Indholdsfortegnelse for 2024-07-02 i Mercury

The agricultural industry has expressed hope that the newly-appointed ministers of agriculture and land reform will prioritise food security, competitiveness, and environmental preservation. This comes as President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday night appointed DA leader John Steenhuisen as minister of agriculture, and PAC leader Mzwanele Nyhontso as land reform and rural development minister in the 7th administration. AgriCulture South Africa (AgriSA) CEO Johann Kotzé yesterday said they were committed to playing their role in supporting the GNU by actively engaging with all stakeholders to foster a cohesive and collaborative approach to addressing the sector’s challenges. In line with this commitment, Kotzé said they were focused on addressing three critical areas that were vital to the well-being and prosperity of the nation. Firstly, Kotzé said AgriSA recognises the importance of ensuring…

EDDIE Murphy thinks “God was looking over” him when he refused cocaine offered to him by the late comics John Belushi and Robin Williams. The Beverly Hills Cop actor, 63, soared to fame in the 1980s at the height of the pair’s drug addictions and says he is grateful he didn’t give in to the same temptations that killed Belushi and contributed to Williams’ depression battle. Father-of-10, Murphy told The Interview podcast: “I remember I was 19, I went to the Blues Bar. It was me, Belushi and Robin Williams. “They start doing coke, and I said, ‘No, I’m cool’. “I wasn’t taking some moral stance. I just wasn’t interested in it. To not have the desire or the curiosity, I’d say that’s providence. God was looking over me…

A showdown is looming between the country’s biggest teacher union and the new minister of Basic Education after the labour union rejected her appointment, saying the DA has declared Sadtu as “enemy number one”. Reacting to the appointment of the DA’s Siviwe Gwarube as Basic Education Minister, the South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) said she should not have been appointed to the post. On Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced his national Cabinet made up of various political parties as part of the Government of National Unity (GNU). The ANC has had to relinquish control of key ministries, including Basic Education, Public Administration and Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs to other parties in order to form the GNU. In a statement, Sadtu was scathing in its view on the decision…

MOHAMED Saeed’s recent letter, “The keffiyeh is not a political symbol” is a shining example of how the pro-Palestinian/anti-Israel crowd manipulate the truth by offering part of the picture. I don’t want to spend too much time on the question of the keffi yeh and the Palestinian flag – neither of which is anywhere near the most pressing issues in Saeed’s letter – but they’re good examples of this. It’s true, the keffiyeh and the Palestinian flag are not innately political objects, but they are often not used to represent Palestinian resistance against Israel. Agree with what they’re saying or don’t, but it’s disingenuous to pretend that they don’t represent a political movement or that just because they aren’t always used to represent support for terrorism, doesn’t mean they never…

Unfortunately, as is the warped logic and bad practice of the dubious ANC, Kaunda has in a sense been rewarded, not put out to the political wilderness as a just due, as he is now redeployed to the NCOP – what a grave miscarriage of justice. As is usual with jockeying for positions, manipulating and posturing, the announcement of the new mayor has been delayed. The names of Bheki Cele (Ndosi), Cyril Xaba and Nomusa Dube-Ncube have been bandied about for the pristine position. God forbid that the useless and clueless Cele should wear the mayoral chain. The tepid retiring Minister of Police should enjoy his pension and not become mayor as he has proved to be a bumbling buffoon, under whose watch crime and allied misdeeds have actually increased.…

JULIAN Assange is finally free after years of persecution for the crime of exposing the truth. Over the years, the US government and its allies have been waging war in the fake notion of establishing human rights and democracy across the globe. It was Assange, the founder of Wiki- Leaks, who brought the reality of the unjust wars to the attention of the world. By revealing millions of criminalities and other painful stuff of imperialist countries, Assange became the target of US and Western governments and their media-affiliated outlets. Among WikiLeaks’s many eye-openers was former US president George Bush’s “war on terror”. WikiLeaks exposed the US’s illegal invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, the crimes of the military and Bush’s lies about then-Iraqi president Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction. While…

Ultimately, every minister and deputy is on their own to prove their worth THE radical nature of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Cabinet appointments on Sunday night has surprised even some of those in his political camp. Forget the long days of heated exchanges between the ANC and the DA or the DA and the PA on the incongruent interpretation of some critical clauses of the Government of National Unity (GNU) statement of intent that, until the last moment, characterised the build-up to the Cabinet announcement. Ramaphosa emerged confidently from the process, dispelling doubts that he had the keys to the Union Buildings. Now, he has decided who to invite to join and who to show the door to. He has been skilful in the negotiation process. The unity government statement of…

