Indholdsfortegnelse for 2021-11-16 i Mercury

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za AUDITOR-General Tsakani Maluleke has decried the lack of co-ordination among the government as regards its R500 billion Covid-19 relief fund for health and socio-economic alleviation, which left it vulnerable to fraud and looting. Speaking at the inaugural conference of the Southern African Institute of Government Auditors yesterday, Maluleke said with financial standards, government institutions did not operate in a co-ordinated manner, which had resulted in widespread fraud in the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) spend. The Auditor-General's office had been asked to provide real time audits. which helped to give, in real time, assurances, insight and corrections. “We found that controls, procurement systems were weak and, therefore, vulnerable to abuse. “This resulted in incidents of fraud and resource leakage such as what we saw in the quest…

Kailene Pillay kailene.pillay@inl.co.za The racial tensions that tore apart communities during the July unrest were laid bare yesterday at the South African Human Rights Commission’s (SAHRC) probe into the insurrection. The SAHRC began its national investigative hearings into the July unrest yesterday by calling its first witness, Zama Nguse. The hearings are being held over the next three weeks and are being led by commissioner Andre Gaum as the chairperson of the hearing panel, deputy chairperson, commissioner Chris Nissen, and chief panellist, commissioner Philile Ntuli. Nguse yesterday took the stand to detail how her 17-year-old nephew, Sbahle, was shot dead, allegedly by private security officers, during the unrest that took place near her Khan Road home in Pietermaritzburg. Nguse also said Indian residents from the community attacked the informal settlement…

Sibusiso Mboto sibusiso.mboto@inl.co.za The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal is trying to deal with the mess over the controversial councillor candidates nomination process for local government elections. Last week hundreds of ANC members and supporters in the Moses Mabhida Region (Pietermaritzburg and surrounding towns) marched to regional offices complaining about councillors that they did not want being “parachuted” into their areas. They claimed that the candidates who had won the approval of community members had been overlooked by the regional structure. This year, the ANC undertook an exercise to engage with communities on the councillor candidates process, a move aimed at ensuring that the chosen candidate enjoyed community support and endorsement. Some candidates who had received community approval complained that they had been overlooked in parts of the province, leading to many…

FAROUK ARAIE | Benoni FORMER president FW de Klerk passed away at 85. It was icon Nelson Mandela and De Klerk who prevented South Africa from sliding into a bloody civil war after apartheid was ended. It was statesmanship from both leaders that prevented anarchy and chaos. The result was a post-apartheid South Africa that did not devolve into civil war. Chilling events were set to trigger a full-scale war for control of the country. Most of the nation were unaware that a war strategy was being implemented by many who were unhappy with the new status quo. Right-wing generals were threatening to mount a coup, while some in the ANC were pushing for Nuremberg-type trials for National Party politicians. Events were escalating out of control as embittered…

MOHAMED SAEED | Pietermaritzburg Reflecting on some of the hateful comments made after the death of the last president of apartheid South Africa, FW de Klerk, it seems that great forgiveness and healing have not really taken place. Although for the better part of his political life, De Klerk imposed and defended apartheid until the international sanctions and boycotts began to take effect, he is credited for releasing Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners from jail, unbanning the ANC and other liberation movements and helped to steer the country away from the brutal repressive rule. Through a series of negotiations and owing to measures taken by the De Klerk government, the transition to freedom was achieved peacefully. The violations of human rights and blatant abuses committed by the…

Nomonde Zondi nomonde.zondi@inl.co.za As November is Men’s Health Month, a psychologist has urged men to pay attention to their mental health and to seek professional help if they are experiencing problems. According to principal psychologist Sithembiso Biyela of the Department of Employment and Labour, men struggle to openly seek help or show signs of not coping as this is seen as being weak and not manly. This can be traced back to the adolescent stage where boys are more likely to have problems with anger, he said. “Men are more likely to be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorders and drug-related substance abuse, which may have underlying conditions such as depression and anxiety. When men have problems they are quick to tell each other to instead go and have a drink…

Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za HEALTH Minister Dr Joe Phaahla has urged citizens to vaccinate to enjoy the festive season, warning that a surge in Covid-19 infections could hit in mid-December to early January. Phaahla and his deputy, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, on Friday convened a virtual media briefing on the government’s efforts in the fight against Covid-19 and the national vaccination roll-out programme. The minister said a surge in Covid-19 infections could hit in mid-December to early January, resulting in a fourth wave. “As has been repeated a number of times before, a resurgence of infections introducing a fourth wave is expected as we see in other countries, especially in Europe currently, for example Germany and the Ukraine are going through their fourth wave. Our national team is working with provincial teams…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za THE DA yesterday described the current situation at uMngeni Local Municipality as delaying tactics aimed at preventing the party from forming a government and forcing the municipality into an election rerun. The party warned that it was prepared to take the fight over the control of the municipality all the way to the Constitutional Court, adding that it will spare no expense in the fight to retain its right as the duly elected leader of the municipality. Yesterday the party was meeting with its lawyers, preparing for its fight at the Pietermaritzburg High Court. It wants to lodge court papers to have the council meeting that was abandoned last week to be reconvened. The papers prepared last night could be lodged as early as tomorrow unless a…

China’s progress also creates many opportunities for the rest of the world The 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China convened its sixth plenary session in Beijing from November 8 to 11, which has attracted much global attention. The meeting focused on studying and comprehensively summarising the major achievements and historical experience of the party in the past century, and reviewing another historic resolution – “Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Major Achievements and Historical Experience of the Party's Centuries of Struggle.” This is the third historical resolution in the history of the CPC in a century. It follows the “Resolution on Certain Historical Issues” adopted by the seventh plenary session of the sixth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China…

THE Delhi government pushed back yesterday against a call by India’s top court to declare a “pollution lockdown”, as children stayed away from school for a week because of dangerous smog levels. Air quality in Delhi – among the world’s most polluted cities – regularly plummets to the “severe” category in winter with levels of harmful particulates at dangerous levels. On Saturday, the Supreme Court suggested imposing for the first time a “pollution lockdown”, effectively confining the megacity’s 20 million people to their homes. In a submission to the court yesterday, the city government said such a step would only be “meaningful” if states surrounding Delhi are also included, but conceded that industry was the biggest contributor to the city’s air pollution followed by transport and dust from roads and…

LONDON: Sir Paul McCartney continues to perform so he doesn’t have to think about death. The 79-year-old Beatles legend claimed that composing new music and being in the recording studio helps distract him from thoughts of his own mortality. He explained: “If I didn’t have a new project or challenge to conquer, I can only imagine I’d start thinking further or deeper about the reality of death and that’s not something I want to do, particularly.” However, the Penny Lane hitmaker – who is married to Nancy Shevell and has five children from previous relationships – went on to admit that death isn’t something that frightens him, although his awareness of it increases with age. Speaking in this month’s Reader’s Digest magazine, he added: “Death won’t ever scare me –…

Quito: Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso has replaced the head of the national penitentiary service after violent clashes between prisoners in Guayaquil prisons, killed almost 70 people, a decree posted yesterday by the General Secretariat of Communication under the President of Ecuador said on Twitter. On Saturday, 68 people were killed and 25 injured during a riot in an Ecuadorian jail in the city of Guayaquil, the same facility where more than 100 died in riots in late September. On Sunday, new clashes broke out prompting deployment of the police and armed forces. “The head of state … accepted the resignation of colonel Bolivar Garzon Espinosa,” the decree says.…

Zaahier Adams zaahier.adams@inl.co.za SOUTH Africa’s Aiden Markram and Anrich Nortje have earned selection to the T20 World Cup’s Most Valuable Team of the Tournament. Markram enjoyed a stellar tournament with the bat for the Proteas striking 162 runs at an average of 54.00, while fast bowler Nortje picked up nine wickets at 11.55. The duo’s performances helped the Proteas win four of their five matches, which was unfortunately not enough to see them through to the semi-finals. The Proteas’ only loss of the tournament came in their opening game to eventual champions Australia in Abu Dhabi. The team of the tournament was selected by a panel featuring commentators, former international players and journalists Ian Bishop (convenor), South Africa’s Natalie Germanos, Shane Watson, Lawrence Booth of Wisden, the Daily Mail and…

THE most challenging of weekends turned into one of the best for Lewis Hamilton with a victory in Brazil that brought back memories of another epic win as a junior fighting for his future. The seven-time world champion went from 20th and the back of the field in a Saturday sprint to 10th on the grid for the Sao Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos and then to the top of the podium. Hamilton said his father had reminded him of how in a F3 weekend in Bahrain in 2004 he went from 22nd in qualifying to 11th in the sprint to decide the grid and then won the main race. “After that showing McLaren resigned me,” he said. “I was fighting for my career at the time. Without them I…

