Indholdsfortegnelse for 2022-11-02 i Mercury

Questions raised about municipality’s handling of infrastructure challenges THE eThekwini Municipality, which came under harsh criticism from members of provincial legislature (MPLs) yesterday, has been given until Friday to finalise the appointment of service providers that will attend to the water and sanitation problems in the city following the April floods. Yesterday, the city’s handling of sewage leaks and tap water supply issues after the floods led to the extensive damage of infrastructure, came under scrutiny by MPLs. In a meeting, MPLs who are part of the Conservation Portfolio Committee questioned the sense of urgency from the city in solving the problems, warning of the threat of waterborne diseases. The committee conducted site visits to some pump stations and water treatment plants around the city to determine the damage caused…

Mr Duncan du Bois claims in his letter to The Mercury, October 25, that global warming is a false narrative and climate change is a natural reality. We shouldn’t be quiet about damaging allegations that can negatively impact our lives, society and the world. Mr Du Bois quoted a few scientists from the “Trump school” who support his views that it is all a hoax, but he ignored that 198 countries and hundreds of scientists and diplomats had signed the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The officials have met in 26 conferences over the past 15 years to agree on policies and measures to contain global warming which has become an existential threat to all kinds of life on our planet. Is this all a hoax? Are the officials…

OveR the years, I have received letters from women (almost always women) who cannot forgive, despite years of trying, a husband or partner’s unfaithfulness. Financial shenanigans within a marriage can be hurtful, addictions can play havoc, but unfaithfulness attacks at a far deeper level, a level often easily dismissed by the betraying partner. “Even though it was 10 years ago and I have said I forgive him, it still haunts me,” is a common theme. “He expects me to just get over it as if it is no real issue at all,” is another. “He rolls his eyes at me, he sighs, as if it is my issue, and he was the one who cheated!” Infidelity violates powerful and sacred trust. While relationships can be resilient and survive much stress…

Monday’s letters page (The Mercury, October 31) has dragged me out of my hole in the ground. Based on a recent article regarding caterpillars distributing hairs all over the place, they are allegedly causing health problems, fear of death, warnings of environmental destruction, etc. I have to say that the sensationalism surrounding the issue is simply mind-boggling. Here is my 50 cents worth. Caterpillars are part of an environmental food chain that is necessary for life. The processional ones that are probably those being referred to, could be those that appear every now and again, not annually, in a specific species of tree. Their parents laid eggs in the chosen tree; they hatched. The caterpillars ate a whole bunch of leaves, causing a whole bunch “fertiliser” to fall on the…

IN AN effort to clamp down on the circulation of child sexual abuse content and other online harms, the Film and Publication Board (FPB) has issued a legal notice to internet access and internet service providers (ISP) to report on measures they have taken to prevent it. The gazetted legal notice, published on Friday, obliges ISPs to comply with a list of provisions within 90 days. These include providing reports to the FPB on all reasonable steps taken to prevent the use of their services for the hosting or distribution of child pornography and propaganda for war etc. ISPs also have to let the FPB know whether they have reported the presence thereof, as well as the particulars of the person maintaining, hosting or distributing or in any manner contributing…

Despite referring 129 cases from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to the Hawks for further investigations, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has yet to conclude its re-assessment of the TRC cases. This emerged from Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola’s response to parliamentary questions from MP Brett Herron of the Good party. Herron had asked if the NPA had concluded its assessment of the TRC cases as was envisaged, and when would the NPA would take a decision on the remaining cases. He also asked the reasons for the remaining cases that were not referred for investigation and/or prosecution and which have already been referred to the Hawks. “It is not possible to stipulate a specific date as it is an ongoing process. However, efforts are made…

