Indholdsfortegnelse for 2024-05-28 i Mercury

Economists say a drop in inflation is unlikely to result in an interest rate cut when the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meets on Thursday. Last week Stats SA announced a drop in headline and food inflation, saying that the consumer price index (CPI) decreased from 5.3% in March to 5.2% in April and food inflation dropped from 5.1% in March to 4.7% in April. Experts say that inflation still remains above the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) target of 4.5%. Neil Roets, Debt Rescue CEO, said that while the recent inflation data showing a slight cooling is positive, it is still unlikely that the SARB will start cutting interest rates soon. “The SARB’s focus is on ensuring inflation is under control and sustainably tracking towards the midpoint of its target…

The hour of reckoning is upon us. It’s a crucial election. Our votes have an important role to play. The way we cast our vote will decide the fate of the country for the next five years. The choice is simple: Should we give the ANC another five years? Does it deserve it? Forget all the election rhetoric. Look at the governing party’s track record. Could you send your child to a public school? If you were very sick, where would you prefer to go, to RK Khan’s or St Augustine? Then look back at Eskom, which left us in darkness for several years. Is it really out of the woods? Think of Transnet. Why are trucks clogging the roads? Simply because Transnet cannot run our trains. What happened to…

The Verulam community is elated to announce a significant victory in the fight against water infrastructure theft and damage. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the Verulam Water Crisis Committee (VWCC), the Reaction Unit South Africa (Rusa) team, and the unwavering support of the SAPS, and other law-enforcement officials, a major breakthrough has been made. A joint operation team apprehended a few suspects in the Ottawa area who were found in possession of several stolen water meters and infrastructure. The swift action and co-ordination between Rusa and the SAPS have sent a clear message to those who seek to exploit the community’s already strained water resources. This is the kind of decisive action we need to eradicate these criminal activities. We are grateful to the Rusa team and SAPS for…

City issues fines to DWP for its ‘problem buildings’ SIX months after Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Sihle Zikalala identified Elwyn Court in Keizersgracht Road to be among the properties it would attempt to claim back, the City of Cape Town has formally declared it a “problem building”. The municipality says it issued fines to the national department for the hijacked building and another property on 1 Jan Smuts Drive, Maitland. According to mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, this was after long-term efforts to get conditions addressed at the two sites. A big sign in red has been erected informing the public and occupants of the action being taken by the City in response to what the City said was ongoing drug and crime complaints from the public. “These properties are a…

The SANDF has to give access to the record containing details of the Battle of Bangui to author and journalist Warren Thompson, excluding the details of the soldiers’ medical records, post-mortems and photographs of the injured and deceased persons, which amount to personal information. Thompson earlier turned to the Western Cape High Court to have access to the records regarding the bloody battle as the SANDF had refused to issue him with the records. He more specifically wanted deployment reports, following an inquiry after the battle. Judge Nobahle Mangcu-Lockwood said it is not appropriate that the record should be withheld because it provides insightful information about how the battle ensued, including circumstances under which some lives and equipment were lost. Thompson earlier wanted the information to be used in a…

One thing that is clear is that there is nothing remotely certain about the outcome IT IS not an exaggeration to say that the eyes of the world are on South Africa – the General Election 2024 tomorrow to be precise – the seventh following the collapse of apartheid and the advent of democratic non-racial rule three decades ago in April 1994. India may be in the last throes of its marathon general election underpinning the rather tired and misplaced sobriquet as the “world’s largest democracy” which is due to declare the result only in early June and the ruling ultra nationalist Hindu BJP party of PM Narendra Modi, barring a miracle, almost certain to win by a landslide. In the UK a few days ago, a drenched Prime Miniser…

Millions of people in low-lying areas of Bangladesh and India yesterday surveyed the tangled wreckage left by a powerful cyclone that killed at least 16 people, destroyed thousands of homes, smashed seawalls and flooded cities. Winds and torrential rain still hammered residents as they tried to salvage what remained of their belongings, a day after Cyclone Remal made landfall with fierce gales and crashing waves. “At least 10 people were killed in the cyclone” in Bangladesh, the country’s state minister for disaster Mohibbur Rahman told reporters. Some drowned, while others were crushed when their houses collapsed. In neighbouring India, “at least six people” died, said Sumit Gupta, a senior government official from West Bengal state, including three who were electrocuted and others who were hit by debris. Villages had been…

