Indholdsfortegnelse for 2023-03-31 i Mercury

Earth Hour is one of the largest environmental demonstrations in which we turn off the lights in our homes and businesses for one hour on Saturday, March 25. This awareness brings millions of people from all over the world together as a symbolic act to raise awareness of the severe consequences of global warming. Switch off your light campaign for one hour this year was a failure. I found nobody observing or supporting the global earth hour campaign. A really sad state of affairs is that we as a society clearly don’t value our “Mother Earth”. Looking around we can see a change in weather patterns and climatic conditions, but we do nothing actively to improve the situation. We only start getting concerned when things reach a crisis point, such…

The DA race for leadership is a fait accompli. It is evident that John Steenhuisen is a giant against the political novice Dr Mpho Phalatse, and raises the question of why the DA would allow such a contestation. However, the answer is twofold. First, having two candidates creates media hype, and journalists who lack knowledge about DA politics will write front-page stories on the internal “battle” for leadership positions. It’s free publicity for the DA, which could help increase their popularity. Second, the DA has to showcase some semblance of having black contenders within the party. The race issue haunts the party after Mmusi Maimane was booted out of the leadership role, and the DA needs to prove that it has diversity within its ranks. While the two reasons may…

FREQUENTLY, I’ve heard versions of “the problem in this… (relationship, family, business, school, church, charity, hospital, whatever) is that there is no communication”. This is usually the mantra of those on the “outside” of the decision-making process. It’s repeated especially when those on the “outside” of decision-making are either supposed to be on the inside, according to their roles, or those who think they should be. There is never “no communication”. Individuals and groups are constantly communicating. The breakdown is often a failure to hear, “read”, discern or believe what it is being communicated. Discerning what is being communicated in a living system, where there is said to be no communication, takes a mix of courage, honesty and risk. It takes the capacity to realise that what is being communicated…

Former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter has indicated his willingness to appear before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) over allegations he made in an eNCA interview last month. Scopa chairperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa said they had received a letter from ANC MP Bheki Hadebe on March 1 requesting the committee urgently invite De Ruyter to provide more information regarding the allegations he made during the eNCA interview that aired on February 23. De Ruyter had alluded to the involvement of ANC officials who are ministers, in the collapse and corruption at the power utility. De Ruyter also stated in that interview that the ANC’s leaders were aware of the corruption at Eskom and that the utility served as the ANC’s “feeding trough”. He claimed criminal syndicates in Mpumalanga were…

A financial manager who defrauded the company she worked for of more than R950 000 has been sent to jail for six years. Samantha Michelle Taggert, 38, was this week convicted in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on 17 counts of fraud. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said Taggert was employed as a financial manager at a company that sells water pumps. She resigned in October 2017 after working there for a year. Her duties, the NPA said, included receiving all electronic and cash payments for the company, making payments to suppliers, as well as making Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and VAT payments to the SA Revenue Service (Sars). “Instead of making those payments, for six months, from February to July 2017, Taggert transferred money meant for…

The National Council of SPCAS (NSPCA) has removed three lions from a property in Randfontein in Gauteng. According to an NSPCA statement, its staff and the Randwest SPCA carried out an inspection at the property and a case was opened by the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for the illegal possession of the lions, which is a contravention of the National Environmental Biodiversity Act and the relevant threatened or protected species regulations. According to the NSPCA, if found guilty, the accused faces a penalty of imprisonment, a fine of up to R10 million, or both. “The keeping of any wild animal in captivity results in the welfare of that animal being compromised. “Wild animals removed from captivity should be afforded the opportunity to either be released safely back…

Ukraine said yesterday that Russian forces had made some gains inside the eastern battlefield city of Bakhmut, but at a heavy price in lives lost that has blunted Moscow’s offensive, as Ukraine prepares a counterstrike of its own. In a potential escalation of Moscow’s diplomatic feud with Washington, Russia’s FSB security service arrested an American reporter for The Wall Street Journal, Evan Gershkovich, on suspicion of spying for the US. The newspaper denied the allegations and demanded the immediate release of its “trusted and dedicated reporter”. There was no immediate response from Washington. A US diplomatic source said the embassy had not been informed about the incident, and was seeking information from the Russian authorities. The small mining city of Bakhmut has been the site of the bloodiest battle in…