Violence against women and children continues to take place despite numerous plans put in place by the government and civil society to end the scourge. This was the admission of President Cyril Ramaphosa during his address at the second Presidential Summit on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) at the Gallagher Convention Centre yesterday. The meeting was held exactly four years to the day since a pledge was made to work together to end the violence men perpetrate against women and children in South Africa. Ramaphosa said it was at the first summit in 2018 that they collectively made a firm commitment to the nation to undertake a comprehensive, effective and united response to GBV and femicide. “We agreed to develop a National Strategic Plan,” he said, “to guide…

The Ukraine regime – infiltrated by neo-Nazis – is used by West as a tool against Russia DESPITE the dominating trend in the West to root out Russian culture and pretend that it never existed, we keep coming back as we are reminded how vast and versatile it is. One of the key works of prominent Russian writer, philosopher and thinker Fyodor Dostoevsky is titled Crime and Punishment. But we are not going to present a review of the novel here. What we would rather do is to highlight one of its main ideas: a crime is always followed by a punishment, even if the perpetrator believes that they successfully got away with it. Let this idea serve as an epigraph for this Alternative Viewpoint entry, as we discuss the…

Israelis yesterday began voting for the fifth time in less than four years, with former premier Benjamin Netanyahu bidding for a comeback in a race likely to turn on a far-right party that has risen from the fringe to become a potential coalition kingmaker. After years of deadlock, voter exasperation may hurt turnout, but surging support for the ultra-nationalist Religious Zionism bloc and firebrand co-leader Itamar Ben-Gvir has galvanized the campaign. Israel’s longest-serving premier, Netanyahu is on trial on corruption charges, which he denies, but his rightist Likud party is still expected to finish as the largest in parliament. However, the final opinion polls from last week showed him still short of the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset, opening the prospect of weeks of coalition…

Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko has revealed that Hangwani Morgan Maumela – a relative of President Cyril Ramaphosa – was a beneficiary of multimillion-rand tenders allegedly awarded irregularly at Tembisa Hospital and other provincial hospitals. Nkomo-Ralehoko gave the shocking details in her written reply to questions posed by the DA’s provincial health spokesperson Jack Bloom in the provincial legislature. In his questions to Nkomo-Ralehoko, Bloom was under the impression that Maumela’s 12 companies only benefited a mere R36 million, but was shocked after the MEC revealed that it scored contracts worth R381m in the past three years from Gauteng public hospitals. Bloom had asked her about contracts awarded to 12 companies that got R36m from Tembisa Hospital last year, contracts that murdered whistle-blower Babita Deokaran had identified as “possibly…

From the age of 5, Filipino graphic artist Percival Lugue has had a passion for collecting toys from fast-food outlets like McDonald’s, Burger King and home-country favourite Jollibee. Now, nearly five decades later, the 50-year-old has about 20 000 toys packed from floor to ceiling in his home and holds a Guinness World Record from 2014, when his collection reached more than 10 000 items. “The toy is like a storyteller in itself,” said Lugue. “For example, it gives me a glimpse of that particular period when I got it, the story of what’s going on, what are the incidents that are attached in the acquisition.” Lugue, who lives in Apalit in Pampanga, north-west of Manila, built his 3-storey home to house his collection. He likens the excitement that getting…

READING Ashwin Desai and Goolam Vahed’s amazingly chronicled Colour, Class and Community – The Natal Indian Congress, 1971–1994, only two pages at a time – I couldn’t help feeling a heterogeneous mixture of extreme emotions of anger, sorrow, admiration and even bewilderment at Chapter 9, The Consulate Six. Senior leaders of the NIC (Natal Indian Congress)/UDF (United Democratic Front): Archie Gumede, George Sewpersadh, Mewa Ramgobin, MJ Naidoo, Billy Nair and Paul David decided in 1984 to simply walk into the British Consulate in Durban on the pretext of doing “some business”, but quickly made their intentions clear. “Hell, No! We won't go!” became their stance. The aim was clearly to attract international attention to the plight of the victims of apartheid.The “sit-in” was not just for a day or two.…