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday voiced confidence that countries would one day reach a deal on a pandemic accord after failing to produce an agreement last week, although health officials warned it could take years. Health officials have voiced frustration with the negotiations that have been dogged by lengthy discussions past midnight, last-minute shifts in position and growing criticism from right-wing commentators that the treaty would undermine sovereignty, which the WHO strongly denies. Ministers from among the WHO’s 194 member states are seeking to wrap up more than two years of negotiations on new rules for responding to pandemics during the May 27-June 1 World Health Assembly after Covid-19 killed millions. Negotiators failed to produce a draft deal on Friday for formal approval by the assembly.…

SYDNEY: Papua New Guinea’s massive landslide three days ago buried more than 2 000 people, the government said yesterday, as treacherous terrain impeded aid and lowered hopes of finding survivors. The National Disaster Centre gave the new number in a letter to the UN, which had put possible deaths at more than 670. Defence Minister Billy Joseph said 4 000 people had been living in the six remote villages in the Maip-Mulitaka area in Enga province, where the landslide occurred in the early hours of Friday while most were asleep. More than 150 houses were buried beneath debris almost two storeys high. | Reuters…

Washington: The death toll from tornadoes and other extreme weather that buffeted the central US at the weekend climbed to 19 yesterday, as the severe storms threatened to roil parts of the East Coast. The system, which struck the Southern Plains region late on Saturday, overturned vehicles and ripped up homes, leaving deadly destruction in its wake. The storms were still likely to produce damaging wind and hail as they pushed eastward yesterday, and possibly “isolated tornadoes” in the eastern Mid-Atlantic, the National Weather Service said. Eight people died across northwest Arkansas in the severe weather. More than 650 000 customers were without power yesterday. | AFP…

THE Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has opened a criminal case against the Umkhonto We Sizwe Party (MKP) following a “breach” of the commission’s facilities in Durban at the weekend. The facilities are being used by the commission to store election material. Deputy CEO of the IEC Mawethu Mosery said yesterday that the commission was pursuing criminal charges against the party. At the weekend people claiming to be members of the MKP “breached” the IEC’s storage space in Chesterville and Hammarsdale. They claimed that the material was there as part of an elaborate plot to rig the general elections taking place tomorrow. Mosery said: “We can say that we have opened a criminal case. We cannot speak as to the details of the nature of the case,…

If we had a chance to talk and listen to each other, here are a few things I would enjoy talking about: I’d like to talk about what each of us is really good at and hear and tell a few stories to demonstrate our identified strengths. I’d like to hear about three or four defining moments in your life – when things shifted or direction changed – and tell you about a few of mine. I would like each of us to hear about the people who love us or have loved us and for us to tell a few stories about how the love is (or was) expressed. I would like to hear about how you see your future – no matter your age – and have an…

SOUTH African citizens deserve better than the return of corrupt, corruptible and crooked politicians to continue running our hard-earned democracy achieved 30 years ago. Opportunistic crooked politicians of the new democratic order saw this as a golden moment to replicate the thieving from state coffers. The billions of rand stolen during democratic rule despite our politicians earning an undeserving salary coupled with extravagant benefits. Budgets allocated for social services, feeding schemes and education have been plundered by politicians or government workers. State enterprises have been plundered. To add insult to injury, Jacob Zuma, the past deputy president and president of the ANC, who was complicit in the loss of billions of rand via his association with the Gupta brothers, leads a new political party opposing the ANC. He says he…

The National Independent Congress of South Africa (Nicsa) and the IFP have entered into a partnership with regard to the 2024 national elections. Due to certain logistical challenges, Nicsa will not be on the ballot paper, albeit it is a registered political party with the IEC. After various consultations and engagements with senior officials of the IFP and with due consideration, the executive committee of Nicsa has agreed to partner with the IFP in its campaign for the 2024 elections. This partnership is premised solely on the basis of trying to enforce much- needed change in South Africa. It must be noted that this partnership was not negotiated in the pursuit of positions or any political agenda other than that of trying to change the political landscape of a country…

IN A testament of endurance and faith, a group of South African women came together to successfully complete the English Way of the Camino de Santiago, a 118km pilgrimage route from Ferrol to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Bridge of Hope Wines chief exec-utive, Rosemary Mosia, was joined by Unisa librarian Mercy Mokgele from Limpopo; Johannesburg residents Hepsy Mkhungo a tech start-up founder and Zintle Ngogodo a notary; Nosipho Tshongweni, a treasury fund evaluator at Transnet and Hantsi Matseke to complete the route. Mosia last year also completed a challenging five-day Fish River Canyon hike in Namibia in commemoration of Women’s Month. The English Way of the Camino de Santiago is known as originally being used by pilgrims arriving in Spain by boat from Northern Europe. The group completed the…

