Indholdsfortegnelse for 2024-03-14 i Mercury

If ever there is or was a period in SA history when freedom and perceptions of free and fair elections seem to be well nigh impossible, the run-up to and the outcome of the May 29, 2024, national and provincial elections, in my personal opinion, eclipses the run-up to our first democratic elections. Or liken it to fun in the park. Remember the last-minute kamikaze tactics of the IFP in KZN? The banner headline heralding the IFP agreeing after all the drama? Nelson Mandela’s statesmanship came through way back then. He was wise enough to accept a compromise, handing KZN to the IFP, and lives were saved. I still have the clippings from our daily newspapers that witnessed our febrile steps towards constitutional democracy, which at times steered us towards…

Did anybody realise how just a five- letter word can possibly cause a very possible overturning of our hard fought for freedom from atrocious – apartheid? After thousands of years of indoctrination that whoever was not a Jew was to be termed as satanic – other, perpetual enemy, to be shunned, to keep a distance from and to even eliminate from the face of the earth – it becomes absolutely impossible for most “orthodox” Jews, secular Jews and mainly pseudo-Jews, (also commonly known as Zionists) to now, even remotely, understand the actual, factual situation in places like Palestine (Gaza, West Bank, Israel). All religions, most unfortunately, by definition, indoctrinate to some significant extent the newly-born. If this conditioning from birth is to show just the difference, without interfering with…

THE question of whether Human Rights Commission directives should be binding was discussed before the Supreme Court of Appeal on Tuesday. This was during an appeal brought by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), in which it argued that its directives needed to be legally binding under certain circumstances so it could secure appropriate redress in cases of human rights violations. The main question the court was asked to consider was whether the directives issued by the SAHRC are legally binding. The Centre for Applied Legal Studies (Cals) meanwhile intervened in the matter as a friend of the court. This was to present international law on the nature of recommendations by national human rights bodies. It said the matter has important implications for the effectiveness of Chapter…

The lengthy suspensions of public servants have once again raised concern after it was revealed that R10 million was paid in salaries to suspended directors-general in different departments. In response to questions from the DA’s Dr Mimmy Gondwe, the Presidency said the salaries were due and payable by virtue of South Africa’s labour laws. She had inquired about the number of DGs suspended in the financial years 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23 and who are receiving full salaries. “The revelation proves the ruling party has a problem with discipline management. We’ve seen a similar problem in the public service where public servants are on suspension for indefinite periods. We have come across situations where public servants have been suspended with full pay for 10 years or more. I’m not even surprised…

With recent pronouncements by government leaders on the need for a state bank, there is no need to look far for an existing bank that will be an ideal candidate. Why reinvent the wheel when Ithala SOC Limited – a 100% owned subsidiary of Ithala Development Finance Corporation, KwaZulu-Natal’s provincial development agency – is ripe and ready to become a state bank. With its good governance and sound infrastructure, Ithala, which is a pioneer in banking the unbanked sector and helping them manage their money, has all the right ingredients to become a state bank, thus enabling the growth of our national footprint beyond the borders of KZN. President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Postbank Amendment Bill into law in September 2023, formally transferring the Postbank’s shareholding from the embattled South…

US President Joe Biden headed to the political battleground state of Wisconsin yesterday after clinching the Democratic Party’s nomination, where he will focus on securing the votes of suburban women, black voters and Latinos across the Midwest. Biden’s campaign issued a new video titled “Let’s Go” after voters in Georgia helped the 81-year-old incumbent president secure the last of the 1 968 delegates needed for the nomination, teeing up what would be the first US presidential rematch in nearly 70 years. Biden has sharpened his attacks in recent weeks on former president Donald Trump, 77, and what he called Trump’s “campaign of resentment, revenge, and retribution that threatens the very idea of America”. In Milwaukee, Biden will again tout his administration’s economic policies – although that strategy has failed to…

President Vladimir Putin warned the West yesterday that Russia was technically ready for nuclear war and that if the US sent troops to Ukraine, it would be considered a significant escalation of the conflict. Putin, speaking just days before a March 15-17 election which is certain to give him another six years in power, said the nuclear war scenario was not “rushing” up and he saw no need for the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine. “From a military-technical point of view, we are, of course, ready,” said Putin, 71, in response to a question on whether the country was really ready for a nuclear war. Putin said the US understood that if it deployed American troops on Russian territory, or to Ukraine, Russia would treat the move as an…

Orlando Pirates coach Jose Riveiro has warned his troops to guard against distractions when they face Hungry Lions in the Nedbank Cup last-16 on Saturday (6pm kick-off). Pirates are on a high after completing a double over their arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs in the DStv Premiership last weekend, winning 3-2. The victory ensured that they kept their chances of finishing second in the league alive. They currently hold the coveted spot with 33 points, with leaders Mamelodi Sundowns on 46, with two games in hand. Pirates will have to ensure that they do not have any derby hangover when they host NFD side Lions at the Orlando Stadium. After all, Pirates are not in the cup as mere participants, but they are the reigning champions – and a successful defence would…

