Indholdsfortegnelse for 2022-11-21 i Mercury

Bank seizes and liquidates R4bn estate portfolio to cover R520m repayment WHAT HAS BEEN described as a racial attack on a Cameroonian business tycoon has seen scores of people adding numbers to the high unemployment rate in South Africa. This after First National Bank (FNB) decided to seize and liquidate all properties of businessperson El Hadj Baba Ahmadou Danpullo in South Africa in 2020. FNB’s decision saw about 800 people lose their jobs. When reached FNB refused to respond to questions, saying the bank could not disclose the details of any specific bank accounts due to client confidentiality. “The bank offers clients a range of options for rehabilitating outstanding debt, based on the unique merits of each case. If a customer fails to meet their credit agreement obligations, despite our…

THE Jacob G Zuma Foundation expects the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) to absolve its patron in today’s highly anticipated full Bench judgment. Last December, the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria ruled that former president Zuma’s placement on medical parole was unlawful and that he should return to jail. Judge Elias Matojane ruled that Zuma’s medical parole was unlawful and that then Correctional Services Commissioner Arthur Fraser was not entitled to order his release. Zuma and the Correctional Services Department challenged the ruling and appealed to the SCA. Jacob G Zuma Foundation spokesperson Mzwanele Manyi said he believed the Supreme Court would show that Judge Matojane’s ruling was incorrect. “We are hoping that the Supreme Court of Appeal will make it very clear to Judge Matojane that it is very wrong…

HERE’S a likely entrant for next year’s Comrades Marathon – but only if he’s allowed to smoke while running. Chen Bangxian, a 50-year-old Chinese fellow, finished the Xin’anjiang Marathon in Jiande, China, chainsmoking the whole way, according to Huffington Post. Known as “Uncle Chen”, he finished the 50km run in just under three-and-a-half hours, coming in 574th out of about 1 500 runners. Photos of the “smoking grandpa” went viral on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. They left digital onlookers in such disbelief that the marathon organisers shared his finishing certificate online to prove it. What’s more, Chen had previous form. He ran the 2018 Guangzhou Marathon, while smoking, in 3 hours, 36 minutes – and improved on that the next year, finishing the 2019 Xiamen Marathon four…

load shedding leaving parts of South Africa in intermittent darkness without electricity to function normally, has become ridiculous. Eskom sends unceasing messages of shifts and jumps in its load-shedding status: stage 2 pushed to stage 4; stage 4 downgraded to stage 2 and back again. It never ends. The constant disruption means normal functional living has to come to an end. Does the government really think this is going to continue for ever? The economy is still struggling to recover after the terrible, selfish looting that damaged and ravaged the livelihoods of many businesses. The added load shedding is making it even more difficult for these businesses to recover as businesses have to close or halt their operations. Hence, the government itself is standing in the way of economic recovery…

“Christmas evokes strong feelings of regret in me, even sadness. I am not usually filled with the joy of the season, but I think I hide it well. “(During) my childhood Christmas was filled with worry about drunkenness and dangerous driving and arguments in the car on the way home from events that were supposed to be enjoyable occasions. “I dread the season even now and even though all the negative things have ended. It is as if the past won’t let the present or the future go. I have a very peaceful and happy life now.” I am always amazed that there are people I meet who had close to idyllic childhoods but can hardly remember them. Others, those of us who had much to suffer, have panoramic recall…

A MAN arrested in connection with a bomb threat directed at Eskom group CEO Jan Oberholzer is expected to appear in court this week. The man, 27, was arrested on Friday in Vosman, Mpumalanga. According to the power utility, during May this year Oberholzer received the bomb threat from an unknown cellphone number. The internal security investigations team immediately brought criminal charges on behalf of its executive with the police. It was also established that the person used an unregistered SIM card to send the threatening message, and Eskom said there was overwhelming evidence linking him to the crime. Advocate Karen Pillay, general manager of security at Eskom, said in a statement on Saturday the targeting of Eskom executives and employees was very disturbing. Such acts of criminality were malicious.…

COUNCILLORS in eThekwini Municipality are calling for an investigation to be commissioned into “killings” in the water unit following the murder of yet another staff member. This year, four employees have been killed in the unit with the latest being Sydney Qwabe, who was gunned down on Wednesday last week. Police spokesperson Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo said the murder was being investigated. She said police found a vehicle with the body of the 57-year-old seated in the passenger seat. He had sustained multiple gunshot wounds. Sources in the unit have given varying accounts of what could have led to this tragedy, with some speculating that Qwabe’s murder could be linked to his job and others saying it could have been personal. Attempts to speak to his family were unsuccessful yesterday. Qwabe’s…

