Indholdsfortegnelse for 2023-09-29 i Mercury

THE Department of Justice and Correctional Services says it is waiting for vital information from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on why a February extradition request for Atul and Rajesh Gupta was denied, before it submits a new request. The brothers were arrested in Dubai after the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) last year issued a red notice alert for members of the family in connection with money laundering charges. Atul and Rajesh are facing allegations of looting billions of rand through state capture. The brothers deny any wrongdoing and have fought the application of red notices issued by Interpol. They say they are victims of a political witch-hunt in South Africa. In February, the UAE court turned down the extradition request as the court found that on the charge…

THE dictators of the world unleash untold horror; some of the politicians are not much better; public corruption seems to outpace honesty; much of the world is a mess. Yet nature’s cycles persevere. It’s encouraging. I throw birdseed on my front lawn and am highly entertained by the antics of not just the feeding birds but of the striped field mice who join them. Then, a few days ago, I saw a most extraordinary bird among the feeders. I had never seen anything like it before. A small bird, he had the drab feathering of a sparrow and a brown beak. But he also had a long tail, in the same drab feathering. Quite extraordinary. What kind of bird could this be? Eventually he flew off. It puzzled me greatly.…

Former Richmond mayor, Andrew Ragavaloo, passed away. Humanity will remember him as a brave leader who fought for equality and negotiated an end to the deadly political war in the Richmond area. We need more leaders like him. We sadly live in an era where some leaders use force as an instrument of their political policy posture. As a talented educationalist, his contribution to educating generations of students will be his legacy for many decades to come. As a dedicated and disciplined member of the ANC, his immense and vast contributions for decades to his people and his party will be recorded and remembered for posterity. His profound statements on peace were clear: war destroys and disrupts, peace builds and strengthens as well as restores. It was his noble mission…

People who take advantage of victims after road accidents or hijackings by stealing from them could face harsh sentences if prosecuted in a court of law. This is according to Gareth Newham, head of the Justice and Violence Prevention Programme at the Institute for Security Studies. Newham was speaking after two people were robbed while still trapped in the wreckage of their overturned vehicle after an accident in Verulam, north of Durban, on Wednesday. “It is a crime to steal from an accident scene and if arrested and prosecuted, the perpetrators could face harsher sentences than if they had shoplifted or stolen goods in another circumstance. “This is particularly so if a prosecutor argues in aggravation of sentencing that the perpetrators not only failed to assist those that might be…

The South African Property Owners’ Association (Sapoa) says the legal battle with the eThekwini Municipality over the rates charged on vacant land is far from over. The matter relates to the property rates increases that came into effect on vacant land in the 2022 financial year where the council took a decision to increase the rates randage by 100% for vacant land, and it escalated from 5.8966 cents to 11.7932 cents in the rand. In a statement yesterday, the association said while the interdict application had not gone in its favour, it had launched a two-pronged application; the first part being the interdict application, and the second part being the judicial review of the impugned decisions regarding the increases. It said the judicial review was still pending. “It was only…

Concept perfected over the past 10 years under President Xi’s guidance This year marks the 10th anniversary of Chinese president Xi Jinping’s proposal to build a global community of shared future. Ten years ago, faced with the profound global, historical and epochal question of “what’s wrong with the world and what should we do about”, President Xi presented his broad strategic vision, excellent political wisdom and strong sense of mission as a leader of a major country and party. He creatively proposed to build a global community of shared future, pointing out the correct direction for world development at a historical turning point, and facilitating strong consensus for international cooperation at a time of turmoil and chaos. Recently, China’s State Council Information Office released a white paper titled “A Global…

The reintroduction of Handré Pollard into the starting XV of the Springboks for their Rugby World Cup clash versus Tonga this weekend will surely have many pundits and supporters crooning happily. Pollard has become something of the golden boy of South African rugby, compounded by the kicking woes suffered by Manie Libbok in recent matches. There is no getting around the fact that Libbok’s kicking at poles has been woefully short of the required standard. Indeed, according to Ultimate Rugby, it stands at a distressing 38% in France. To be considered a sure bet in that department, a Test match kicker’s accuracy should be at least over 75%, preferably over the 80%. Libbok’s inability to slot over crucial points certainly played a major role in the most recent loss to…