Mayibongwe Maqhina and Loyiso Sidimba THE EFF has read the riot act to its councillors, warning them that they need to obtain clear authorisation from the party before being voted into office-bearer positions in municipalities. The party has also warned its councillors about declining nomination when asked to serve as municipal office-bearers. This comes after EFF deputy leader Floyd Shivambu issued a circular to the party’s 978 councillors elected on November 1. Shivambu said no EFF councillor should vote for a mayor, deputy mayor, speaker or any other position in municipal councils without a written and clear mandate from provincial heads of the Governance Task Unit (GTU), who were provincial chairpersons. “Be further informed that an EFF councillor should NOT avail themselves for any position as a speaker, mayor, deputy…

If you are preparing to ask someone for their forgiveness in an effort to find reconciliation or not, preparation may be needed. Take time alone – no phone, no computer, no other friends or distractions – so you may come to terms with your part of the failure. You will know you are beginning to be ready for restoration of the relationship when you have moved beyond blaming others and are no longer looking to excuse your behaviour. You take full responsibility for your behaviour. While alone, your focus at all times will not be on what someone has done to you but on what you have done to others. You might write in a journal, pray, read and meditate – with each of these activities contributing to helping you…

EBRAHIM ESSA | Durban THE passing away of iconic writer Wilbur Smith is sad, but his brief story in The Mercury yesterday, at least serves to make a point for reading and writing. I tutor primary school children and find that there is an alarming resistance to reading, especially aloud. The reason is partly laziness, but mostly it is to avoid the embarrassment of not recognising many words and not being able to pronounce them correctly. This leads to a dislike of reading. If one does not read, one does not write. This in turn leads to rote learning and the regurgitation of the same words that really carry little meaning. There was a time when pupils at the primary level felt very special if a teacher asked…

SABER AHMED JAZBHAY | Newlands West Why is there so much hatred for a man who in his dying moments sought redemption, sought forgiveness for an abomination, a heresy he was a propagator of, that in a Damascus realisation he dismantled? Hate erodes the foundations of our Constitution. This 69-year-old remembers the flower of our nation who sired hope and love, not so long ago sharing a cup of tea with the widow of apartheid’s chief engineer. This 69er revelled in the euphoria when he lifted the hands of apartheid’s sacrificial lamb that he firmly clasped into the pages of our history. Where were you, oh unforgiver, then? Why were you mute and as silent as the grave? This sudden resurrection of hate expressed over the dead body…

Bongani Nkosi bongani.nkosi@inl.co.za A whopping 73% of 1 851 academic staff at South African universities, who responded to a survey about perspectives on remote learning and teaching, have raised concerns about cheating. The survey was conducted by the Council on Higher Education (CHE), Universities South Africa and the University of the Free State. Titled “Staff Experience of and Perspectives on Teaching and Learning and its Future (SEP-TLF)”, the survey attracted respondents from 24 public universities. The survey asked lecturers about their experiences on a range of matters relating to remote teaching and learning. Covid-19 disrupted contact learning and exams and universities have adopted remote teaching and learning practices. “One of the most alarming findings in this study concerns the integrity of academic assessments as a result of cheating, and illicit…

Yogashen Pillay yogashen.pillay@inl.co.za KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development Bongi Sithole-Moloi said she was very concerned about the continued attacks on farmers. The MEC was commenting after a third farm attack was reported in the province in the space of a week. The latest incident occurred in Newcastle last Wednesday in which a family of four was tied up and their home ransacked. Zettie Potgieter of Intelligent Tracing Unlimited Emergency Assist Pty Ltd confirmed the incident. “A farm attack took place on November 10, at 5.10pm on a farm along the D96 road in Newcastle. Six attackers, of which at least three were armed with pistols, invaded the farm and attacked a family who were assaulted and tied up.” Potgieter added that the attackers ransacked the home and fled…

Nomalanga Tshuma nomalanga.tshuma@inl.co.za The Miss South Africa organisation has chosen to stay mum on whether it will be going ahead with sending Miss SA Lalela Mswane to Israel to compete for the Miss Universe title amid calls for them to withdraw her candidacy. Following the Department of Arts and Culture’s controversial decision to withdraw its support for Mswane, and mixed reactions by political and civil society organisations, the Miss SA organisation appears to be standing firm for Mswane to still go to Israel. In a brief comment sent to The Mercury’s sister newspaper Cape Argus, the organisation said it would not comment at this stage on whether or not it will be withdrawing or going ahead and participating in the pageant. Over the weekend, Arts and Culture Minister Nathi…

ESKOM needs to work extremely hard in the next few weeks to ensure that the process of marking the 2021 matric examination scripts is not compromised by rolling blackouts. Load shedding has had a devastating impact on the writing of matric exams, where pupils across the country had to study in the dark while preparing for the most important exams of their lives. Last week the departments of Basic Education and Public Enterprises held a meeting with Eskom to try to prevent a repeat of what happened during the writing of the matric exams. As the process shifts to the marking of Grade 12 exam scripts, it is imperative that Eskom works hand in hand with the Education Department to ensure that marking centres in all nine provinces are exempt…