The Mercury newspaper has been a household name in many homes in KwaZulu-Natal. The newspaper has a very long and proud history in this province. The first edition of The Mercury, which was only four pages in total and filled with advertising, was published in 1852. According to David Canning, the newspaper’s former editor, during colonial times The Mercury distribution was dependent on a group of “runners” from Durban to Pietermaritzburg and to other towns. It is true that the newspaper has come a long way and has undergone a lot of changes from the days when it was operating from its humble abode on the corner of Aliwal Street. The newspaper’s history is intertwined with the evolution of our country and province. This week, as we celebrate the 170th…

THAT Fifa president Gianni Infantino in an unprecedented monologue resorted to accusing the West of “hypocrisy” in its reporting about host Qatar’s human rights record in a press conference on the eve of the Fifa World Cup simply reinforces the fact that Qatar 2022 is the most controversial one ever organised by football’s governing body. Never mind Fifa and its constituent members – never before has the beautiful game been subjected to such moral soul searching, hopefully jettisoning such naiveties that we shouldn’t mix politics and sports, in this case football, the world’s most popular game. The reality is that international sport, especially the richest game of them all – football – has long been hijacked by governments, administrators, corporate and commercial interests, elite clubs and the media, especially broadcast…

Two-time world champion Max Verstappen claimed a record-extending 15th win this year with a “sublime” performance for Red Bull in yesterday’s tight and strategic Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, as Sebastian Vettel headed into retirement with a point. The 25-year-old Verstappen dominated from start to finish, but he was unable to assist his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez in his bid to beat Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and take second place behind him in the drivers’ title championship. Leclerc, driving with great precision and awareness, made his one-stop strategy succeed by resisting Perez, on fresher tyres after two stops, in the closing laps to confirm Ferrari finished second in the constructors’ contest as he did in the drivers’. Carlos Sainz came home fourth in the second Ferrari ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell,…

After missing out on qualification for the 2018 World Cup, the US enter the 2022 World Cup with a new-look, young and talented side. Gone are the days when the Stars and Stripes only had a handful of players in respected European teams and when they were overly reliant upon former captains Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey to pull the strings up front. Prior to missing out on the 2018 World Cup, the US had a decent record in World Cups in the modern age. Bar a poor group stage exit in 2006, they made it to the quarter-finals in 2002 before last-16 exits followed in both 2010 and 2014. On paper, the US have arguably the most technically gifted group of players that they are taking to a World…

A LABOUR dispute believed to be linked to the reduction of overtime pay by the eThekwini Municipality has left thousands of community members in several parts of Durban without water. The Mercury understands that supply was affected in several areas that include oThongathi, Waterloo, Southridge, Lotusville, Brindhaven and Cordoba Gardens. Some of these areas have been without water since Friday. Samantha Windvogel, ward 65 councillor for part of Seaview, Hillary, Burlington Greenfields, Shallcross Ext 2, Queensmead Industrial, Malvern, Kharwastan and Umhlatuzana, told residents that she had requested water tankers after areas in the ward were hit with supply issues. Initially, the city had blamed the water outages on burst pipes and later changed this to state that a labour dispute was another contributing factor. “Water and sanitation services at eThekwini…

According to Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula, it was established that Prasa had more than 3 000 ghost workers. He did not indicate how long these non-workers had been paid millions every month. This is another newly revealed incidence of massive fraud and corruption by cadre-deployed ANC employees (according to official ANC policy). The president recently publicly reaffirmed his continued support for cadre deployment. Now, if this massive fraud in one department went undetected for who knows how long, is it wrong to assume that this practice could be prevalent in several – if not many – other state departments, including the near- bankrupt local authorities? The chances are that it might well be, because it appears that such practice might be endemic to the ANC from top to bottom. President…

The Thabo Mbeki African School of Public and International Affairs recently held a public lecture in Durban on World Disorder. While a trio of power-mad political predators and conspirators are now dead – Mugabe, Gaddafi and Hussein – a new breed are at the nexus of world disorder. Leading the pack is Russia’s Vladimir Putin, followed by North Korea’s Kim Jung-un. They play human chess games in order to advance their own “casus belli”, where every move can have deadly consequences for the whole world. These leaders are exalted in their respective countries, with almost God-like invisibility, through decades of ideological indoctrination. Their unbridled ambition is fortified by venom and full of coiled power. They are clinically paranoid and see conspiracy everywhere – the West being their number one target.…

THE ongoing legal battle for the right to access apartheid-era records held by the Department of Defence and Military Veterans is continuing in the Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg. Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) is taking on the plight of the non-profit organisation, Open Secrets, in a bid for these documents to be made available. This is an almost 10-year-long fight which relates to information that was requested about the policies and practices of the apartheid government during the height of apartheid-era international arms sanctions busting. The 95 folders sought contain information concerning dozens of secret apartheid-era military procurement projects, as well as visits and liaisons with people and organisations in countries including Argentina, China, France, Israel, Paraguay, Portugal, Switzerland, Taiwan and the US. The organisation said these were clearly of…