Israel reopened crossing points with Gaza yesterday, allowing thousands of Palestinian workers to get to their jobs in Israel and the West Bank, after nearly two weeks of closure prompted by violent protests along the border. Around 18 000 Gazans have permits from Israeli authorities to work outside the blockaded enclave, providing an injection of cash amounting to some $2 million a day to the impoverished territory’s economy. The move comes amid stepped-up international efforts by Egypt and the UN to defuse tensions and prevent a new round of armed conflict in the enclave. For around two weeks, protesters throwing stones and explosive devices have faced off against Israeli troops who have responded with live fire, killing at least one man and wounding dozens more. Desperate to go back to…

Madrid: A 14-year-old stabbed three teachers and two pupils in a school in Spain yesterday, sparking soul-searching in a country where violent crime is fairly rare. The boy, who has not been named, allegedly stabbed them after classes started at the school in Jerez de la Frontera in the southern Andalusia region, police said. Four of the injured were treated in hospital, including a teacher who will need surgery to her eye after being stabbed by the pupil, the regional government’s eduction minister, Patricia del Pozo, said Learners said the pupil first stabbed members of his class and the teacher, who suffered the eye injury, before he ran to another classroom and continued his attack. | AFP…

NZL Women 253 all out : Amelia Kerr 88, Green 43; Mlaba 3/41, De Klerk 3/44 SA Women 257/3: Wolvaardt 124*, Luus 53; Tahuhu 2/40, Rowe 1/32 Laura Wolvaardt played a captain’s knock yesterday to lead the Proteas women to a seven-wicket victory over their New Zealand counterparts, a victory that secured the series 2-0 in their favour with one game remaining. Wolvaardt struck 15 fours on her way to a fourth career century - an unbeaten 124 off 141 deliveries - that also etched her name in the history books as the first South Africa women player to score more than three ODI Centuries. Wolvaardt (24) has scored 30 half-centuries in her ODI career to go with her latest milestone. “It’s very special to have that stat. When it’s…

Springbok fans can expect their team to take out their frustrations from the Ireland game when they play Tonga on Sunday in their final Pool B game, according to scrum coach Daan Human. The Boks appeared to have an upper hand over the Ireland pack in the set scrums, courtesy of their famous 7-1 bench split, but referee Ben O’Keefe did not reward the South African dominance. There were occasions where Bok tighthead Frans Malherbe appeared to slip on the slippery turf resulting in penalties while the Irish were also awarded penalties when it seemed that they could not take the pressure. “Some areas of the field were wet when we played Ireland and one of the penalties we gave away was because Frans slipped,” Human said. “That’s something we…

TRELLIDOR Holdings’ share price slumped 12.94% to close at R1.75 on the JSE yesterday after reporting a weak financial performance for the year to June 30 and warning that it had potentially breached its debt covenants. Its audit committee said in its report that a profit improvement strategy would also help ensure “the current breached covenants are regularised”. This strategy included addressing factors that impacted the financial performance in the second half of its 2023 financial year, including product positioning and price reviews through the 2024 year, and the fulfilment of a significant manufacture and supply contract of roller shutters in the UK. Other aspects of the strategy included containing overhead costs in line with inflation through 2024, after the investment in selling capacity in 2023, while the board had…

The Anglican Church of Southern Africa (Acsa)’s Provincial Standing Committee has resolved to declare Israel an apartheid state. The annual meeting presided over by Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town Thabo Makgoba on Wednesday, saw a resolution on the matter passed without any opposing votes. The resolution endorsed a decision by the National Executive Committee of the South African Council of Churches to declare Israel an apartheid state. Makgoba said: “As people of faith who are distressed by the pain of the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza – and who long for security and a just peace for both Palestine and Israel – we can no longer ignore the realities on the ground. We are opposed not to the Jewish people, but to the policies of Israelis’ governments, which…

