Indholdsfortegnelse for 2023-02-27 i Mercury

FORMER colleagues and comrades have described uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) operative Rafiq Rohan as a committed South African who gave up a life of comfort to fight for the Struggle. Rohan, a former journalist at Independent Newspapers in the 1980s and 2000s, and later other media including The Sowetan, Al Jazeera and the Government Communications and Information System (GCIS) was found dead in his Durban flat over the weekend. He was recruited to the ranks of the MK while covering the funeral of ANC and SACP leader Moses Mabhida in Mozambique in 1986 and became part of special operations known only by top leaders, including ANC President Oliver Tambo. Rohan was one of the last group of political prisoners to be released from Robben Island. Fellow MK operative Greta Apelgren…

Former Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter’s disclosures on eNCA of the alleged criminal extent of corruption operating within Eskom confirm that under the ANC, South Africa has not only become a failed state but also a mafia state (Business Report, February 24). De Ruyter made reference to four highly organised, sophisticated crime cartels that allegedly control the coal supply to power stations. He noted that they have well-armed hit squads, eliminate opposition at will and operate as a mafia. He observed that crime and corruption is hierarchical and deeply entrenched. Deliberate, on-going sabotage of equipment ensures that those with maintenance contracts are kept busy and fraudulently rewarded exorbitant sums for their labours. De Ruyter also pointed out an unnamed big wheel politician had shamelessly claimed Eskom was a feeding trough…

CAN our esteemed minister of Public Enterprises enlighten the public taxpayer – numbers of which are dimin ishing – of the latest status on the SAA privatisation deal? Reliable sources tell me that this deal has fallen in the gutter, so to speak, with some major players washing their hands of any involvement. There seems to be a total block-out on what is happening with this deal. Has there been a gag placed on this matter? Why are the taxpayers not being told what is happening? The minister, by his secret actions and non-actions, has created an aura for himself which does not bode well, it gives off numerous negative vibes of many items that have been hidden from the public domain – just like the latest on SAA. All…

While rare diseases may not take centre stage, like illnesses such as tuberculosis and diabetes, with 1 in five South Africans living with a rare disease, organisations and patients have pleaded for better access to medical treatment. There are about 3.7 million South Africans reportedly living with one of 7 000 rare diseases, according to organisations assisting those living with such illnesses. The organisations were commenting ahead of Rare Diseases Day tomorrow. The day is marked to raise awareness about these diseases. Patients and experts who attended a webinar hosted by non-profit organisation Rare Diseases South Africa and Takeda pharmaceutical highlighted how the biggest struggle for patients with rare diseases was access to treatment, as not only were rare diseases usually not covered by medical aid schemes, but the treatment…

Two men who brutally murdered a teacher four years ago have been handed life sentences. Sifiso Mhlongo, 26, and Sabelo Mhlongo, 22, were sentenced in the Mtunzini High Court for the kidnapping and murder of Vusimuzi Mlaba, 60. Mlaba, a high-school teacher, was killed in Eshowe in July 2019. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said the teacher lived alone and prior to the incident the Mhlongos had planned to rob him. “That evening they went to his house and found the door open,” said NPA spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara. “They went in and demanded his belongings, taking his wallet, cellphone and cash. They put him into the boot of his car and drove to the sugar mill area. There, they took him out of the car boot and into the forest…

Fuel prices are expected to rise on Wednesday due to a weaker rand and the higher price of Brent crude oil. This according to the AA and economists who spoke to The Mercury yesterday. AA spokesperson Layton Beard said current unaudited fuel data from the Central Energy Fund showed increases in fuel prices were likely in March. “According to the data, 93 ULP and 95 ULP petrol are expected to climb by between R1.22/litre and R1.27/l, diesel is expected to increase by around 28 cents a litre and illuminating paraffin is expected to be 16c/l more expensive in the new month.” Beard said, based on these numbers, a litre of 95 ULP inland would climb from its current level of R21.68/l to R22.90/l, while the price at the coast would…