Drone warfare in the Ukraine has propelled military combat into a new dimension. The 20th century witnessed battles between tank and anti-tank systems. The 21st century is going to be drone and counter-drone systems. They will change the character of warfare, and aerial combat will radically change the character of war. The vulnerability of tanks, manned aircraft and ships has been glaringly exposed by unmanned alternatives. One of the most significant and controversial developments in the war in the Ukraine is the unrestrained use of drones. Underwater drones have begun to reshape the concepts of naval strategy. The UN must prepare for the consequences of other countries and non-state actors using unmanned vehicles in emerging conflicts. This brings a deadly, new dimension to military strikes. The UN Security Council should…

The South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) says it wants the government to implement the R1 500 universal income grant. This comes after it was announced last week that the R350 social relief of distress grant has been extended to March 2024. Satfu spokesperson Trevor Shaku said it rejected the R350 grant as it was not enough money to sustain the millions of unemployed South Africans struggling to make ends meet due to the lack of jobs in the country. Shaku said Saftu had made representations to Parliament on how best to implement the income grant in a way that does not affect the provision of other services. He said it would be possible to fund this grant through a wealth tax on the country’s super-rich. Shaku said there…

At least 14 people, including three children, were injured in a drive-by shooting in the US in Chicago’s west side on Halloween, police said. The youngest victim, a 3-year-old girl, was in a serious condition with gunshot wounds to both legs. There were no immediate reports of fatalities, though police said that could change as victims received medical care in various Chicago hospitals. Law enforcement authorities have opened a preliminary investigation and are searching for suspects, Chicago Police Superintendent David O’Neal Brown said at a news conference. The drive-by is one of eight mass shootings that have occurred across the US over Halloween weekend spanning Florida to California. These incidents meet the threshold for mass shootings as defined by the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit research organisation that tracks casualties…

The resolution of the 20th CPC National Congress, held in October, points out that from now on, the CPC’s central task will be: to lead the Chinese people of all ethnic groups in a concerted effort to realise the second centenary goal of building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects and to advance the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernisation. The century-long history of the struggle of the CPC is a history of the exploration of a Chinese path to modernisation. Before the founding of the CPC, various forces in Chinese society had made multiple attempts at modernisation, all of which ended in failure. Over the past century, the CPC has united and led the Chinese people…

Deputy mayor of the eThekwini Municipality Philani Mavundla believes he is the best candidate to represent the people of Kloof and surrounding areas as a ward councillor. Mavundla, who is the chairperson of the infrastructure and services committee, raised eyebrows after it was announced that he will contest the by-election in ward 10 today. The ward includes Kloof, Gillitts, Stockville and Forest Hills. The ward was under DA control and a vacancy was declared following the death of the councillor, Tex Collins. Yesterday Mavundla revealed that while he backed his chances of winning the ward, it was well-known that the DA had strong support in the area. The DA yesterday dismissed Mavundla’s chances, describing his efforts as a waste of his time. Speaking to The Mercury, Mavundla said he has…

BRITAIN’S Royal Navy is in the news. The Kremlin accuses it of blowing up two underwater gas pipelines in the Baltic, from Russia to Europe. The Royal Navy’s own female personnel complain of being sexually molested in submarines. The First Lord of the Admiralty describes the Kremlin claim as balderdash, directed at the debate inside Russia about the lack of progress in the illegal war in Ukraine. I don’t know what the First Lord makes of the other claims. And, in an odd way, lines from HMS Pinafore (strictly surface vessels in those days ) seem to illustrate the point. But when the breezes blow, I generally go below And I seek the seclusion which a cabin grants, And so do his sisters and his cousins and his aunts,…