Lilongwe: The death toll from Cyclone Freddy in Malawi is slated to surpass 1 200 after authorities said yesterday hundreds of missing people would be declared dead as hopes of finding survivors fade. Freddy dumped six months’ worth of rainfall on southern Malawi in six days earlier this month, triggering floods and mudslides that swept away homes, roads and bridges in a record-breaking deluge. At least 676 people died and 538 are still missing, according to authorities. Yesterday, police said those missing would be presumed dead on completion of rescue operations, ongoing in some areas. The storm killed 165 people in Mozambique and 17 in Madagascar. | AFP…

NEW DELHI: Indian authorities have cancelled or suspended licences of some domestic drug companies as part of action taken against 76 pharmaceutical firms this month for selling adulterated or fake products, a government source said yesterday. India’s pharmaceuticals exports have more than doubled over the past decade to $24.5 billion in 2021-22. But that image has been dented by the death of at least 70 children in Gambia and 19 children in Uzbekistan last year linked to drugs made by India-based pharmaceutical companies. Licences of some Indian drug companies have been cancelled, some were suspended while others have been put on notice. | Reuters…

BERLIN: King Charles III called Russia’s war in Ukraine a threat to Europe’s democratic values in the first speech made by a monarch at the German parliament. Speaking mostly in German, Charles said: “The security of Europe, as well as our democratic values, are under threat. But the world did not stand idly by ... we can draw courage from our unity.” Charles has blood ties to Germany, but the two countries had fought on opposing ends during two devastating world wars. At the Bundestag yesterday, he pointed to how far Britain and his hosts’ country had come in putting behind them their conflict-ridden past, as he underlined the common values they now share. Today, Charles will commemorate victims of allied bombings during World War II in Hamburg. He will…

DOUBLE world champion Max Verstappen admitted yesterday he still wasn’t fully over a stomach bug that hit him hard in Saudi Arabia, but is confident Red Bull will get a result in Australia this weekend. The 25-year-old Dutchman delayed his arrival into Jeddah two weeks ago due to illness and missed the media day before lining up for the first practice session on Friday. He battled through the discomfort to finish the race second behind teammate Sergio Perez after his victory in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix. Verstappen said yesterday the illness was so bad he could “barely walk” ahead of his departure for Jeddah and while better now, was still feeling the effects. “I was at home really ill and I could barely walk around and I felt like…

MOBILE operator MTN SA yesterday outlined how it was investing more than R1.5 billion to strengthen its network’s resilience and customers connected as it battled load shedding, site vandalism and battery theft. The investment will see it installing solar power, batteries, and generators, and enhancing security features at base stations to ensure improved network availability during load shedding, when many instances of theft and vandalism occurred. Statistics showed that bouts of load shedding led to a spike in vandalism and battery or generator theft at network sites. MTN said for instance, during the period of stage 6 load shedding last year there was a major escalation of attacks and tower companies recorded a 250% increase in the loss of generators. Journalists yesterday were taken on a site tour…

POLITICAL experts yesterday said former president Thabo Mbeki’s 17-page letter to ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile, questioning why the party has consistently blocked any parliamentary probe into the Phala Phala scandal, sends a message to its members that they should heed his advice or risk alienating the masses ahead of next year’s elections. Mbeki said he had written to Mashatile because President Cyril Ramaphosa had previously excused himself from “the ANC NEC (national executive committee) when they discussed the Phala Phala matter”. Mbeki, in the letter sent on Wednesday, also warned that the actions of the party would alienate people from the ANC. “To be honest to ourselves, as our Comrade President insisted, we must expect that the already existing gulf between the ANC and the people widened, as the…

The unveiling of a memorial to honour nurses who died during Covid-19 is the country’s fitting tribute to our medical heroes. When the history of our planet is written, after Covid-19 becomes a painful and distant memory, history will record and preserve for posterity the gallant role played by our dedicated health workers in every sphere of health care, our countless volunteers, our teachers, law-enforcement officers and our spiritual leaders who saved the planet from decimation. These fearless men and women showed grit and determination in the face of a ruthless and formidable biological intruder, whose fangs enveloped the planet in an orgy of destruction, unprecedented in the annals of modern human history. They mustered the courage to not let their fear, uncertainty or trepidation stop them or allow them…