JANET longs to hear from her grandchildren who live in another country. She watches the time, calculates the time difference and hopes the children will tell their mom they’d like to say goodnight to grandma before they go to sleep. When this does happen, everything feels right in Janet’s world. Janet resists making contact too often, she thinks it will annoy her daughter and son-in-law, which is the last thing she’d want to do. Janet has never revealed to anyone how painful the move of part of her family overseas was for her, afraid it would make them feel guilty. When there has been limited contact or if a conversation ends abruptly, Janet has disturbed nights. Her thinking takes off and she imagines all kinds of dangers and feels all…

Have you seen the new trains? I saw them a few weeks back at Cato Ridge. As a train lover, I was excited. The blue-and-white trains are beautiful, a big improvement on the drab, dirty, yellowish trains. At last, I thought to myself, we have First World trains in our country. Prasa has been testing the new trains in Durban. They are already in service on the KwaMashu corridor, inland to Cato Ridge and on the South Coast line to Umbogintwini. Prasa hopes to roll out its state-of-the art trains to Crossmoor and Pinelands once these lines have been restored after the extensive theft and vandalism during the Covid-19 lockdown. Sleek, modern and fast, the new trains have several features for the safety and comfort of the passengers. They have…

Potholes – a common sign that a road is deteriorating – are widespread throughout South Africa. There are millions of potholes on South African roads with a former president of the South African Roads Federation estimating earlier this year that the country had 25 million. However the South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) disputed this figure. Recently, Dialdirect Insurance noted a 15% increase in pothole-related accident claims and a 9% increase in tyre damage claims that are as a direct result of a pothole. In 76% of these claims, the pothole damage was so severe, it rendered the car undriveable. In South Africa, most pothole- related claims come from the cities of Pietermaritzburg (21%), Pretoria (20%), Potchefstroom (17%), Bloemfontein (15%), Johannesburg (14%) and Durban (13%). Most of these pothole-related…

If Blessing Manale of the Presidential Climate Commission had made the effort to analyse the UN Secretary-General’s message on World Tourism Day concerning “the climate emergency”, he would have noted its fundamental contradiction concerning travel and transport (Business Report, September 27). Besides regurgitating the absolute falsehood that carbon emissions are causing climate change and global warming, exhorting the tourism industry to involve itself in climate issues without addressing the issue of travel and transport is a bit like trying to bake a cake without heat. Given the mania to decarbonise the planet, how does Blessing Manale expect tourists to reach distant continents when air travel requires fossil fuel? Given their grand plan to decarbonise the planet, what provision have they made to substitute all the carbon-based machinery, appliances and accoutrements…

The US Senate and House yesterday were to push ahead with conflicting government funding plans, raising the chances of the fourth partial shutdown of the federal government in a decade beginning in just three days. The Senate planned a procedural vote on a stopgap funding bill that has broad bipartisan support in the chamber, while the House of Representatives is set for late-night votes on four partisan appropriations bills that have no chance of becoming law and would not alone prevent a shutdown even if they did. Congress must pass legislation that Democratic President Joe Biden can sign into law by midnight on Saturday to avoid furloughs of hundreds of thousands of federal workers and halting a wide range of services, from economic data releases to nutrition benefits, for the…

Ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh said yesterday they were dissolving the breakaway statelet they had defended for three decades, where more than half the population has fled since Azerbaijan launched a lightning offensive last week. They said their self-declared Republic of Artsakh would “cease to exist” by January 1, in what amounted to a formal capitulation to Azerbaijan. For Azerbaijan and its president, Ilham Aliyev, the outcome is a triumphant restoration of sovereignty over an area internationally recognised as part of its territory but whose ethnic Armenian majority won de facto independence in a war in the 1990s. For Armenians, it is a defeat and a national tragedy. About 70 500 people had crossed into Armenia by early yesterday afternoon, Russia’s RIA news agency reported, out of an estimated population of…

BRUSSELS: The EU was to agree new rules for how it handles arriving asylum-seekers and irregular migrants after Germany said it would go along with the intensely negotiated package. A pact aims to relieve the pressure on so-called frontline countries such as Italy and Greece by relocating some arrivals to other EU states. Those countries opposed to hosting asylum-seekers would be required to pay the ones that do take them. The EU would also seek to speed up processing of applications so migrants deemed inadmissable are returned to their country, and maximum detention times for migrants in border centres would be lengthened from 12 weeks. | AFP…

