Indholdsfortegnelse for 2024-02-08 i Mercury

SHARES in JSE-listed fintech company Lesaka Technologies – which announced the acquisition of Touchsides from Heineken this week – shed 4.5% yesterday after it announced that it remained in loss making during the quarter ended December. Lesaka closed yesterday’s session at R65.86, a fall of about 4.51% on the JSE and a retreat from the 15.18% rally it garnered on Tuesday. The company, which has a heavy presence across South Africa’s informal sector, said it had narrowed its quarterly loss by about 56% at R50.8 million for the period ended December 2023. In rand currency, Lesaka’s revenue for the period firmed up 13% to R2.7 billion compared with the same quarter period in 2022. Its operating income for the period at R42.5m compares with an operating loss of…

Minister of Electricity Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says power utility Eskom is in a better position now than it was last year. Speaking to the media after he conducted an inspection at Koeberg power plant in Cape Town on Tuesday, Ramokgopa said Eskom’s Unplanned Capability Loss Factor (UCLF) for the summer was lower than they had planned for and expected, resulting in lower stages of load shedding. UCLF measures the lost energy due to unplanned breakdowns. He added that Eskom was also becoming less reliant on diesel. However energy experts are not convinced about the performance of the grid. Ramokgopa said that their summer plan for UCLF was expected to be about 14 500MW (megawatts). “We have actually been averaging just above 12 000MW, which is lower than planned. We…

JULIUS Malema’s appeal for people to be educated because then they will ask “educated questions” was the most inspiring aspect of his address to students of the Durban University of Technology (The Mercury, Tuesday). Education that is liberal and non-ideological should indeed produce people who will scrutinise, rationalise and analyse. An educated person would examine socialism’s record of failure to provide a better life for all and recognise that Malema’s rhetoric is devious nonsense. They would also realise that when the state becomes the arbiter of all aspects of your life, you are not free. Without the right to individual initiative and enterprise, there is no freedom. Malema’s other priority is the creation of employment opportunities in order to “solve poverty”. Yet socialism, through grinding taxation and regulation, destroys…

The pace of cost-cutting at Boeing and lapses in quality control are critical factors that have led to serious crises at Boeing, costing hundreds of lives and placing in jeopardy the lives of millions of passengers who traverse the world using Boeing aircraft. The 737 is a superb workhorse that carries millions of passengers every day. Issues will continue to plague the Boeing series of aircraft because critical quality control measures and the supply of parts from more than 50 000 global suppliers evade quality analysis, due to overwhelming production schedules. Today’s production lines are racing to meet delivery schedules, and as a result, shoddy workmanship dominates the assembly lines. The 787 encountered faulty titanium-manufactured parts, which escaped quality inspection. Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have lost the…

The National Council of Provinces (NCOP) has resolved to extend the public hearings on the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Bill for two weeks until February 29. The Western Cape had requested the public hearings be extended by a month. Instead, the NCOP’s select committee on education and technology, sports, arts and culture wants public hearings to be concluded by February 29, and the bill to be finalised by April 17. It has lined up 26 organisations and three members of the public for oral submissions in March. Committee chairperson Elleck Nchabeleng said the Western Cape had proposed that the bill be processed until the end of April, despite a week-long extension being granted in January. “The request of the Western Cape is granted but it will be only for…

The national Minister of Transport Sindisiwe Chikunga, has sent heartfelt condolences to the families of six pupils killed in a horror bus crash on Tuesday in the Free State. The accident took place on the R70 between Senekal and Ventersburg. The bus had been transporting Hoërskool Riebeeckstad pupils from an outdoor school event in Moolmanshoek near Rosendal to Welkom, when the crash happened. According to the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) six children died on scene, while 28 suffered minor injuries, one had severe injuries and another six pupils were treated for moderate injuries. Department spokesperson Simon Zwane said it was alleged that the driver lost control of the vehicle and it overturned. “It is alleged that one of the tyres of the bus came off before the driver lost…