The US Supreme Court found yesterday that Donald Trump cannot be prosecuted for official actions taken as president, but can for private acts, in a landmark ruling recognising for the first time any form of presidential immunity from prosecution. The justices, in a 6-3 ruling written by Chief Justice John Roberts, threw out a lower court’s decision rejecting Trump’s claim of immunity from criminal charges involving his efforts to undo his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden. The six conservative justices were in the majority. Its three liberals dissented. Trump hailed the ruling in a social media post, writing: “Big win for our constitution and democracy. Proud to be an American!” Roberts said Trump’s case will be sent back to the lower courts for further review. The Supreme Court’s…

Hurricane Beryl strengthened as it churned toward the Caribbean’s Windward Islands yesterday, according to officials, threatening devastating flooding and storm surges as life-threatening high winds picked up speed. People in a broad swathe of the Eastern Caribbean boarded up shops, stocked up on food and filled their cars with fuel as the storm approached. “Beryl is expected to remain an extremely dangerous major hurricane when it reaches the Windward Islands this morning,” the US National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory, urging residents to heed any evacuation orders or other preparedness guidance from officials. Beryl’s rapid rise marks an unusually fierce and early start to this year’s Atlantic hurricane season – the earliest Category 4 storm on record, according to NHC data. The prime minister of St. Vincent and…

Moscow: Russia said yesterday that it had captured two more east Ukrainian villages, as Moscow’s forces have continued to put pressure on the struggling Ukrainian army in several directions for weeks. The gains came after Russia claimed two other villages over the weekend. Following the weekend’s advances, Russia’s defence ministry said it took the village of Novopokrovske in the eastern Donetsk region and the village of Stepova Novoselivka in the north-east Kharkiv region. Novopokrovske lies north of a village that Moscow took on Sunday, in an area of the front where Moscow has been steadily pushing westwards. | AFP…

HAVANA: Cuba’s government has said it will double down on price controls and continue to fight tax evasion in a desperate bid to tamp down on a ballooning fiscal deficit and spiralling inflation that have devastated its economy. The measures will bring the 2024 budget and goals in line with what the government refers to as a “war-time economy”, according to a state-run media summary of a meeting of the Council of Ministers, the country’s top executive body. Cuba’s economy has been decimated by the Covid-19 pandemic, stiffened US sanctions and a state-dominated business model plagued by bureaucracy, mismanagement and corruption. | Reuters…

Bafana Bafana’s 2024 Cosafa Cup fortunes are poised on a knife edge as they try to avoid defeat in the final round of Group A games today (kick-off 3pm). After the opening two rounds, all four teams in the group have two points since all the matches ended in draws. As a result, the outcomes of today’s Group A games will decide who will advance to the semi-final round. The three group winners will qualify for the semis along with the best runner-up. Bafana Bafana are up against Eswatini at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha. Mozambique take on Botswana in the other group game at the Wolfson Stadium in KwaZakhele, some 10km away. Coach Helman Mkhalele has not been impressed with his charges, who have stuttered thus far,…

AN OCTOGENARIAN who struggles to express his thoughts, challenged by a man who has a criminal conviction and even more serious charges lying ahead. Who could have imagined a US presidential election like this? This was US President Joe Biden debating against former President Donald Trump last week. It’s unprecedented and the outcome could have repercussions across the entire world. And the extraordinary thing is that the face-to-face confrontation was set up by the Democrats themselves, who now have by far the most to lose. Several times, Biden seemed to fumble his way, lose track of what he was trying to say – almost a caricature of the ravages of old age. Can such a man be relied upon to take the ship of state through the storms that undoubtedly…

Andile Mngxitama is an interesting but controversial figure. Mngxitama, who is considered an intellectual, advocates for land expropriation without compensation, uncompromisingly so. Ever since I have known him, he’s been preaching the “return of land to blacks” gospel. Previously, he was a parliamentarian under the EFF banner. However, he did not last long, as he was at odds with the Red Berets’ leadership. In fact, he struggled to submit under the leadership of Julius Malema and Floyd Shivambu. For some time, he was in the political wilderness. However, recently, his political fortunes changed for the better. In the general elections on May 29, he joined forces with the new kid on the block, the MK Party, which won 58 seats in Parliament. Two weeks ago, the MK Party boycotted the…

AS FORMER agriculture and land reform minister and recently-elected National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza faces possible jail time, the legal counsel for three Beaufort West farmers said their case showed how a lack of transparency and accountability in the redistribution of state land has crippled the success of land reform through redistribution. In a David and Goliath court battle, the three sheep farmers – Johannes Bezuidenhout, Herold Bezuidenhout and Jan Berg – represented by the Legal Resources Centre (LRC), had hauled the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development to court after it had not complied with a March court order in which the farmers were to be restored undisturbed possession of two farms. The latest court order, handed down by acting justice Safia Mahomed in the Western Cape…