Results from a recent survey conducted by Debt Rescue reflect the desperate financial situation most South Africans find themselves in as the year draws to a close, with a staggering 84% of consumers stating that they will be bargain-hunting for everyday necessities like food and toiletries this Friday (November 25) during Black Friday sales. About 56% will be looking for good deals on clothing items and 27% will spend on tech and electronics – most likely on equipment to navigate the country’s load-shedding crisis. While 74% of South Africans say they will participate in Black Friday this year – but only if the price is right – their motivation is very different from previous years when consumers engaged in wild shopping sprees for luxury goods and expensive gifts. While inflation…

Durban in 1852 It comprised the following streets: West, Smith, Grey, Field, Gardiner, Aliwal, Stanger and Pine Terrace. It had a population of 1 574 of which 541 were children. The entire European population of Natal was 7 629. The bay-facing properties on Smith Street were bounded by the sandy shores of the harbour. Beyond Pine Terrace, in the direction of present-day Somtseu and Umgeni roads, was the Eastern Vlei, a flat, swampy area. A small stream flowed through West and Smith Streets between Field and Gardiner. As The Mercury noted in its first editorial, drainage was “a crisis that brooks no delay”. Charles Barter visited Natal in 1852. Below are excerpts of his initial observations of Durban published in his book The Dorp and the Veld: Or…

It’s here! The Kings of football will be crowned in Qatar, but not before piercing shots, hypnotising dribbles, and heart-breaking misses are seen and felt by billions of fans around the globe at the most anticipated event of them all – the 2022 Fifa World Cup. This one matters because there is more at stake here than there has ever been before … It’s do or die between the two greatest footballers of our time. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo each have just one final chance to win the title that will solidify them in history as the greatest of all time! Belgium have it all but if they fail to convert, they stand to lose the glory and respect due to a golden generation of players. England is home…

England kick off their World Cup campaign against Iran today desperate to take the final step after twice falling just short of winning the country's first major trophy in more than half a century. Gareth Southgate's players will be relieved to finally focus on football after spending much of the build-up to the tournament mired in the ceaseless controversies surrounding host nation Qatar. Finding themselves thrown into the role of spokesmen on social issues ranging from the deaths of migrant workers during World Cup construction to the criminalisation of homosexuality in Qatar, the England squad have handled themselves impeccably. But now they have to transfer that poise under pressure to the pitch, where they start their three Group B fixtures established as one of the leading contenders. That lofty status…

COUNCILLORS in eThekwini Municipality have expressed outrage after a city official, who is employed as a forensic investigator tasked with fighting corruption, was arrested for corruption by the police in a sting operation on Friday. The councillors said the arrest made a mockery of the city’s fight against corruption and have called for the cases he had worked on to be reviewed. The arrest came a day after the city hosted a fraud and corruption awareness seminar on November 17 at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre. The official, who is employed as an investigator in the eThekwini City Integrity and Investigations Unit (CIIU), was arrested on the South Coast, and is expected to appear in court today. It is alleged the official called a businessman to tell him…

THE ANC’s electoral committee will be under scrutiny this week as it announces the 18 candidates for the top six positions ahead of the elective conference. The focus will be on how it treats leading presidential candidates Cyril Ramaphosa and Dr Zweli Mkhize. Once candidates accept the nominations, the electoral committee will investigate whether they are affected by the rules that prevent certain members from standing, such as those found guilty of or facing charges of serious crime, and issues of ethical or immoral conduct. Mkhize lobbyists have raised concerns that he might be targeted because of the Digital Vibes matter and say they will watch how the committee treats the issue of Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm scandal, as while the president has not been charged, there are serious ethical…

The headline in electronic media, “Zuma’s R8m VBS bill: Sheriff yet to move, nine weeks after court ordered that assets be seized”, refers. This once again just highlights the double standards of how the law operates in this country. It seems that there are different scales of enforcement for different types of people. If this is not the case, why has the sheriff not attached the required assets of Zuma’s? If the person was other than Zuma, the assets would have already been attached. What is more concerning is that there seems to be a continuous soft attitude towards Zuma, who owes this outstanding money, and it seems that the sheriff is too petrified to implement the court order. He should then be fired and replaced with another sheriff who…

Instead of focusing on improving the quality of our children’s education, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga wants to modernise and revolutionise school life by introducing unisex toilets in schools. What about replacing pit latrines in rural schools? Shouldn’t she prioritise this before embarking on some sensational scheme that shakes our education foundations? We have already had the disastrous outcomes-based education which rocked our schools, leaving a whole generation of children illiterate and innumerate. Then the Education Department introduced condoms in schools in a bid to curb teenage pregnancy. But handing out condoms to schoolchildren had the opposite effect. It encouraged them to make babies instead of focusing on their studies. Teenage pregnancy shot up. In a reply to a question in Parliament, Motshekga said an incredible 91 000 pupils fell…