WORKERS in the eThekwini Municipality, who took part in violent protests which crippled service delivery and left one employee dead, will be taken to task by the municipality with some of them having already been sacked. The City revealed yesterday that 88 workers have been fired and more are being put through disciplinary processes. This, as the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry, an NPO that represents organised business in Durban, has raised concerns about the impact of the strike, saying it is deeply disturbed by the negative economic consequences. Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda briefed the media yesterday on progress and said the City was acting against those involved. The illegal strike began on February 27. It crippled service delivery with refuse left to pile up in people’s houses and on…

US Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo says fixing South Africa's energy crisis is more a matter of political will than capacity as he confirmed the US’ commitment to helping with challenges posed by load shedding, job creation, corruption and help with managing the Just Energy Transition (JET). Meeting with his SA counterpart Deputy Minister David Masondo as part of a working visit to the country, Adeyemo announced that US President Joe Biden had urged the US Congress to renew the Africa Growth And Opportunity Act (Agoa), through which about $3 billion (R55.7bn) of SA exports were facilitated last year. “No country's economy can succeed without keeping the lights on … Businesses should not have to spend thousands on generators. South Africa has the resources to generate reliable power…

The announcement by Pravin Gordhan that he would be retiring after the elections could not have come at a more opportune moment. He has reached the nadir of his career and has lost his lustre. And I will agree with the DA that he was a “lackey” of the ANC, losing all credibility, in my view, when he betrayed Eskom’s former CEO, André de Ruyter. EFF members will be jubilant; they were always circling over Gordhan like vultures, waiting for his end. Notwith standing Gordhan’s perceived failures, I will not countenance Numsa’s comments that he and he alone collapsed SOEs. Did Gordhan and his Gujerati-speaking relatives sing, dance, toyi-toyi and disrupt work at the Medupi Power Station with strikes over several years, hindering progress and compromising the quality of the…

WAS ever there a more piffling furore than the one over the photograph taken on Mother’s Day by William, Prince of Wales, of his wife, Princess Catherine, and their kids? Some international photo agencies retracted the picture over concerns it had been “manipulated”. The picture was the first of Catherine since her abdominal surgery in January, according to the BBC. Since then she has stayed out of the public eye. But, Getty Images, AFP, Reuters and Associated Press pulled the photo, noting an “inconsistency in alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand”. The photo shows the Princess of Wales sitting down, surrounded by Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis and Prince George, the latter wrapping his arms around her. The message was posted on the Prince and Princess of Wales’s social media accounts…

LAST month the World Health Organization (WHO) said southern Africa was suffering the deadliest regional outbreak of cholera in at least a decade. At the epicentre of the disaster were Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, where cholera cases surged more than four-fold between 2022 and 2023. Over 1 600 deaths were reported in the three countries. Already 2024 is threatening to be another devastating year for cholera in the region as warmer weather, and unusually heavy rains and storms have fuelled the disease’s spread. Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi have reported more than 13 000 cases so far this year. Cholera bacteria are spread by eating or drinking food or water contaminated by the faeces of an infected person. Oral vaccines help contain outbreaks and limit the spread of the disease. But…

The British government is planning to pay asylum seekers up to £3 000 (R71 512) each to move to Rwanda under a voluntary plan to help clear the backlog of refugees who have had their applications to remain in the country rejected. The new agreement with Rwanda is separate from the government’s stalled plan to forcibly deport most asylum seekers to Rwanda, last year ruled unlawful by the UK’s Supreme Court. Instead, it mirrors an existing government policy, where asylum seekers are offered financial assistance to leave Britain for their home country, but under the new plan people will get the money if they agree to live in Rwanda. Kevin Hollinrake, a junior business minister, said the new policy was cheaper than looking after people in Britain who had been…

Donor nations, aid agencies and charities pushed on with efforts yesterday to rush food to war-torn Gaza by land, air and sea after the EU top diplomat said starvation had become “a weapon of war”. The Israel-Hamas conflict raging since October 7 has caused mass civilian deaths, reduced vast areas to a rubble-strewn wasteland and sparked warnings of looming famine in the Palestinian territory of 2.4 million people. A Spanish charity vessel, the Open Arms, was on its way to Gaza from Cyprus, towing a barge with 200 tons of aid, in a first voyage meant to open a maritime corridor. The flow of aid trucks from Egypt into Gaza has slowed recently, a trend variously blamed on Israel and its security checks of cargo, and on civil unrest in…

THE Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) says it will engage with the government after Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan announced that the deal between SAA and the Takatso Consortium was off. But political parties said yesterday the deal was mired in controversy from the beginning and had to be scrapped. Cosatu’s parliamentary co-ordinator and acting national spokesperson, Matthew Parks, said they would talk to the government to look at the implications of the announcement. Gordhan said the deal could not be concluded because new valuations had emerged. He said during the Covid pandemic, SAA was valued at R2.4 billion, but after the pandemic the market conditions changed and new valuations were done. “The business valuation came out at R1bn and the property valuation at R5.5bn. This meant that…