WHILE all that is left for the National Health Insurance (NHI) to come to fruition is for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s signature, trade union Solidarity is hell-bent on stopping the implementation of the national insurance in its entirety through a rigorous court battle. Solidarity, through a series of court cases kicking off this week, will be approaching the high court to review a decision by the Department of Health to advertise and fill senior posts in the NHI even before the system has been approved by Parliament. The union said should the courts decide in its favour during the first court appearance today, this would serve as a setback for the government’s “ill-conceived” NHI plans. Anton van der Bijl, Solidarity’s deputy chief executive for legal matters, said the reason…

The fundamental problem is corruption and inefficiency in the permits and visa section Legal grievances against the South African Department of Home Affairs, including contempt of court cases, are depressingly common. Too frequently the minister has to apologise to a court, or to ask for more time on behalf of the department. Most of the court cases involve the operations of the department regarding visas and permits for foreign visitors, immigrants and prospective refugees. Just a few months ago, Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said in legal papers: “I would like to take this opportunity to extend my sincere apology to the Chief Justice, all judges of the high court and Constitutional Court, the President of South Africa, Minister of Finance, Lawyers for Human Rights and its legal representatives and…

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on a visit to Israel yesterday voiced hope for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal but cautioned that more negotiations were needed. “There’s a lot of work to be done, but we are very much focused on doing that work and hopefully being able to resume the release of hostages that was interrupted” after a week-long truce in November, he said. As Blinken met Israeli leaders in Jerusalem, an Egyptian official told AFP that “a new round of negotiations” would start today in Cairo aimed at achieving “calm in the Gaza Strip”, now in its fifth month of war. A Hamas source with knowledge of the matter said the Palestinian militant group had agreed to the talks, with the goal of “a ceasefire,…

Dakar: Mali reaffirmed its exit “without delay” from the West African bloc Ecowas, saying it was not bound by the organisation’s one-year timeframe for withdrawal, according to a foreign ministry document seen by AFP yesterday. Bamako’s military government announced its withdrawal from Ecowas on January 28, along with Burkina Faso and Niger. But article 91 of the bloc’s treaty stipulates that member countries remain bound by their obligations for a period of one year after notifying their withdrawal. “The government of the Republic of Mali is no longer bound (by the) time constraints mentioned in article 91 of the treaty,” the foreign affairs ministry said. |…

SYDNEY: Australia will introduce laws giving workers the right to ignore unreasonable calls and messages from their bosses outside of work hours without penalty, with potential fines for employers that breach the rule. The “right to disconnect” is part of a raft of changes to industrial relations laws proposed by the federal government under a parliamentary bill, which it says would protect workers’ rights and help restore work-life balance. Similar laws giving employees a right to switch off their devices after hours are already in place in France, Spain and other countries in the EU. |…

THE CALL FOR applications for the 2024 cohort Africa Women Innova- tion & Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) Growth Accelerator for South Africa, in partnership with Nedbank, is now open. “Implemented since 2017, AWIEFGrowth Accelerator is a flagship enterprise development programme designed to support early-stage and high-growth-orientated women-owned and women-led small and medium- sized enterprises (WSMEs) with growth strategy training, corporate advisory, mentoring, networks, and access to finance,” AWIEF said in a statement yesterday. The 2024 AWIEF-Nedbank South Africa programme is seeking to enhance the readiness of women to access funding opportunities and scale-up their businesses in the agriculture and green economy sectors through the provision of tailored business development services, tools, mentoring and skills development. For the 2024 cohort, applications are invited from WSMEs operating in agribusiness, agro-processing, green energy, and…

THE Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (Casac) has written to Chief Justice Raymond Zondo to find out what role controversial retired Justice Zak Yacoob will play at the Constitutional Court. Reports in recent days have indicated that Yacoob will play an advisory role, including to look at all the appeal cases before the Constitutional Court. He would also reportedly have the power to advise the 11 justices of the court on which appeal cases to dismiss and which to entertain. Casac’s executive secretary Lawson Naidoo said they had written to Justice Zondo’s office to find out what exact role Justice Yacoob will be playing, especially as he has served a non-renewable 12-year term at the Constitutional Court, and he is therefore not eligible to be reappointed.…

