meagrely stocked. Filling stations have run out of petrol. Has Britain run out of food? Has it run out of petrol? No. It’s run out of heavy duty drivers to deliver the stuff. This is partly a result of Brexit and partly due to the Covid-19 pandemic interrupting training programmes. The panic is that there will be no food for Christmas. The government says there’s no reason for panic. It appeals to people not to buy petrol they don’t immediately need. It’s arranged visas for 5 000 drivers from Europe; visas for 5 000 turkey-pluckers. But the Road Haulage Association says the country is short of 90 000 drivers, not 5 000.…

Nonhlanhla Nozizwe Hlatshwayo nozizwe.hlatshwayo@inl.co.za Social Development MEC Nonhlanhla Khoza has raised her concern about hate crimes in the province after a woman was killed in a suspected homophobic attack in Umbumbulu, south of Durban. KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele confirmed that a case of murder had been opened at Umbumbulu police station. “It is alleged that on September 25 at 8pm a 28-year-old female victim was stabbed with a knife by a known suspect at the Mphusheni reserve in the Umbumbulu area. “She was rushed to hospital where she succumbed to her injuries on arrival. The motive for the attack is unknown, and the case is still under investigation,” said Mbele. Sisanda Gumede died at the weekend. Speaking to The Mercury, Sisanda’s brother Sibusiso Gumede said his sister…

Okuhle Hlati okhule.hlati@inl.co.za There are mixed views on the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa) decision to approve the Karpowership SA projects. While some organisations have welcomed them, others have called for the regulator to provide reasons for its decision to give the green light to the multimillion projects in Saldanha Bay, Richards Bay, and Coega in the Eastern Cape. The projects will generate electricity from natural gas to be evacuated through transmission lines to substations linking to the national grid. Black Women in Business chairperson Zharon Damonse said she was in support of the Karpowership agreement. “As businesswomen we are opposing those protesting against Karpowerships. We need to stand together as business forums and discuss the value in this project for us, our children and economy because it…

Ntombi Nkosi ntombi.nkosi@inl.co.za The legal team of former parliamentarian and ANC member, Vincent Smith, wants the State to provide them with the final indictment in his fraud and corruption case so they can properly prepare his defence. They said if the State had a strong case, the indictment would have already been given to them. Smith appeared in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court yesterday. The case was adjourned to November 2. Smith again appeared without his co-accused – former Bosasa chief operating officer Angela Agrizzi. The charges stem from Bosasa, through Agrizzi, allegedly offering Smith gratifications in the form of security upgrades to his Gauteng home, and Smith allegedly accepting cash transferred into his personal bank account via the bank account of his company, Euroblitz. Smith’s fraud charge emanates from…

TOKYO: Japan’s coronavirus state of emergency restrictions are set to lift tomorrow, allowing restaurants and bars to resume more flexible hours in an effort to jump-start the economic recovery after nearly six months, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said yesterday. Japan has been under a partial or nationwide “state of emergency” status since April, a designation meant to express the threat of the spread of the coronavirus. The restrictions have been extended or expanded for a few weeks at a time since April in response to rising cases, the prevalence of the delta variant, and the slow roll-out of the vaccine programme.…

Paris: France and Greece yesterday signed a multibillion-euro deal for Athens to buy three French warships, an accord hailed by President Emmanuel Macron as a major boost for the EU’s defence ambitions. The memorandum of understanding for the purchase of the Belharra frigates was inked less than two weeks after Paris was left reeling by Australia’s cancellation of a contract to buy French submarines, in favour of a new defence pact with Britain and the US. Macron said after meeting Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the Elysée Palace that Greece would buy the three frigates from France to cement a deeper “strategic partnership” between the two countries to defend their shared interests in the Mediterranean. The deal marks “an audacious first step towards European strategic autonomy”, Macron said. “Europeans…

Chicago: Former president Barack Obama has defended his choice of the historic Jackson Park neighbourhood on Chicago’s South Side as a site for the Obama Presidential Center, says ABC News. Obama said he was “absolutely confident” the planned centre to honour his legacy, which will include a library, museum, gardens, and a children’s playground, will benefit the community. “Any time you do a big project, unless you’re in the middle of a field somewhere,you know, there’s always going to be some people who say, ‘We don’t want change’,” the former president said.…

A new report from the Coalition for Urban Transitions (CUT) and FSD Africa has noted that the economic benefits from investing for climate readiness in African cities would far outweigh the cost. Based on an analysis of cities in Ethiopia, South Africa and Kenya, which represent 18% of Africa’s urban population, the report estimates that the greening of the continent’s cities could produce huge economic dividends over the next three decades. The report, launched at Africa Climate Week, which ends today, proposes a new model for urban growth in Africa that emphasises compact area development, connected infrastructure, clean technologies and climate resilient planning. Doing so will create jobs, improve health, reduce pollution and raise productivity. An economic analysis shows that across the 35 major cities in the three countries, efficient…