A South African woman languishing in a Thai prison has not abandoned her bid for freedom and has lodged an appeal to the Thai Supreme Court after her sentence was reduced to 33.4 years. George-born Ashley Oosthuizen initially received the death sentence, but that was later changed to life imprisonment. The 22-year-old was convicted of selling and smuggling drugs from the coffee shop owned by her former boyfriend, Tristan Nettles, but her family maintains she’s innocent. Oosthuizen, a former pupil at Outeniqua High School, left for Thailand in March 2018, shortly after she matriculated, and took up a job as a teacher on Koh Samui island. It was there she met the 32-year-old American teacher who was employed at another school on the island, and soon the pair were a…

A man jumped into a river full of crocodiles to get tickets for 2010’s World Cup, a Uruguay player returned to the field just after suffering a heart attack and a Russian couple broke up after arguing over who was the better player, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. These are some unusual facts that Argentine writer Luciano Wernicke, 52, has compiled in the latest version of his book Incredible World Cup Stories, published in 20 languages, for the Qatar World Cup. In 1994, Wernicke wrote, an Albanian man went into a betting shop and gambled his wife on an Argentina win against Bulgaria. His bet lost 2-0, which led to the loss of his horrified wife too. Sixteen years later, a radio station in host country South Africa offered two…

ANC presidential hopeful Zweli Mkhize says the rise in violent service-delivery protests over the past five years showed the growing impatience from the electorate and communities who felt that the current leadership was aloof and not sensitive to their hardship. He warned that the protests would continue to grow in intensity, and only the party delegates going to the ANC’s elective conference at Nasrec next month could put a stop to this by electing accountable, honest and humble leaders. Mkhize was delivering the Oliver Tambo memorial lecture in the Pietermaritzburg City Hall on Saturday night as a part of his presidential campaign. He was invited to speak by the ANC’s Moses Mabhida region, which is his home turf. The former KwaZulu-Natal premier, who will challenge sitting president Cyril Ramaphosa for…

Questions have been raised over the efficiency of Msunduzi Municipality’s security system, after it emerged a number of the city’s power stations had become targets of cable thieves that were stripping stations of essential equipment. At a meeting of the city’s executive committee last week, it was reported that stations including Eastwood and Mayor’s Walk were targeted. Deputy mayor and chairperson of the infrastructure services portfolio committee Mxolisi Mkhize said it was worrying that cable thieves had identified load shedding times as an opportunity to vandalise infrastructure. He gave an undertaking that this week they would conduct a site inspection at the affected stations to determine the extent of the damage. According to DA councillor Ross Strachan, the Mayor’s Walk station had been vandalised twice this year, leaving many residents…

It’s high time SA ripped off its myopic Bandaid and acted FROM the very turn of the century, it became clear that because we were in haste to open our gates for all to come into the country, as a gesture of reciprocity to the countries that hosted our exiled compatriots, we were going to reach a boiling point. After 28 years, things have done exactly that. We have repeatedly been advocating for co-operation between and among levels of government, as well as the private sector and civil society, in designing a common approach to the problem of rural-urban migration as well as migration from other countries. This has been accompanied by focused attention on building infrastructure in those locations where people come from, that would hold the people…

The current African champions Senegal will open their World Cup campaign with a daunting challenge against the Netherlands at the Al Thumama Stadium today at 6pm. The biggest stars on the planet have descended on Qatar but some have been relegated to mere supporters of their nations, one of them being inspirational Senegal captain Sadio Mane. The Bayern Munich forward will play no part in the global showpiece after rupturing his right fibula while turning out for his club in the Bundesliga. This means coach Aliou Cisse will have to turn his head to other faces in the changeroom as the Lions of Teranga look to upset the odds against a powerful Dutch team. The 30-year-old Mane’s influence on this Senegalese side can not be understated as he almost single…

Enner Valencia scored a brace to help Ecuador defeat Qatar in the opening game of the Fifa World Cup at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar yesterday. The group A game saw the hosts being dominated by the South Americans, with the match seeing the maiden instance where the opening goal of a World Cup was scored through a penalty kick. Ecuador’s captain Enner Valencia set the World Cup on fire with a goal within three minutes of the football extravaganza kicking off. The striker received the ball off a kick by Felix Torres and headed it into the net, sending the Ecuadorian fans into festivity. However, the celebration was short-lived as the referee ruled the goal as off-side. A VAR check confirmed that the goal was off-side.…