One of the reasons I continue my newspaper subscription is because I get my daily amusement not from the cartoons but from the ridiculous antics displayed by our government. Last Friday, our premier, Nomusa Dube-Ncube, took a leaf out of Malusi Gigaba’s pantomime show at Parliament a few years back, when he dressed as a pilot. Dube-Ncube decided to wear two stripe lapels during the Aviation Academy launch and waxed on about the prospects for pupils choosing aviation as a career, conveniently forgetting that high maths marks are a priority. Then we have a failed sound system at the Zulu king’s coronation/recognition ceremony. I trust that the food and beverages for the thousands of guests were better organised. The cherry on the top was a Facebook post by the eThekwini…

THE killing of 19 African penguins at a beach in Cape Town at the weekend has resulted in the removal of the two husky dogs from a residential property in Simon’s Town. The African penguin is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Seaforth Beach in Simon’s Town is a prominent nesting site for around 150 African penguins and is on the border of Boulders Beach – the world-famous breeding colony. The Cape of Good Hope SPCA said it was alerted to the discovery of dead and dying penguins on Seaforth Beach by a jogger on Friday. The Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds confirmed that the deaths appeared to be from dog bites. “The SPCA is in possession of an affidavit from…

THE South African Revenue Service (Sars) has issued a warning about two scams targeting taxpayers. In a notice on the Sars web page, the taxman urged unsuspecting taxpayers to ignore the messages and not to fall for the scam by clicking on any links sent either to their phones or their email addresses. The SMS text message scam, also known as smishing, involves a “PayFast” text asking the receiver to click on a link to receive a payment from the revenue service. The other new scam arrives via an email in which the scam artists claim to be Sars employees sending a notice with a link to a “court order”. This is known as phishing. Sars said: “Members of the public are randomly emailed with false ‘spoofed’ emails made to…

WHILE there are more than 4 000 homeless people living on the streets in eThekwini’s inner city, the municipality has revealed it can only assist a fraction of these people. Councillors were briefed on the state of homelessness in the city as well as attempts to address the issue during a council meeting last week. This followed requests by the opposition parties to detail the extent of homelessness. The city said it had more than 4 000 people in the inner city and could only afford to assist about 10% of them. But opposition party councillors and organisations that work with the homeless expressed scepticism about that figure, stating they believe the figure to be much higher. Speaking of the efforts to assist the homeless, it was revealed that…

WHILE it is not known when former Paralympian Oscar Pistorius will be released on parole after serving prison time for murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in February 2013, it is certain he will spend yet another Christmas in jail. Pistorius’s hopes to be considered for parole this year were dashed after the Supreme Court of Appeal cleared up the confusion regarding his time spent in jail following the various appeals and orders it had issued. Supreme Court of Appeal chief registrar Elizabeth Vermeulen confirmed that the first order, that the sentence came into effect on October 21, 2014 – the day he was first sentenced for culpable homicide – stood. This in effect means Pistorius will only be eligible to be considered for parole in March 2023. Vermeulen confirmed…

A 65-year-old man was sentenced to an effective 23-year term of imprisonment by the Ntuzuma Regional Court for the rape and sexual assault of an 8-year-old child in the Amatikwe area of Ntuzuma in Durban. The man was the manager at the building in which the girl and her family lived. He has not been named to protect the identity of the child. “From some time in 2019 until October 2020, the man would call the child into his office under the pretence of giving her sweets. There he sexually assaulted her and raped her on one occasion,” said National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara. According to the NPA, after the victim’s mother saw her coming out of the accused’s office and asked her why she was in…

Algeria aims to demonstrate diplomatic clout this week as it hosts the first Arab League summit since before the Covid-19 pandemic, but political divisions mean any show of unity among the club’s members is likely to be paper thin. Arab states are split over issues ranging from support for the Palestinian cause, to the regional roles of Iran and Turkey and the rehabilitation of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, while Algeria’s own bitter feud with Morocco continues to fester. In Algeria, largely absent from Arab affairs for several years following the 2019 mass protests that led to the ousting of president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the meeting has been portrayed as a mark of its return to front-line diplomacy. “The summit shows Algeria is back in international affairs after years of isolation due…