Research by the Centre for Social Development in Africa on factors determining voter choice anticipates the youth vote will play a very big role in the outcome of the upcoming elections. Of the 27.7 million registered voters for the 2024 election, the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has recorded an increase in young voters as they make up 42% – 11.7 million – of registered voters. A sample of 3 511 participants were interviewed in a nationally representative survey to understand why they chose a particular party, and 51% of these participants fell into the youth age category of 18-34 years old. According to researchers, a high voter turn-out of youth will favour opposition parties, which may particularly benefit the EFF, whose major support comes from the youth. Just…

Mexico is on course to elect its first woman president this weekend, with two front-runners competing to break the highest political glass ceiling in a country with a history of gender violence and inequality. Ruling-party candidate Claudia Sheinbaum and opposition hopeful Xochitl Galvez, both 61, have dominated the presidential race in the world’s most populous Spanish-speaking country, home to 129 million people. The only man running, Jorge Alvarez Maynez, is trailing far behind with just days left before Sunday’s vote. “It’s a huge change,” said Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, a professor at George Mason University, in the US. “A woman president will be an inspiration for women in every sector of the economy, politics, society and culture,” she said. Sheinbaum owes much of her popularity to President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a…

Washington: Billionaire tech giant Elon Musk’s start-up xAI says it has raised $6 billion (R 110bn) from investors in a crowded artificial intelligence market. The latest funding, including from well known venture capitalists and a Saudi prince, takes the firm’s total valuation to $24bn, based on a pre-infusion figure of $18bn cited by Musk. He teased on his social media platform X that there would be “more to announce” soon. Musk launched the company in July last year, after he signed a letter calling for a pause in AI innovations. Earlier this month he told investors that he planned to build a supercomputer dubbed “gigafactory of compute” to support the development of xAI. | AFP…

Rennes: An 18-year-old pupil was detained in western France yesterday after stabbing his schoolteacher in the face and fleeing, authorities said. The teacher from the town of Chemille-en-Anjou in western France “suffered a facial injury that is not life-threatening”, the authorities said. After the attack at the Lycee de l’Hyrome, the suspect fled through the window, abandoning his weapon. He was detained by police. The officials said that the young man was not previously known to the police, and that counselling was provided to pupils and teachers. An investigation has been launched. France has been shaken by a series of school attacks on teachers and schoolchildren by their peers. | AFP…

An Israeli airstrike triggered a fire that killed 45 people in a tent camp in the Gazan city of Rafah, officials said yesterday, prompting an outcry from global leaders who urged the implementation of a World Court order to halt Israel’s assault. Palestinian families rushed to hospitals to prepare their dead for burial after a strike late on Sunday night set tents and rickety metal shelters ablaze. Israel’s military, which is trying to eliminate Hamas in Gaza, said it was investigating reports that a strike it carried out against commanders of the Islamist militant group in Rafah had caused the fire. Survivors said families were preparing to sleep when the strike hit the Tel Al-Sultan neighbourhood where thousands were sheltering there after Israeli forces began a ground offensive in the…

Starting today, Independent Newspapers will break down the DStv Premiership season club by club. Here, Smiso Msomi and Herman Gibbs give their verdict on the clubs that finished in the bottom four, including the relegated Cape Town Spurs, promotion/relegation play-off participants Richards Bay and the pair of teams that just survived the dreaded drop. 13th – ROYAL AM FC P30 W9 D6 L15 F24 A43 Pts33 Royal AM barely escaped being drawn into the possibility of needing the play-offs to secure their top-flight status following what was a difficult season for the club. Given their inability to sign players at the start of the season due to their transfer ban, just survival would’ve been the main target for Thwihli Thwahla, which was achieved in the end, albeit with an…

The 2024 elections kicked off in KwaZulu-Natal yesterday with the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) presiding over special votes for those who will not be able to visit voting stations on May 29. This year, the IEC approved over 1.6 million applications for special votes – including home visits by the IEC for those who cannot make it to voting stations; two days of voting for the elderly; and for service workers who will be on duty during Wednesday’s national and provincial elections. At Durban’s City Hall, voters were guided to a station to hand in their IDs, where they were given three ballot papers – regional, provincial and national – and two envelopes. The province has 320 010 voters who were approved to cast a special vote. Khatija…