Godongwana’s playbook frugal in problem solving IT’S official! Budget 2023 presented to Parliament by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana last Wednesday is “not an austerity budget”. South Africans can breathe a sigh of relief or agree to disagree with the minister. But it either reflects the disconnect between the Ramaphosa administration and vast swathes of the electorate, or it marks the transformation of the minister from a frustrated technocrat and pragmatist largely in tune with the prevailing market economic orthodoxy and fiscal discipline to a trapeze artist on the highwire in Circus ANC’s dysfunctional economic stewardship desperately feigning a balancing act trying to mitigate crises and promising hope. Millions of compatriots – whether individuals or businesses – know the reality of their daily lives exacerbated by a cost-of-living crisis. This is…

At least four Yemeni soldiers have been killed in clashes with Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the war-torn country’s north. “Four soldiers were killed on Saturday evening in the south of Harib district in Marib province in a “surprise attack”, a military official said. Several other soldiers were wounded in the fighting, which ended hours after the initial Houthi attack on government positions in Harib. Flare-ups between Houthi rebels and the Saudi-backed Yemeni forces are common in Marib – the government’s last northern stronghold. A Saudi-led military coalition intervened in 2015 to back the government after the Houthis seized control of the capital Sana’a and large swathes of the country. | AFP…

Nigeria was counting ballots yesterday, a day after a historically tight presidential election that has energised Africa’s most populous nation, where many long for change. The vote was mostly peaceful despite some cases of violence, delays and technical glitches, and citizens stayed up late at night in many locations to observe the count and “protect” the ballots. The slow uploading of results online was starting to stir up fears of electoral malpractice in a country with a history of vote rigging. Nearly 90 million voters were eligible to vote on Saturday for a successor to President Muhammadu Buhari, who is stepping down after two terms marked by worsening security and growing poverty. The election pits former Lagos governor Bola Tinubu, 70, of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) against an…

More than 50 people have died and more than 80 have survived a migrant boat wreck in southern Italy, a spokesperson for the Italian firefighters’ service said yesterday. The tragedy took place near Steccato di Cutro, a seaside resort on the eastern coast of Calabria, the region that forms the tip of Italy’s boot. The death toll “has surpassed 50”, Danilo Maida, spokesperson for the firefighters’ service in Calabria said, adding that the count was provisional. Firefighters and other emergency services were looking for more survivors at sea, but conditions were harsh, making the search difficult, he added. Earlier, Italian news agency Ansa reported that 27 bodies were found on the beach, and that more bodies were spotted at sea. “It is a huge tragedy which shows the absolute need…

TOTTENHAM Hotspur heaped more pressure on under-fire Chelsea manager Graham Potter as goals from Oliver Skipp and Harry Kane earned Spurs a 2-0 win yesterday. Victory consolidates Tottenham’s place in the Premier League top four as they opened up a four-point lead over fifth-placed Newcastle United, although the Magpies have two games in hand. Chelsea remain 10th with their chances of Champions League football next season now seemingly dependent on an unlikely run to win the European Cup for a third time. Despite splashing over £500million on new players this season, Potter’s team have now won just twice in 15 games in all competitions. The former Brighton & Hove Albion boss spoke last week of the mental toll that run has taken as he has had to deal with abuse…

ANC MK veterans attending an event to mark the 42nd anniversary of the Matola raid say recent problems, including the decline in the quality of service from the government, including load shedding, demand a stronger social movement to deal with the challenge. Matola, in Mozambique, had been a base for MK operatives and was attacked by apartheid special forces in the early hours of January 30, 1981, leaving 15 operatives, including Krishna Rabilal, dead. The other operatives killed were Mduduzi Guma, Lancelot Hadebe, Mandla Daka, Daniel Molokisi, Steven Ngcobo, Vusumzi Ngwema, Thabang Bookolane, Themba Dimba, William Khanyile, Motso “Obadi” Mokgabudi, Collin Khumalo, Levinson Mankankaza, Albert Mahutso and Felix Magubane. Vuyani Mavuso, who was kidnapped during the raid, was later executed. Yesterday, the Krishna Rabilal Foundation hosted an event to…