IT WAS AN emotional moment as 28-year-old Johannesburg resident, Ramabele Tsolo, met his donor from Texas, US, for the first time last week. Tsolo was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2018 and learnt a stem cell transplant was his best chance for survival. Lacking a viable donor in his family, the SA Bone Marrow Registry (SABMR) launched an extensive search via its global database to find an unrelated donor whose stem cells could offer similar survival and quality of life outcomes as a related donor. In a fortunate turn of events, Tsolo was matched with Pete Johnson, 62, a stem cell donor from Texas, who signed up to the US National Registry in 1990, more than 30 years ago. The pair met for the first time at an emotional donor-recipient meeting…

WHEN the ‘Mother of Parliaments’ goes to the polls in a general election then the rest of the world does take note. The House of Commons and the UK’s unwritten constitution, warts and all, and despite its democratic deficits and the country’s history of colonialism and imperialism, remain the yardstick and barometer for democratic polity, whether other countries acknowledge it or not. Voters in the UK, including me, go to the polls on July 4 to elect 650 constituency members of parliament in what will be a defining exercise after 14 years of Conservative (Tory) party rule marred by a global financial crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the supply chain disruptions caused by the conflict in Ukraine resulting in high fuel and food prices leading to a global cost-of-living…

The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad fired a barrage of rockets into Israel yesterday as fighting raged in Gaza and Israeli tanks advanced deeper in parts of the enclave, residents and officials said. The armed wing of Islamic Jihad, an Iranian-backed ally of Hamas, said its fighters fired rockets towards several Israeli communities near the fence with Gaza in response to “the crimes of the Zionist enemy against our Palestinian people”. The volley of around 20 rockets caused no casualties, the Israeli military said. But the attack showed militants still possess rocket capabilities almost nine months into an offensive that Israel says is aimed at neutralising threats against it. Residents of several areas in eastern Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, said they had received audio messages from Israeli phone numbers…

WASHINGTON: Steve Bannon, an influential Donald Trump ally, was to report to prison yesterday to serve a four-month sentence after he was convicted for defying a congressional subpoena from the committee that probed the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack. Bannon is expected to serve his time at a low security federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut, according to a source. The sentence could keep Bannon imprisoned almost until the November 5 US election in which Republican candidate Trump is challenging Democrat Joe Biden. Bannon on Friday lost a last-ditch effort to stay out of prison when the Supreme Court rejected his request to delay his sentence while he exhausts the appeals process for his conviction. | Reuters…

Stockholm: A town in western Sweden has suspended land sales after being overwhelmed by requests for offering land at less than €10 cents (about 20c) a square metre, its mayor said yesterday. “We launched this campaign in mid-April. It was a bit of a crazy idea, but also a joke, to be honest. It was a marketing operation,” said Johan Mansson, mayor of Gotene, a town of around 5 000 people. Thirty plots of land, abandoned for decades, were put up for sale. The idea was to build more housing in a low-density area and help the region grow, the mayor said. The plots range in size from 7 to 1 200m². By buying a plot, the buyer commits to building a house on it within two years. |…

George Russell may have landed the victory at the Austrian GP but it was the way Lando Norris exposed Max Verstappen’s vulnerability that gave belief and hope to all the leading contenders ahead of the coming high-speed British GP. A scrap in which Red Bull’s three-time champion bids to extend his lead over his friend and McLaren rival Norris is now a clear prospect at Silverstone where Mercedes and Ferrari are also likely to be contenders. Team boss Andrea Stella of McLaren placed blame for Sunday’s crash between Verstappen and Norris that ended the latter’s race on the FIA’s failure to clamp down on Verstappen’s “aggressive-defensive” driving in the past, notably in 2021, when he fought seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes for the title. Norris described the Dutchman’s moves…

The Competition Tribunal has approved the sale by TotalEnergies South Africa of its 36.36% stake in the National Petroleum Refiners of South Africa (Natref) to a local subsidiary of the UK’s Prax Group, and which will serve as the hub of its further expansion into the region. Sasol is the biggest shareholder and operator of the Natref refinery, a statement from the Tribunal said. It approved the transaction, first reached in December 2023, subject to conditions that involve historically disadvantaged persons transactions and capital expenditure commitments. The specifics of these conditions were not made public. Natref is located in Sasolburg. It has a refinery capacity of 108 500 barrels of oil a day and supplies the main South African inland market. Prax is involved in the production, supply, storage, refining…