Kiss me goodnight, Sergeant-Major Tuck me in my little wooden bed. We all love you, Sergeant-Major, When we hear you bawling: ‘Show a leg!’ Don't forget to wake me in the morning And bring me ’round a nice hot cup of tea, Kiss me goodnight, Sergeant-Major, Sergeant-major, be a mother to me. SUDDENLY it’s election season in Old Blighty, as well as here, and the Tories have announced that if they win again, they’re going to reintroduce national service, which went out yonks ago. Eighteen-year-olds will have to serve a year, either in the army – where they’ll be paid – or as unpaid auxiliaries to the police and other government entities. It’s not clear whether this would apply only to young men, as in the past, or whether the…

A HANDFUL of companies control as much as 80% of what we consume. We moan. We grumble. We curse the government. Yet we have the power to bring this inflationary nonsense to a grinding halt. Self-sufficiency and the will to survive will mean going back to basics by growing some of the food that we consume on our own terms. Stop supporting supermarkets that are controlled by massive distribution networks, in the process making super profits at our expense. Independent small producers must be embraced and supported. Stop the corporates dead in their tracks. Destroy their trajectory of demolishing beleaguered consumers across the globe. Spiralling price increases on basic foods is a worldwide phenomenon. It is insidious and has massive negative impact on all of us. It is destroying the…

AHEAD of celebrating their 45th year anniversary, Molo Songololo and other children’s rights organisations say they are struggling to stay afloat due to hefty budget cuts and financial constraints Molo Songololo director Patric Solomons said they are “struggling to maintain services” which have been offered for more than four decades. “Molo Songololo is struggling to maintain services it provides for children in need of care and protection. “The recent funding cuts by the Department of Social Development (DSD) further jeopardise our ability to maintain these essential services for the child victims / survivors of sexual violence - (such as) sexual assault, rape, statutory rape, sexual exploitation, and trafficking in children – we support and empower work,” said Solomons. The organisation has now called on past and present board and staff…

Oxford Freshmarket CEO Brett Latimer is planning legal action against the provincial Economic Development Department, saying it is accountable for financial losses incurred in the stalling of construction of a more than R200 million supermarket in Amanzimtoti. Latimer has accused the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (Edtea) and MEC Siboniso Duma of stalling the project, but the departments says the delays are a result of Latimer refusing to comply with environmental laws. Latimer said he originally purchased the land for the development of a shopping centre, featuring a 9 000m² Oxford supermarket and liquor market. “The projected costs of the development amount to R120m for the building and R60m for fit-out, excluding land costs of R40m. “Upon completion, the development is estimated to contribute approximately R12m annually…

In a groundbreaking, long-awaited move, the Department of Basic Education has announced the introduction of mother tongue bilingual education from Grade 4 in 2025. The decision, aimed at improving the performance of African learners, who have historically been at a disadvantage due to the prevalence of English as the primary language of instruction, marks a pivotal moment in the country’s educational landscape. The public fervently hopes the announcement was not merely an election ploy by the ANC-led government, but a sincere effort to address the challenges faced by African learners and pave the way for a more inclusive and effective education system. Minister Angie Motshekga’s recent announcement signals a commitment to empowering learners. Studies from nations across the world have demonstrated the advantages of mother tongue-based education in enhancing learner…

Hundreds of people had fled their villages in a rural community in north-western Nigeria after weekend attacks by armed groups left 10 dead and at least 160 missing, a local government chairperson and two residents said yesterday. A year after President Bola Tinubu came to power promising to end widespread insecurity, kidnappings in the north-west by armed gangs demanding ransoms have become almost routine, with authorities seemingly powerless to stop them. Gunmen on motorbikes first attacked Kuchi community in Niger state’s Munya local government area on Friday, killing five residents and five hunters who tried to fight back, before kidnapping dozens of people. The gunmen returned on Sunday night and seized livestock and food and burned shops, forcing at least 700 villagers to flee. “Munya is a no-go area. They…

Tehran: A new Parliament convened in Iran’s capital Tehran for the first time yesterday, days after a deadly helicopter crash that killed the country’s president Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. A new Parliamentary Speaker is set to be elected soon. Incumbent Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is running for re-election against religious hardliner Mojtaba Zonnour and former foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki. Political power in Iran is concentrated in the hands of the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran has approved a plan to raise its oil output to 4 million barrels per day. | IANS and Reuters…

SEOUL: North Korea fired an unidentified projectile on a southern path off its west coast yesterday, South Korea’s military said, hours after Pyongyang said it would be launching a satellite before June 4. North Korea condemned China, Japan and South Korea yesterday for committing to denuclearise the Korean peninsula, describing their joint declaration after a rare summit in Seoul as a “grave political provocation” that violates its sovereignty. At their first three-way summit in Seoul since 2019, the three countries sought to co-operate on security, reiterating positions on regional peace and stability and the peninsula’s denuclearisation. | Reuters…