THE EFF says it will hold President Cyril Ramaphosa accountable regardless of the outcome of a court application that could see party leaders, including EFF president Julius Malema, banned from attending tonight’s State of the Nation Address (Sona). Ramaphosa will deliver his Sona at the Cape Town City Hall. A Western Cape High Court judgment last week against the party meant that the suspension of Malema, EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu, secretary-general Marshall Dlamini, senior members Vuyani Pambo and Mbuyiseni Ndlozi and party spokesperson Sinawo Tambo remained in place which prevents them from attending the sitting. The six were suspended from Parliament after they rushed to the stage of the Cape Town City Hall during Ramaphosa’s address last year after the party had asked the president several times about the…

There is a not too well-known word in the Gujarati-Memon dialect – “nuckto” – which goes a way bit beyond meaning merely “stubborn”. It points to somebody who is relentless about pursuing some Ritalin- induced-type of focussed concentration, even towards an idea that is against the only correct direction of the gushing current of basic human rights. (Hmm, what’s that?) The Zionists in this country and elsewhere in the world are headstrong about their pursuit for a private homeland. Offered a part of Africa, South America and Asia by the Balfour Boys in those early days when the century was about to turn, they spontaneously, biblically, grabbed Palestinian property with three hands. The third hand, of course, was good old trusting grand-godfather, England, without whom everything would have been…

A NIGHTMARISH scenario is being played out, bit by agonising bit, in England. Esther Martin, 68, was visiting her 11-year-old grandson in Jaywick, Essex, last Saturday when she was attacked and killed by two dogs, according to Sky News. The police arrived and shot the dogs, but too late to save the victim. Were these the notorious XL Bully dogs, specially inbred to produce fighters, that were outlawed this month unless a special certificate is granted by the authorities? The police aren’t saying. They say only that they are thoroughly investigating the breed of the dogs. But Martin’s daughter, Sonia, is quoted saying the dogs were definitely XL Bullies. Also, there are six puppies in the house. Is it true that Martin was attacked and killed by the adult…

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) have expressed concerns about the Department of Home Affairs White Paper’s proposed measures to overhaul the migration system in South Africa. They described it as “draconian measures”. The LHR said it had engaged with the department for decades over the laws. “We have produced reports and made recommendations, and made these available to the department. We have also used the last resort available to us – taking gross human rights violations by the department to the courts. We have also attempted to engage with the department through the South African Human Rights Commission. “We can say categorically that all these engagements, including judgments holding the department to account to comply with policy and the Constitution, have all fallen on deaf ears,” The LHR said in…

The bail application against a KwaZulu-Natal man accused of killing his wife has been postponed to February 22 for a decision. Werner de Jager appeared in the eManzimtoti Magistrate’s Court on Monday and Tuesday this week in connection with his wife, Liezel de Jager’s death. He is accused of strangling Liezel, a priest at the NG Suidkus, in October 2021. De Jager has allegedly told cellmates at the Westville Correctional Centre, where he is being kept in custody, that he wanted to take his own life. Meanwhile, de Jager has been linked to a fatal road crash that claimed the lives of Linda Eales, 54, and Berniece Eales, 84, outside Koppies, in the Free State in April last year.…

While the loan scheme being introduced this year by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme for missing middle students was a step in the right direction, there were thousands of students that needed help. This was the message from CEO of Ikusasa Student Financial Aid Programme (ISFAP), Morné du Toit, during a webinar yesterday on the topic. Du Toit said: “We have to commend the initial steps that the government has taken in the form of availing R3.8 billion to be accessed by missing middle students in the form of loans. However, there is much more to be done as this accounts for roughly half of all missing middle students, with the remainder of them still in need.” Students who do not qualify for NSFAS funding as they have an…

It has been almost four months since Israel launched ground operations in the Gaza Strip. According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, more than 26 000 people have been killed as a result of Israeli attacks. The indiscriminate attacks by Israel are serious violations of human rights, which have been condemned by most of the international community. But Israel has been refusing a ceasefire till this day, insisting on the elimination of Hamas as the ultimate goal of its military operation. It disregards the two-state solution, which is the only solution supported by the UN Secretary- General and most nations globally. Against such a backdrop, on December 29 last year, South Africa filed a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, suing Israel for violating…

UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned yesterday that the world is entering “an age of chaos” with a deeply divided Security Council unable to address critical issues such as the Israel-Hamas war. With the war in Gaza entering its fifth month yesterday, Guterres warned that if the Israeli armed forces press on into the southern city of Rafah, it would “exponentially increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare with untold regional consequences”. Israeli forces, in their campaign to destroy Hamas after its unprecedented attack on October 7, have relentlessly bombed the Gaza Strip and carried out a ground invasion, displacing over a million people southward. “It is time for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the unconditional release of all hostages,” Guterres said during a speech to the General Assembly presenting his…

Rio de Janeiro: São Paulo opened an emergency operations centre this week to deal with a surge in dengue fever cases that has hit Brazil and South America just as millions of tourists arrive for carnival celebrations. Cases of the mosquito-borne disease have also risen sharply in Argentina, where a record 10 000 cases were reported in the first three weeks of the year. Paraguay has declared a health emergency over dengue. It has registered 36 deaths since December, officials there said. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s second-biggest city, after São Paulo, also declared a public health emergency on Monday. |…

Bafana Bafana crashed out of the Africa Cup of Nations last night with their heads held high after losing 4-2 in a semi-final penalty shoot-out to Nigeria. Bafana had shown grit during regulation and extra time as they came from behind through Teboho Mokoena’s penalty to cancel out William Troost-Ekong’s spot-kick. But it was in the penalty shoot-out where the Super Eagles prevailed as they slotted in four against Bafana’s two to play in the ultimate footballing match in Africa – thanks to the heroics of goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. While this loss meant Bafana will now challenge for a third-place finish for the first time in 26 years against DR Congo or hosts Ivory Coast on Saturday night, they’ll still be proud of their exploits. Bafana were barely tipped to…

SOCIO-economic challenges are in the spotlight as President Cyril Ramaphosa tonight delivers this year’s State of the Nation Address (Sona), with participants in the youth sector calling for the president to outline an “actionable plan”. Nkosinathi Mahlangu, Youth Em- ployment Portfolio head at Momentum Metropolitan, said young people were hoping for solutions to the many socio-economic challenges they were faced with as there had been many promises made in the previous address, which were not kept. “The Sona comes at a time when the youth of South Africa is still battling with high unemployment and this is parallel to challenges on access to tertiary education for the matric class of 2023,” he said. Ravi Naidoo, the CEO of the Youth Employment Service (YES), said the prevailing economic environment in 2024,…

THEFT of assets in the eThekwini Municipality’s electricity unit is allegedly costing the municipality hundreds of millions of rand. Officials within the unit have estimated that theft costs the unit close to R300m each year. While the municipality acknowledged cases of theft involving its employees, it rejected allegations related to the alleged discovery of transformers at an employee’s private property or the utilisation of City assets in other municipalities. Senior officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed that several staff members have either been fired or are facing disciplinary action for various incidents of theft. Recently, street lights that had been stolen from the municipality were discovered heading towards the Mozambique border. Sources in the City said this could be the work of an organised syndicate -- involving…

THE DA has called for answers from KwaZulu-Natal and wants answers from Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube after a project aimed at developing infrastructure at the renowned Isandlwana battle site never took off. This is despite being earmarked as a game-changer for the local Nquthu community. The call comes after several members of the DA provincial leadership attended the recent Isandlwana commemorative event and witnessed the generally derelict conditions. It also comes after a recent media report, in which the premier claims that funding was made available to Nquthu municipality to develop the site and surrounding area. According to the report, the project was originally announced by Dr Zweli Mkhize during his tenure as KZN premier between 2009 and 2013. His successor, Premier Willies Mchunu, failed to follow through, as did his…

The IFP in KwaZulu-Natal strongly condemns the alarming increase in the targeted killings of politicians, ahead of this year’s general elections. This comes in the wake of the tragic murder of the IFP Interim Secretary, Mthokozisi “Nguqunguqu” Sithole, at Mbabazane Constituency, Estcourt, in the Inkosi Langalibalele Municipality. Sithole, a dedicated leader, was brutally murdered last Saturday in his home town of Weenen, located in the northern part of the province. This reprehensible act is a direct attack on our democratic values. The IFP in KZN demands that law-enforcement agencies leave no stone unturned in decisively dealing with this matter, ensuring that the perpetrators responsible for this heinous crime are apprehended and swiftly brought to justice. The IFP recognises the need for unity and tolerance among fellow politicians, community members and…