SA20 commissioner Graeme Smith emphasised how the six franchises’ duties go beyond just giving youngsters opportunities, but also aid in offering coaching and business expertise for the benefit of cricket in South Africa. The future of South African cricket looks bright with the SA20 providing opportunities to youngsters to elevate their games. The second season will feature a couple of 17-year-olds - Kwena Maphaka of the Paarl Royals being one - who will rub shoulders with international and Proteas players. Following the conclusion of the auction on Wednesday, Smith and the six coaches addressed the media. Smith said that the involvement of the youngsters is a highlight for the league. “The highlight for us is the number of youngsters now involved in the SA20. A number of 17-year-olds involved. A…

The Dolphins have had an excellent start to the season despite having to share points on two occasions due to rain affected matches – first at home against the Rocks, then away to the Lions on Wednesday. The only fixture so far in their One-Day Cup campaign that had a result was the three-wicket victory over the Dragons at Kingsmead, a victory that was spearheaded by Jason Smith’s unbeaten 116. Smith has been the backbone of the Dolphins top-order as the Cape Town-born cricketer followed up his century with a run-a-ball 65 earlier this week at the Wanderers. In only his second season since completing a move to Durban, Smith has made a name for himself, so much that the SA20 franchises showed interest in his services with Durban’s…

AFTER almost a year of earning a salary while awaiting trial in prison, ANC councillor Muzimuni Ngiba has finally been removed as a political office-bearer in the eThekwini Municipality. Speaker Thabani Nyawose told councillors during a council meeting yesterday that the MEC for Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta), Bongi Sithole-Moloi, had given the green light for the councillor to be removed and replaced. Ngiba, who was eThekwini’s ward 101 councillor, was arrested a year ago in connection with the murder of the ward councillor candidate Siyabonga Mkhize for the same ward. He is behind bars awaiting trial. In June this year, the council had sent a recommendation to the MEC asking for Ngiba to be removed as a councillor after finding him in breach of the councillor code of…

ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has criticised the SA Reserve Bank (SARB) for failing to respond within the mandated 30-day deadline to the party’s application in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (Paia) to gain access to the report on the Phala Phala farm robbery matter. However, the SARB said yesterday that Paia application must follow the stipulated rules. On August 14, the SARB found that no exchange control laws were violated in the reported “transaction” between President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm and a Sudanese businessman, Hazim Mustafa, for the purchase of 20 buffalo. The investigation was launched following allegations by Arthur Fraser, on or about June 1, 2022, and the subsequent receipt by the SARB of complaints from various parties, including political parties. The SARB said…

September 2023 marks 29 years of democracy in South Africa and of the public service that caters for all. This month, as eThekwini, we celebrate Public Service Month under the theme “eThekwini At Your Service”. At the heart of the government’s Public Service Month is the requirement for all levels of government, especially local government, to build an organisational culture that drives a people-centred service delivery model. Local government requires a hands-on approach. By its very nature, it is at the coalface of service delivery and requires that we roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty to provide better services for all. This year’s celebration of Public Service Month underscores the pivotal role that must be played by every public servant in improving the customer experience through adherence…

THE Public Service Commission (PSC) has expressed its frustration at what it described as the National Treasury’s alleged concealment of information in relation to government departments’ failures to pay service providers. Over the years there has been a trend of either late or non-payment of invoices, with provinces and national departments owing billions of rand. Commissioner Anele Gxoyiya has now urged small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) with unpaid government invoices exceeding 30 days to approach the PSC with grievances. Gxoyiya was speaking at a media briefing this week where he released a Quarterly Bulletin titled “The Pulse of the Public Service”, which covered the complaints and grievances handled from April 1 to June 30. Gxoyiya said the report could not reflect on the compliance of local and national government…