I recently attempted to carry out a routine payment using my laptop, only to be met by a new banking screen requiring that I enter my card number, which I thought was odd, but within the realms of the many “new” banking requirements to which we are all being subjected. However, when I was required to enter my PIN, all my hackles rose. We have, after all, been warned never to divulge our PINs (“your bank will never ask for your PIN”). I immediately contacted the bank fraud line, who promptly blocked my cards and connected me to the internet division of the bank, where I was informed that this procedure was part of a new security system check. The logic of this approach escapes me completely, coming as it…

PUBLIC Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, are you listening to what ordinary South Africans are thinking and saying? Act in the interests of the country, and not your party – please. When Abraham Lincoln famously observed: “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all of the time,” he may very well have been speaking about present-day South Africa and the current crop of ANC governors, yourself included. The majority of South Africans wither in poverty and unemployment, resorting to crime in some cases to eke out a living – of course, crime is also big business in our country, fomented by the lack of capability by your government to rein in…

THE trustees of a retirement fund are not bound by the wishes of the holder as to who should receive the money – even if the deceased stipulated the wishes on the beneficiary nomination form. This was confirmed by the High Court in Durban when the customary law wife of a deceased complained that she and her husband’s common-law wife each received 40% of the pension payout of the deceased. Also, two of the deceased’s adult children from another relationship were each also earmarked by the fund to receive money, while a minor child from yet another relationship was due to also receive a portion. The parties are not iden- tified because a minor child is involved. The customary wife turned to the court to have the decision by the…

The Pietermaritzburg High Court has ruled that a special council sitting where new leadership was elected in Nongoma Municipality was invalid. In the sitting last week, the IFP mayor Albert Mncwango in Nongoma was ousted as the ANC, NFP and EFF voted together to elect new leadership. The ANC and EFF recently announced that it was in a working relationship in KwaZulu-Natal councils. The IFP’s chairperson in KZN, Thami Ntuli, said in a statement that on Friday the high court ruled that the sitting, which was convened by Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) officials as tasked by MEC Bongi Sithole-Moloi, was invalid. The matter was taken to the high court by the municipality, together with Mncwango and others including Speaker Prince Bheki Zulu, who had also been removed from…

UMhlathuze Municipality has urged the public not to swim at a makeshift “dam” that has been created at an abandoned quarry mine in Nseleni, Empangeni, following the drowning of two people on Saturday night. The two drownings at the weekend bring the total drownings at the dam to three. Ndoda Manqele, 42, drowned while swimming at the dam in January. City of uMhlathuze mayor Xolani Ngwezi confirmed the latest drowning incidents at the dam in a statement. “A male in his early thirties nearly drowned on Saturday evening and was assisted by community members at the dam who rushed him to Nseleni Clinic. He died at the clinic. “A 47-year-old male drowned on Saturday evening and our rescue services team retrieved the body on Sunday morning at about 9am.” Ngwezi…

THE ANC’s attack on sacked Eskom chief executive André de Ruyter was rather surprising for a party that has defended him so fiercely even when his failures were there for all to see. It’s perhaps hypocritical that some senior ANC members went after him only after he spoke of alleged interference, suggesting malfeasance on the part of unnamed ANC ministers. What De Ruyter disclosed in an interview with news channel eNCA is hardly new; he merely confirmed what many knew was the case. Can the ANC genuinely think that its attacks on De Ruyter are legitimate when it turned a blind eye to his controversial comments that Eskom was “a dead horse”? The party needs to look no further to direct its anger. It was its current president, Cyril Ramaphosa,…

LONDON: Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab yesterday said he was hopeful for good news within days, not weeks, on a deal with the EU to resolve problems with post-Brexit trading rules that are applied to Northern Ireland. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told the Sunday Times he was “giving it everything” to get a deal done. As part of Brexit, Britain reached an accord with Brussels known as the Northern Ireland Protocol to avoid imposing checks along the 500km land border with Ireland. But this created a border in the Irish Sea for some goods moving from Britain because it kept Northern Ireland in the EU, disrupting trade and exposing fault lines in Sunak’s Conservative Party. | Reuters…