It’s a noble sentiment but few act on it, without expecting accolades. A young businessman in Boksburg is giving back to his community and, in particular, pensioners. On Tuesday and Thursday mornings, he graciously gives a free breakfast to the elderly. This awesome gesture deserves to be spoken about. As the country is consumed by negativity and economic hopelessness, this young man is happily doing what his amazing conscience tells him, paying it forward! There is a powerful message for all of us here about giving without expecting any compensation.…

Global leaders are playing a deadly game of nuclear Russian roulette with their utterances on the terrifying conflicts now raging across the world. Senile Joe Biden, brash Emmanuel Macron, reckless Vladimir Putin, deranged Kim Jong-un, dreamer Xi Ping and lunatic Benjamin Netanyahu have crossed the threshold of global tolerance. Fascism has revealed its ugly face in many parts of the globe. Many international leaders strut the world stage as advocates of peace and democracy, but beneath the veneer lurks the monster of religious supremacy, racial hatred and a plethora of deadly prejudices. These monsters in democratic garb are prepared to incinerate mankind in an orgy of destruction unparalleled in human history. We are in a comatose state as demagogues fine-tune their weapons of war for the ultimate and final battle.…

I am particularly interested in interpersonal grace. The grace we each can generously offer all other people, from intimates to total strangers. Yes, we can be agents of grace. I have seen it powerfully at work for many years. It includes: Giving others a very wide berth, room to make mistakes, to be opinionated, to be socially clumsy, without my interference or feeling I should offer my guidance, correction, or opinion. Extending “grace-in-reverse” by not allowing any person’s past errors, tough, dark, or even sordid history, to hinder my perceptions, my experience of who and what they are in the present. This acknowledges people (and I myself) really can grow and change. Allowing others to own their story and to tell it in their way, without interruption, without uninvited…

The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport has said more than 400 000 trucks use the N2 route between Richards Bay and Pongola, and there have been 54 truck accidents reported in the last 12 months. The department, in response to a question from the DA at the provincial legislature, said more than 400 000 trucks had been screened at the Eteza Weighbridge between January 2023 and January 2024. “A total of 453 826 (trucks) from Pongola to Richards Bay were screened during this period and 422 292 trucks were screened from Richards Bay to Pongola. “A total number of 54 accidents were recorded in the last 12 months on the N2 between Pongola and uMhlathuze, 20 at Pongola, 17 at Mtubatuba and 17 at Empangeni,” the department said. It added that…

Phoenix residents from Unit 12, which includes Westham Drive, Lenham Drive and Hexham Road, protested yesterday by blocking several roads with burning trees, tyres and refuse over ongoing power and water outages. When The Mercury arrived, a group of angry residents confronted the police over their use of rubber bullets and teargas, claiming that they were peacefully protesting for their right to electricity and water. Samantha Sheik said she had gone to collect her children from school after it was announced that it would be closing. Upon their return residents were protesting, she said. “The police shot at us with rubber bullets and they sprayed us with teargas. My 10-year-old son and I were choking and we managed to run into a yard just to safeguard ourselves,” she said. Nonkululeko…

PUBLIC Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan will bow out of public service with little to nothing to cheer about at the end of the current administration’s term. That is true of most of his Cabinet colleagues who have decided not to avail themselves after the May 29 election. However, the unique thing about Gordhan is that his last stint as minister has been one to forget. He leaves behind a trail of destruction of the country’s state-owned companies that will take years to fix. Sure, he will blame the years of state capture for the mess that Eskom, Transnet and Denel have become. His critics have pointed out that this was part of a strategy to shield himself from being held accountable. There may be merit to that argument. After all,…

Hours after surveillance footage captured a cat leaving the Nomura Plating factory in Fukuyama city on Sunday night, a worker discovered a trail of yellow-brown paw prints leading away from a container of toxic , and potentially deadly, chemicals, reports say. Officials in the city, in Hiroshima prefecture, believe the cat fell into the container before escaping the factory. The company alerted local authorities. The 11-foot-tall vat of metal plating solution contained hexavalent chromium, which can cause rashes and irritation or damage to the eyes and skin, as well as lung cancer if breathed in. It’s also the chemical at the centre of a groundwater contamination incident in a small town in California in the movie Erin Brockovich, which was based on a true story. City officials say the…

KADUNA: Gunmen have abducted dozens of people from a north-western Nigerian village, according to two local representatives and a UN source, just days after the kidnapping of more than 250 pupils from a school in the same region. Criminal gangs often carry out mass kidnappings in north-west Nigeria, targeting schools, villages and highways. Tuesday’s abductions in Kaduna State’s Kajuru district came as security forces searched for the pupils who were kidnapped last week from their school in Kuriga village about 150km away. | AFP…