TOMORROW is when it all starts happening. The government will announce that load shedding is over; that a top international technical team has been secretly hired to sort out the hassles at Eskom. The problems have been overcome and the power plants are now in full production. Tomorrow the government will announce that the woes of South African Airways have been overcome. The ratio of SAA personnel to aircraft has been satisfactorily adjusted and internal and international flights are to resume, with competitive fares charged. Tomorrow the government will announce a programme to get the railways up and running on all routes so that the major highways are no longer a nightmare of heavy motor vehicles carrying cargo that should go by rail. Tomorrow the mayor of Durban will announce…

ACTING Public Protector advocate Kholeka Gcaleka has warned the government and political parties that her office is non-partisan and its major interest is that of the public it serves. Gcaleka made these comments while addressing the National Press Club in Pretoria this week. Her comments came in the wake of criticism following the publication of her preliminary report on the Phala Phala probe which cleared President Cyril Ramaphosa of any wrongdoing. Gcaleka did not want to be drawn on her findings, saying: “Kindly allow me not to engage on its merits as this matter has not been concluded. It is in the best interest of all of us that we allow due process in the matter, so that whichever finding prevails at its conclusion is able to stand; most importantly,…

Seasoned KwaZulu-Natal government communicator Lennox Mabaso is set to leave his job at the Office of the Premier to join Public Works Minister Sihle Zikalala. Mabaso’s departure, which has not been confirmed by the KZN government, will mark the end of a career that spans more than 20 years in provincial communication circles. While rumours started spreading about his possible move since Zikalala was named as a new Cabinet member a few weeks ago, Mabaso has managed to quietly dodge ongoing questions and speculation about his work. When approached for comment yesterday, he would still not be drawn into discussing his future in the KZN government. “As you know, it is not in my nature to be a subject of news and headlines; as such I will reserve my comment…

Walking 8 000 steps (6.4km) one or two days a week may significantly reduce the risk of an early death, according to a study. While regular exercise is known to lower mortality risk, the study published in the journal Jama Network Open looked at the health benefits of walking intensively only a few days a week. The findings showed that people who walked 8 000 steps or more one or two days a week were 14.9% less likely to die over a 10-year period than those who never reached that mark. For those who walked 8 000 steps or more three to seven days a week, the mortality risk was lower, 16.5%. | IANS…

Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe says the country needs to move away from divisive debates about single energy technologies. Mantashe was speaking at the Mining and Energy Investment Conference in the North West yesterday. The minister said it was time to move away from “frivolous defiance, resistance, and protests” against the development of alternative industries to power the economy, such as the upstream petroleum industry. “Our task as delegates to this conference is to explore ways in which we can attract sustainable investments in South Africa’s mining and energy sectors. During these two days, we expect constructive deliberations from all delegates which must help and encourage us to build a sunrise industry.” Statistics South Africa recently released its key findings for the fourth quarter of 2022, when…

AS WE wrap up Human Rights Month and its activities promoting respect for fundamental human rights and restoring human dignity in line with the Bill of Rights, the sad reality is that our government is violating those very same rights every time there is load shedding. Human Rights Day urges South Africans to remember the struggles and sacrifices made for democracy and the protection of human rights in the country. It commemorates the tragic events of March 21, 1960, when 69 peaceful protesters against the pass laws were killed and 180 wounded by police in the Sharpeville Massacre. Yet, human rights violations against the most vulnerable and marginalised can still be seen at every turn. The right to electricity, albeit not expressed in the Constitution, is a condition for the…

Sporadic violence broke out in Kenya yesterday, the third day of opposition demonstrations to protest against the government and the high cost of living. Security was tight, with police in riot gear patrolling the capital, Nairobi, after fierce clashes had erupted during similar protests on Monday. Yesterday, dozens of people in the Nairobi suburbs of Mathare and Kibera engaged police in running battles, throwing rocks and burning tyres, while officers responded with tear gas. In opposition leader Raila Odinga’s lakeside bastions of Kisumu and Homa Bay in western Kenya, protesters hurled rocks at police and lit bonfires in the middle of the road. Odinga has called for protests every Monday and Thursday, accusing President William Ruto of stealing last year’s election and of failing to control the surging cost of…