PARIS: French defence and technology group Thales plans to hire 12 000 new staff this year as there is strong demand across its product range, CEO Patrice Caine told French weekly Le Journal du Dimanche. He said that over the past eight years Thales, which has total staff of 80 000 of which 40 000 in France, had recruited 5 000 to 8 000 people a year . Last year it had hired 11 500 new staff. Caine said that all the firm’s activities – defence and security, aeronautics and space, identity and digital security, were growing strongly. Caine said France would deliver its Ground Master 200 radar air defence system to Ukraine in May. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, shares of…

Three hostages were freed in Papua New Guinea yesterday after a tense week of negotiations between police and armed kidnappers in the country’s rugged highlands. New Zealand archaeologist Professor Bryce Barker and his two Papua New Guinean colleagues were seen walking across the tarmac alongside police at Port Moresby’s airport after officials announced their safe release. Barker – a professor at Australia’s University of Southern Queensland – and the two women were taken hostage at gunpoint last Sunday in a remote and densely forested region. Earlier last week, the captors released another woman who was also part of the group of academics working in the area when they were kidnapped. Police had been negotiating with the hostage takers, who initially demanded a ransom of $1 million (about 18m). Australian Foreign…

PROVINCIAL chairperson of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal, Siboniso Duma, has called on the SAPS to consider rotating police officers to different areas to prevent them from becoming involved in criminal activities. Duma said community complaints about police revealed that some officers worked in one area for long periods and got involved in criminal activity there. He was addressing ANC members during the provincial lekgotla yesterday. During his address, he covered many topics, including crime, accountability in governance and unity within the party. The crime statistics released recently by Police Minister Bheki Cele showed that in the period from October 1 to December 31 last year, most crime categories had shown an increase in the province. Murder cases rose by 8.3%, rape was up by 13.3% and hijackings up by 19.8%.…

An affidavit by former Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter, whose recent allegations about the ANC has sparked huge debate, shows the debilitating effect of corruption on the state-owned entity. This is according to ActionSA, which along with the UDM and 17 others, has lodged a court application that seeks to declare that the ANC-led government’s response to load shedding is unconstitutional and breaches several human rights. ActionSA said the affidavit filed by De Ruyter in response to the case showed that the decisions of the ANC-led government – from as far back as 1998 – were directly to blame for the state of load shedding in South Africa. In the 153-page affidavit, De Ruyter goes into detail about the load-shedding crisis and Eskom’s plans to address it, the historical and…

Our beleaguered nation is in critical mode, maintained by artificial respiration, as normalcy rapidly fades into oblivion. South Africa is now in a hospice situation. Over the past 20 years, leaders from all walks of life have warned us that South Africa is becoming a powder keg that could erupt with volcanic fury, decimating every aspect of normality in a country that is horrendously imbalanced in every facet of life. The latest warning comes from Busisiwe Mavuso of Business Leadership South Africa. Her stark prediction forecasts the kind of mayhem that saw change in Egypt and Tunisia in 2011, which could become a reality in trouble-torn and lawless South Africa. We grimly witnessed shattering events in July 2021 that almost destroyed our rainbow nation in an orgy of grotesque violence…

A MYSTERIOUS large metal ball has washed up on a beach in Japan, baffling the authorities and residents. The object's appearance on the coastline of Hamamatsu city prompted the police to call out the bomb squad, according to Sky News, but close examination showed there was no threat. X-rays revealed the ball to be hollow and fears that it was a stray mine were quickly dismissed. The ball has a diameter of about 1.5m and washed up on Enshu beach. Explosives experts in protective clothing carried out their assessment while a large surrounding area was closed off. Thought to be iron, the ball has a rusty appearance. Speculation on social media suggested that it had come from space and questioned whether it was not perhaps another type of surveillance balloon.…