At least 11 people, including two children, were killed in two armed attacks in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato, media reported yesterday. El Universal said both attacks occurred at the weekend. Armed men reportedly opened fire on a group of people gathered in a private house for a child’s party. Three men, two women and a minor were killed. Four other people were injured. Later, another attack happened in the municipality of Apaseo el Grande. Five family members, including a 14-year-old girl, were reportedly killed in their own house. An 8-month-old baby was wou- nded in the arm and taken to a hospital. Guanajuato is one of the most dangerous and violent Mexican states due to the continued struggle between the Santa Rosa de Lima and Jalisco New Generation…

British counter-terrorism police were questioning four men yesterday after a “heroic” taxi driver reportedly foiled a plot to bomb a packed Remembrance Day service in Liverpool. An explosion engulfed a cab outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital on Sunday, seconds before Britain fell silent at 11am to honour its war dead. A passenger was killed but the driver escaped with light injuries, after city authorities and newspapers described how he had locked the man inside after growing suspicious about his intentions. The passenger had wanted to go to the annual Remembrance Day service in the north-west city’s Anglican cathedral, according to UK media quoting investigators and friends of the cabbie. But road closures forced the taxi to detour and they ended up at the nearby hospital, where the bomb went off just…

Tokyo: A man attacked an elderly woman with a knife in front of Fukushima station in north-east Japan yesterday, police and local media said, the latest in a string of recent assaults on and around the country’s train network. The attacker has been taken into custody, regional police said, with local media reporting he had been caught by bystanders. A woman in her 80s was hospitalised after the assault, national broadcaster NHK reported. Television station TV-U Fukushima said the victim sustained an injury to her abdomen but was able to speak.…

Xolile Bhengu and Jehran Naidoo TRADE and Investment KwaZulu-Natal chief executive Neville Matjie said the country’s automotive sector could get a significant boost from the hosting of the Intra-Africa Trade Fair (IATF) in the province. The trade fair began at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre (Durban ICC) yesterday. Heads of state, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, and leaders from Zimbabwe, Zanzibar, Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia, attended yesterday’s session. Matjie said: “The broader South African automotive industry’s contribution to the gross domestic product in 2020 stood at 4.9% (2.8% manufacturing and 2.1% retail), down from 6.4% in 2019, reflecting the severe impact of Covid-19 on automotive, manufacturing and retail because of the country’s lockdown restrictions during the year. “The IATF will create a huge boost for this sector. This…

DUNCAN DU BOIS | Bluff IF THE Mercury’s editorial plea of November 15, “Vaccinate to keep others safe”, was premised on scientific evidence, there would be no need to pen these remarks. First, The Mercury needs to get up to speed on a few facts. What it is asking people to submit to is what the CDC itself conceded on September 1, that the Covid jab is not a vaccine but a “preparation” which may stimulate anti-bodies against Covid but of which there is no guarantee, a reality against which all the manufacturers are indemnified. Therefore, if vaccination was the panacea, how would the safety of others be jeopardised once one is vaccinated? Second, although unreported by the mainstream media, the adverse effects of the so-called vaccines, including…

TONY BALL | Gillitts WE ARE bombarded on a regular basis by Sanral in the form of glossy supplements or full-page newspaper advertisements telling us what a wonderful job they are doing, almost as though they are pursuing a strong marketing campaign to grow their business as if they were a major retailer. I wonder if they could put their egos aside for a brief moment and consider this very cost-effective and long-lasting solution to a very dangerous situation with regard to road safety. In the Durban area along routes such as the M7, M13 and M19, kilometres of Armco barriers are destroyed or missing and thus there is nothing to stop cars crossing over the centre median into oncoming traffic following an accident. There are extensive roadworks…

| Enrico Fermi COP26 has been and gone. The conference closed in Glasgow with the not terribly convincing claim that the nations of the world are “on track” to limit global warming by 2050 to 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels. They’ll check again in a year. One wishes them every success, of course, but it comes as a jolt to learn that current global warming is already at about 1.2º. At this level we already have a melting of the polar icecaps, sea level rises, wildfires all over the world, droughts and floods. Will it get worse, even in the best case scenario? Sky News has been running a disturbing feature on the way Madagascar – a country with minimal contribution to global warming – is writhing in agony after…