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday sought to rally citizens around a plan to save water and stressed that protests will not stop reforms, in a nod to both climate change and an unpopular pension bill. The water-saving plan includes 50 measures, such as fixing leaking pipes, adapting the way farmers and the nuclear industry use water and making water more expensive for those who use a lot. He was welcomed in Savines-le-Lac in the Alps by groups of protesters angry with the bill, which raises the pension age by two years. Macron said protests would not stop him from adopting new policies. | Reuters…

Brazil’s far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro returned from three months in the US yesterday, welcomed back by hundreds of chanting supporters at the Brasilia airport before heading straight into meetings with his political party. Bolsonaro, who never formally conceded defeat in last year’s election, has vowed to lead the opposition to leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, raising the stakes for the new government after a highly polarised election. Supporters with Brazil flags sang the national anthem and chanted “legend” at the arrivals area of the airport, amid tight security. Bolsonaro left for the US two days before he was due to hand over the presidential sash to Lula on January 1. He said he needed rest, but critics say he was avoiding the risks of over a dozen…

The offshore fishing has been decent, with most boats seeing a need for a gaff. Tuna, daga and everything in-between. There have been some good catches of snoek along the colour lines in the north. Fillet baits have continued to produce the goods, with both standard Natal sardine and Japanese mackerel fillets working well. The bottom fishing has also been particularly good up north with all of the reefs seeing a mix of species. A general trace would consist of two smaller hooks at the top with a bigger hook at the bottom. This trace allows you to target the smaller reds with the top hooks and rock cod and the likes at the bottom. The Durban area has seen some good tuna for the guys running out to the…

Through hard work and dedication, a 10-year-old girl from Durban has quickly moved up the ranks and reached expert level in the Kyokushin Kai style of karate by receiving her black belt. Khiyara Maria Seedat was awarded her black belt at Jogie’s Dojo, in Greenwood Park, on March 19. She was graded by three experienced martial artists, Kancho Alex Tebutt (10th Dan Karate Grand Master), Shihan Abdul Latiff Jogie (7th Dan Karate Master) and her father and Shihan Ahmed Shaheen Seedat (5th Dan Karate Master), who received his black belt at the age of 22. The grading involved a two-hour written exam on March 17, on the history of Kyokushin karate, Japanese terminology, refereeing coursework and different karate techniques in Japanese. Khiyara Maria said that on March 18 she completed…

When a judge sentences a notorious criminal like Thabo Bester to a lengthy jail term, a murmur goes up in court: “he deserves it” and “let him rot in jail”. Everyone, except, maybe his family, heaves a sigh of relief that the convicted criminal will be safely behind bars and they will see the last of him. But it’s not always the case as Thabo Bester has shown us. The “Facebook Rapist” has shown the country life in prison is not the hell we believe it to be. Prison does not mean the end of the world for many prisoners. Physically confined they may be, but those who have the means and their wits about them lead normal, comfortable lives in prison and are even able to communicate with the…

While we bemoan the sorry state of so many aspects our country at present, we should spare a thought for the worsening state of the bigger picture. Not only have homo sapiens brought the state of the planet to the precipice of an environmental crisis, threatening the very air that we breathe, but now we are galloping towards a frightening scenario where artificial intelligence is about to run out of control, with catastrophic possibilities. Even the very hi-tech intelligencia who are the architects of this phenomenon are warning that it is on the verge of running out of control without the appropriate controls in place. But we, as humans, are too selfish, greedy, stupid to control the environmental issues we are confronting, so how are going to control AI? Are…

MINISTER Naledi Pandor is getting excited at the prospect of a visit from Vladimir Putin’s entourage at the up-coming BRICS congress. It is interesting to note Peter Ustinov’s comments on the Russian psyche, he being part Russian himself. These comments are quoted in The Gift of Laughter, a book by John Miller. “The Russians are deeply attached to their miseries as well as to their joys. Their literature and music have made an artistic pleasure of sadness. The well of melancholy is bottomless, and laughter is a close relative of tears… “It is the only country in the world where a policeman will write out a ticket for a dirty car. What is this, if not one of the many efforts to eliminate an age-old tendency towards sloth and idleness…