Political parties have expressed dissatisfaction with the time frame to restore Parliament to its former glory. Last week Parliament unpacked its plans to refurbish the fire-damaged parts of the precinct. DA chief whip Siviwe Gwarube expressed dissatisfaction at this announcement, and said the 24-month turnaround plan was not to be celebrated. “The DA has noted the announcement made by the secretary to Parliament, Xolile George, that Parliament has finally decided to begin the rebuilding process. While this was dubbed as a milestone, it is hardly something we can applaud when the fire took place over a year ago,” she said. “To announce that the rubble will now be cleared and rebuilding will start is an expected move, considering that the R2 billion for this project was allocated by the Treasury…

AS many schools in the country continue to grapple with overcrowding, which has led to high teacher-pupil ratios, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga is hoping to open up about 16 000 more teacher posts. Motshekga said the Department of Basic Education (DBE) had approached the Cabinet to request support to add the posts as soon as possible. “This is to focus on the reduction of teacher-learner ratios both in public ordinary schools and special schools and address additional needs due to curriculum reforms. “Cabinet has since referred the request to the Minister’s Committee on the Budget (MINCOMBUD) to process,” she said. This came to light in a parliamentary response to IFP MP Siphosethu Ngcobo who had expressed concern about the employment of fewer graduates, overcrowding and the looming retirement of…

Given the important role of the media, it has become increasingly risky for journalists and media owners in an environment that is fuelled by propaganda and a penchant to suppress alternative viewpoints. This worrying trend cannot be allowed to continue. It poses an existential threat to the already frayed fibres of our democratic order. It is no secret that the media industry in South Africa remains largely untransformed. Many media owners in South Africa enjoy wealth and influence that was built on sturdy support from the apartheid state. Today they enjoy the benefits of their role in one of the most diabolical crimes against humanity. Of more concern, however, is the fact that many of these media houses are now funded by capitalist interests with frighteningly close proximity to the…

HONG Kong police said yesterday they had charged three people in connection with the murder of 28-year-old model Abby Choi, whose legs were found in a refrigerator in a house on the city’s outskirts along with tools used for dismembering bodies. Police found some of Choi’s remains on Friday but have yet to locate her head and upper body. They also found a meat slicer and an electric saw at the scene in the financial hub’s rural Tai Po district, according to a police statement. The gruesome murder of local influencer Choi, who recently appeared on the digital cover of L’Officiel Monaco fashion magazine, has gripped local tabloids as authorities search for the remaining parts of her body. | Reuters…

Washington: A medical transport plane crashed in the western US state of Nevada, killing all five on board. The plane went off radar on Friday night outside the town of Stagecoach, near Nevada’s border with California, REMSA Health said. “We have received confirmation from Central Lyon County Fire Department that none of the people on board survived.” In addition to the pilot, the plane was carrying a nurse, a paramedic, a patient and a patient’s family member. The crash occurred as a major winter storm pummels the US west coast, delivering metres of snow. Almost 100 000 customers in California were without power on Saturday night. | AFP…

Jordan yesterday hosted a meeting between top Israeli and Palestinian officials aiming to halt surging violence, as Washington and its Arab allies seek to defuse tensions fuelling concern of a wider escalation. The discussions are part of stepped-up Jordanian diplomacy with Washington and Egypt to put the brakes on one of the worst surges in violence in years, with concern building of further escalation as the holy Muslim month of Ramadaan approaches. The meeting at the Red Sea port of Aqaba brought together top Israeli and Palestinian security chiefs for the first time in years, officials said, aiming to restore calm in Israel, the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip. US President Joe Biden’s Middle East adviser Brett McGurk is attending, along with Jordanian and Egyptian officials. Underlining the…

SHUKRI Conrad and Temba Bavuma have an opportunity to establish their team’s identity and to also test out player combinations during the two-match Test series against the West Indies. In less than 24 hours, South Africa take on the West Indies in the first Test at Centurion. The Proteas do not have much of a chance as far as the ICC World Test Championship is concerned after they lost two Test series away from home. Like the England Test team did last year, SA now have an opportunity to start building a side while keeping an eye on the next cycle of the Test Championship. The first step for the Bavuma-led team is to establish an identity and style of play. Too many times in recent Tests, the Proteas…