Nokwanda Ncwane nokwanda.ncwane@inl.co.za THE Post Office has released a list of items not to be mailed after recently coming across several instances where customers attempted to send prohibited items which are potentially dangerous on an aircraft to overseas destinations. Saying this delayed outgoing mail dramatically, SA Post Office spokesperson Johan Kruger explained that airlines scanned all mailbags before loading them for prohibited items, using an X-ray machine similar to that used to scan hand luggage. “Should a single prohibited item be detected in a mailbag, the entire mailbag is returned to the sorting centre to be opened and searched until the offending parcel is found. “All the items in the mailbag miss the flight and are delayed until the next flight.” He said the list of items not to be…

SNACK-buying is at its highest level since market research company Ipsos started tracking it in January 2020, with business booming for manufacturers and retailers. In the latest Ipsos Consumption and Shopper tracking study, the value of snack sales increased by almost half (+43%) compared to the previous year, with cheaper brands gaining traction. The value growth for snacks was largely attributed to the 4% growth of the total sweet category, with ice cream (+5.9%) and sweets (+6.3%) recording significant increases. While ice cream and sweet sales remained stable across most age groups, it was the sweet-toothed 25-34 year olds driving the growth. There was a slight push back from peanuts (+2.3%) in the total savoury category. “At-home consumption of snacks sits at a comfortable 82%, compared to 18% for out-of-home…

Tarryn-Leigh Solomons tarryn-leigh.solomons@iinl.co.za JUDGMENT in the court battle between Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe and Freedom Under Law (FUL), which is seeking to intervene in the application he has brought to review the decision of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) is expected to be delivered within the next 10 days. Gauteng Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba yesterday heard arguments from Judge Hlophe’s counsel, Lihle Sidaki, and Max du Plessis, who represented FUL. The applications heard in the hearing includes an application to intervene by FUL, and a Rule 30 application filed by Judge Hlophe, which seeks to set aside the replying affidavit filed by FUL. In August, the JSC voted that the judge president should be removed from office due to gross misconduct. This comes after the Judicial Conduct…

EVERYONE on this planet should learn early in life what they came to do here, what legacy they will leave behind, particularly if it’s worth believing and worthy of holding up as something to emulate. The very next day after former president FW de Klerk’s passing on Thursday, there were already obituaries in newspapers, almost as if people had anticipated his death. The fact that he had prepared his last speech, as he calls it, clearly expressing sorrow that he had not done so much earlier in his life, also points to the imminence of his leaving, and that he would have to make a final attempt to “clear his name”. In preparing for this article, I had to listen to and read quite a few comments of people locally…

ADDIS ABABA: With thousands of people dead, two million displaced and mounting fears of a rebel march on Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s war threatens to unleash instability across the fragile East African region even as envoys scramble to end the year-long conflict. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed the worry felt by many when he warned on Friday that a failure to strike a deal “would lead to the implosion of Ethiopia and spill over into other countries in the region”. “That would be disastrous for the Ethiopian people and also for countries in the region,” said Blinken, who is due to arrive this week in Kenya, one of many neighbouring countries concerned by a refugee crisis sparked by the war. Tens of thousands of Ethiopians have already fled westward…

Manila: Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte yesterday filed to contest the Senate elections next year, seeking a way to stay in politics while facing an international probe into his deadly drug war. Duterte, who is constitutionally barred from seeking a second six-year term, filed his candidacy at the Commission on Elections office, minutes before a deadline to join the race. A lawyer submitted the paperwork on behalf of the president, according to documents seen by AFP, quelling speculation he would run for vice-president – the same post his daughter, Sara, is contesting.…

Austria slapped a lockdown on people unvaccinated against the coronavirus yesterday as winter approaches and infections rise across Europe, with Germany considering tighter curbs and Britain expanding its booster programme to younger adults. Europe has again become the epicentre of the pandemic, prompting some countries to consider re-imposing restrictions in the run-up to Christmas and stirring debate over whether vaccines alone are enough to tame Covid-19. Covid-19 spreads more easily in the winter months when people gather inside. Europe last week accounted for more than half of the average 7-day infections globally and about half of latest deaths, according to a Reuters tally, the highest levels since April last year when the virus was at its initial peak in Italy. Governments and companies are worried the prolonged pandemic will derail…

PARIS: French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said Britain’s labour laws encouraged migrants to attempt the perilous crossing of the Channel by dinghy. British frustration at migrants crossing the Channel from French shores has resurfaced after more than a 1 000 reached England in a single day last week. But Darmanin said :“Why do they go to Britain? Because its labour market functions… with an army of irregular workers.” Britain’s Home Secretary Priti Patel insists France must stop every boat loaded with migrants. But French police say the migrants are too numerous, the shore too long and the smugglers too good.…