GRACE has no qualifiers. If it has to be earned, or can be traded or leveraged, it is not grace. The millisecond an exchange of what is supposed to be full of grace is tagged with expectation and is not freely given, it becomes something other than grace. It may be a bargaining chip, an attempt to control another, or something deployed in hopeful attempts to fix or change another, but, once it is currency of any sort, what is being “offered” is something other than grace. Grace is about the giver. It is a reflection of the heart of the person – group, church, organisation – freely giving it. It is not about the person or people on the receiving end. It is not about whether it’s deserved,…

Two suspects were arrested with R2.7million worth of copper cables allegedly belonging to Eskom and Prasa on Monday. According to provincial police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda, a compliance inspection operation by members of the Economic Infrastructure Task Team led to the arrest of two suspects at a scrapyard on Martin Drive in Queensmead. “During the inspection, police spotted two vehicles parked outside the scrapyard and upon searching them, police found copper cables which were positively identified to be the property of power utility, Eskom. “After failing to explain the origin of the cables, a 37-year-old suspect was arrested. “Another search inside the scrapyard also resulted in the recovery of more copper cables which belonged to Prasa.” Netshiunda said the second suspect, aged 39, was arrested. He said both suspects appeared…

THE families of two South African engineers have continued to call for their release from an Equatorial Guinea prison, as tomorrow marks one year since the two were detained. Frederik Potgieter, 54, from George, and Peter Huxham, 55, from Langebaan, were working for a Dutch company on an oil rig off the coast of Equatorial Guinea when they were arrested on charges of alleged drug trafficking at their hotel in Malabo on February 9 last year. They were arrested the night before they were due to fly back to South Africa following a five-week work rotation, their families said. The families said they are being held in a prison reserved for political prisoners in Mongomo, having received a 12-year sentence, “damages” of $5 million (about R94m) each and additional fines…

One of the five men accused of killing former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa has been accused, by the State, of fabricating a story after his version differed from the one his lawyer presented in court. Accused 1, Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya, was on the stand in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria yesterday. The court is currently in a trial-within-a-trial to determine the admissibility of Sibiya’s confession statement, which was made after his arrest in May 2020. He took the witness stand on Monday and is now under cross-examination by State advocate Ronnie Sibanda. Sibiya alleges that he was assaulted by officers from the SAPS and the Ekurhuleni Metro Police. He said he was assaulted to coerce him to sign a confession statement implicating himself in the murder of the…

With elections looming, today’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) may be the last under the ANC majority in Parliament. The country is waiting to hear how the Ramaphosa-led administration intends to make up for the many setbacks that have had far-reaching implications for the economy. Forget the bullet trains and smart cities he once dreamt about, South Africans want answers on when load shedding will be a thing of the past. They want assurance that their grants will be paid in full next month. They want, in fact they are entitled, to know that there will be safe running water from their taps. They want to know that the corrupt government officials the ANC continues to shield will be arrested and face the full might of the law. They…

Geneva: Sudan’s warring sides have agreed to meet for talks on enabling desperately needed aid delivery in their conflict-torn country, the UN said yesterday. The UN also appealed for $4.1 billion (R26bn) to help civilians impacted by the brutal 10-month civil war in Sudan, warning the conflict had fuelled “epic suffering”. The brutal conflict that erupted in April last year between Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has killed thousands, including between 10 000 and 15 000 in the western Darfur region, according to UN experts. |…

SANTIAGO: Former Chilean President Sebastian Pinera died from asphyxiation due to submersion after the helicopter he was piloting crashed into Lake Ranco in southern Chile on Tuesday, the local prosecutor’s office reported yesterday. Chile’s Legal Medical Service, the state coroner’s office, in Valdivia, conducted the autopsy on Pinera, who died at the age of 74, before his remains were sent to receive state honours in the Chilean capital. Tatiana Esquivel, the local prosecutor where the accident happened, said they had not yet determined the cause of the accident but a specialised team was investigating the crash site. |…