The IFP has defended its stance of questioning some of the decisions adopted by the eThekwini Council, saying its actions were in line with its principles of good governance. The IFP, in a statement, explained that it had walked out of a council meeting after the council speaker, Thabani Nyawose, “failed to manage proceedings in an impartial and unbiased manner”. The party also called on the Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC to investigate the speaker’s conduct. “We also reserve our right to explore legal recourse in light of today’s proceedings.” During the meeting, Nyawose insisted that his conduct was in line with ensuring that there was order during the sitting. “My responsibility is to lead the council, I am not like you and cannot behave like you. I am…

An 84-year-old woman was found dead in her bed in Folweni, south of Durban, on Wednesday. The woman’s body was discovered in the early hours in Folweni A Section. It is alleged Beauty Mkhize had been sleeping in her bedroom when she came under fire. According to the Department of Social Development, it is alleged that her assailants shot the deceased with a 9mm pistol through a window they had opened. The department said it was reported that other occupants of the house heard the gunshots, but were not aware where they were coming from. The next morning they found that Mkhize had been killed. KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Nqobile Gwala confirmed that Folweni police were investigating a murder case following an incident where an 84-year-old woman was fatally shot…

Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane said a reasonable person would never think that she had concealed the Inspector-General of Intelligence (IGI) report into the so-called rogue unit when she was investigating the affairs of the SA Revenue Service. Mkhwebane said she did not understand why people would come to such a conclusion – that she concealed the possession of a report that was dropped anonymously at her office. “A reasonable person will never think like that,” she said. Mkhwebane was testifying in the Section 194 inquiry into her fitness to hold office this week. Her legal counsel, advocate Dali Mpofu, asked her about the key source documents used in compiling the investigative report and the claims that she had concealed information about being in possession of the IGI report. In her…

He is the only hope for crafting a new vision – may this chance not be wasted IF RADICAL change is to take place in the administration of the Ingonyama Trust Land that will be truly transformational, certain critical and strategic elements must be an integral part of the decree/blueprint to emanate from Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini, building upon the foundational principles alluded to in a previous article, as part of the advice to the king. There are layers and layers of leaders who stand between the king and the general populace. Their thoughts, words, attitudes, especially about money and other resources, their attitudes towards women, orphans, widows and strangers, affect the people and how they in turn perceive the king. Up to the present time, especially when it comes…

MANILA: Philippine rescuers searched the smouldering ruins of a burnt-out ferry yesterday for any survivors or more victims of a fire that swept though the inter-island vessel killing 31 people, including a 6-month-old baby, authorities said. Investigators have yet to identify the cause of the fire that started on Wednesday off the southern island of Basilan, when many passengers were asleep in air-conditioned cabins on the ferry’s lower deck. The coast guard said 225 people including 36 crew were rescued. Eleven people, including three children, drowned after jumping off the burning ship, while 18 died in the blaze on board, officials said. The Philippines has a poor record for maritime safety. | Reuters…

Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will lead a panel of experts to reverse the country’s critical decline in birthrate, which dropped in 2022 to its lowest level since 1998, reports said yesterday. A policy to provide more support for parents, including raising child-rearing allocations and easing outlays on higher education borne by parents, will be compiled. According to recent statistics from the Health Ministry, the birthrate in Japan last year plummeted to a record low since 1889, with the number of newborns dropping 5.1% from the previous year to 799 728. The falling birthrate and rapidly ageing population are hollowing out Japan’s taxpaying labour force. | IANS…

Pope Francis’s health is improving after he was hospitalised with a respiratory infection, and he has resumed working while treatment continues, the Vatican said yesterday. The pope was unexpectedly taken to hospital on Wednesday after complaining of breathing difficulties, raising fresh concerns over the health of the 86-year-old pontiff, who is suffering from a number of ailments. “His Holiness Pope Francis rested well during the night. His clinical picture is gradually improving and he is continuing his planned treatment,” Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said. “This morning, after breakfast, he read some newspapers and resumed work.” Indicating that Francis was not confined to his bed, the statement said he had prayed in the small chapel within his private hospital suite. “I am touched by the many messages received in these hours…