A close collaboration between members of the SAPS and SANDF resulted in the rescue of seven people, including toddlers, who had been kidnapped in Mpumalanga. The seven were rescued before their vehicle could be smuggled into neighbouring Mozambique, through the Lebombo borderline. “According to information, an elderly woman was taking her six family members to their grandparents’ place,” Mpumalanga police spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said. As the family were about to leave the house on Tuesday night, four armed assailants arrived and allegedly forced the family members into their family vehicle, a Toyota Fortuner. “They were held hostage, then driven into the bushes towards the border,” said Mohlala. “The team (SAPS, SANDF) jointly managed to rescue the victims and the vehicle was recovered.” | Mercury Correspondent…

Msunduzi Municipality will enlist the assistance of the police, as it looks to disconnect thousands of customers who are not paying for municipal services, and deal with illegal connections. At a council meeting this week, the municipality’s chief financial officer, Nelly Ngcobo, indicated that they were placing more focus on businesses and residential customers in a bid to improve revenue collection. The assistance of SAPS is said to be linked to recent incidents where municipal staff were chased away in two wards by community members who were assisted by local councillors. According to Ngcobo, the municipality managed to collect over R80 million from government departments in the past month, but there was room for improvement with special focus on businesses and households. She said SAPS had agreed to provide support…

“UNZIMA lo mthwalo ufuna simanyane.” The formation of the United Democratic Front (UDF) was talking to that freedom song, with the central Struggle slogan being “United We Stand, Divided We Fall”. But specifically, the UDF slogan was “UDF Unites, Apartheid Divides”. The UDF was different in the way it was formed. While the ANC was formed as the movement exclusively for African people, the UDF took a non-racial path from the beginning. The idea for the formation of a united front after the 1976 students uprising was always there. The apartheid regime’s proposals in 1982 and 1983 for the reform of the influx control system and for the introduction of a new divisive constitution accelerated the formation of the UDF. “The UDF, formed to oppose the Constitution, consisted of some…

North Korea has enshrined its status as a nuclear power in its constitution, with leader Kim Jong Un calling for more modern atomic weapons to counter the threat from the US, state media reported yesterday. Despite international sanctions over its nuclear weapons programme, North Korea has conducted a record number of missile tests this year, ignoring warnings from the US, South Korea and their allies. Diplomatic efforts to convince Pyongyang to give up its atomic arsenal failed, and the constitutional change came after Kim’s declaration last year that North Korea was an “irreversible” nuclear weapons state. North Korea’s “nuclear force-building policy has been made permanent as the basic law of the state, which no one is allowed to flout”, Kim said at a meeting of the State People’s Assembly. The…

The last absolute monarchy in Africa, the Kingdom of Eswatini, holds parliamentary elections today, with political parties banned from contesting. The constitution emphasises “individual merit” as the basis for selecting lawmakers, who cannot be affiliated with any political group. Being in the good graces of King Mswati III, who wields absolute power, also carries much weight. About 585 000 registered voters will be called to choose 59 members of the lower house of parliament, which plays only an advisory role to the monarch. Mswati, who can veto any legislation, directly appoints another 10 lawmakers. With most candidates loyal to the king, the election is unlikely to change the political scenery. Only about a dozen of those nominated during primaries last month are known to have ties to the opposition. Many…

LONDON: Rishi Sunak has asked for a cameo in a Star Wars film. The UK prime minister is known to be a huge fan of the franchise and said it was a childhood dream to land a small role to “take down the Death Star”. Asked whether he thought of himself more as Luke Skywalker, Han Solo or Darth Vader, he told BBC yesterday: “Who wouldn’t love to go on the Millennium Falcon and have that be your ship? If they could get me a cameo in an X-wing and I would get to say, ‘Red Seven standing by before we take down the Death Star.’” | Bang Showbiz…

GARRICK and brusher have been the main headliners this past week for the shore anglers. The first glimpses of summer are here but the weather needs to behave. With summer on our doorstep and lots of rays being landed in the near future, a few handling errors can easily be made while landing or releasing these beasties. With rays/skates there are a few tips to follow. Much like the sharks you do not want to pull the rays far from the water. Ideally keep them in the wash zone. Keep your fingers far from the spiracles. Handle them by their mouth. Use a glove if you are scared. When pulling them, keep your body low to avoid stressing their spine. Never flip them on their back or lift them…