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa’s expanded executive, from 62 to 77 ministers , their deputies and deputy president, will now cost the public purse up to R185 million in salaries per year. The amount, which could rake up to R925 500 000 in five years if the Cabinet size is not changed, excludes the costs of their travel, flights, accommodation and security as well as their support staff. Ramaphosa has received mixed reaction from several quarters for appointing a bloated Cabinet despite his previous promise of a trim and leaner executive. On Sunday, he announced a multi-party Cabinet that included his deputy Paul Mashatile, 32 ministers and 43 deputy ministers. Ramaphosa blamed the failure to reduce the Cabinet on the need to ensure inclusivity of all the parties of the Government of…

I see emerging themes … I am aware that I have touched on several somewhat disconnected themes. I know it is easier to detect problems than it is to offer solutions. These are the themes I see as a danger to communities. I will offer one suggestion – if we see ourselves in any of the following, let’s do something about it by making the necessary adjustments and changes: The tendency to write people off for having contrary political leanings. The brash sense of superiority that is thought to come with wealth, success and status and the sense that “lesser” people are simply “in the way”. Parents who withhold children from their grandparents as a display of possession and power when the grandparents are sound, safe, loving and available. The…

“INDIA turns blind eye to Gaza”, by Ebrahim Essa, The Mercury, June 26-30, refers. Hamas has the same contempt for non-Muslims that Essa has. The notorious Khilafat Movement, linked to Palestine and the Caliphate led by Shaukat and Mohammad Ali, supported by Gandhi (an irredeemable blunder) failed when Atatürk abolished the Caliphate, but it resulted in the brutal barbaric Moplah Genocide of Hindus. Then there was the Genocide of Bengalis of all faiths, but mainly Hindus during the Bangladesh war of Liberation in 1971. Three million mainly Hindus were killed and between 200 000 and 400 000 women were raped by Pakistan forces. Their aim was also to destroy India by creating a refugee Jihad against India. Fortunately Indira Gandhi reacted appropriately. The American Senate banned arms to Pakistan. The…

PetroSA’s Xoliswa Mpongoshe has been appointed Council chairperson at UWC. Outgoing vice-chancellor professor Tyrone Pretorius made the announcement at the weekend following a council meeting last Tuesday. Mpongoshe, a distinguished UWC law graduate, is expected to bring a wealth of experience as an executive leader specialising in corporate governance, corporate law, commercial law, risk management and sustainability. “Her impressive career spans the private and public sectors, where she has held key executive positions at various blue chip companies in South Africa, as well as strategic state-owned enterprises. “Ms Mpongoshe has served as chief compliance and risk officer at Transnet, acted as Transnet CEO on several occasions, and was the executive of corporate services at PetroSA. Currently, she has been seconded to the newly established SA National Petroleum Company (SANPC)…

In a historic first for the Hollywoodbets Durban July, 22-year-old Rachel Venniker is set to become the first female jockey to compete in Africa’s greatest horse race. In its 128th year, the Hollywoodbets Durban will take place on July 6 at the Hollywoodbets racecourse in Greyville, Durban, bringing together thrilling horse racing, unique fashions and the best entertainment Durban has to offer. Venniker, a SA Jockey Academy alumni, is not at all fazed by the fact that she is the first female jockey to compete in the Durban July. Riding the gelding Without Question, owned by Justin Snaith, Venniker said the fact that she was the first female jockey to compete in the Durban July was not something that she focused on. “It’s not a big deal,” she said. Venniker…

The office of the Premier of KwaZulu-Natal has warned people about a fake job advertisements on social media. A statement from the KZN provincial government said that the KZN Office of the Premier has noted the recent circulation of misleading job advertisements on social media and other platforms. The fake job advertisements mirror the references and appearance of job adverts that were issued by the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government in August 2023 under the Sthesha Waya-Waya Provincial recruitment drive. “Those advertisements have closed, and the recruitment processes have been concluded. They are not being re-advertised,” the KZN government said. “All approved provincial government vacancies are advertised on the provincial government e-recruitment system or department’s websites.” The office of the Premier said that the job adverts are not sanctioned by the KZN…

The announcement of the Government of National Unity’s new Cabinet by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday night, has sparked a wave of scepticism among millions of poor and unemployed South Africans who had hoped for real change in their daily struggles. This so-called “appeasement Cabinet”, comprising members from 10 political parties, is a bloated behemoth that is set to disappoint rather than deliver on the promises of progress and transformation. Particularly ironic is how the private sector, which once vehemently criticised the ANC for its large Cabinets, remains silent now that the Cabinet has ballooned to unprecedented levels. With over 70 ministers and deputy ministers, this oversized Cabinet is not only an unnecessary burden on taxpayers, but also a symbol of governmental excess in a country teetering on the brink…

French President Emmanuel Macron and his allies were yesterday battling to prevent the far right from taking an absolute majority and control of government in a historic first after his gamble on early elections backfired. The far-right National Rally (RN) party of Marine Le Pen won a resounding victory in the first round of the polls on Sunday, with Macron’s centrists trailing in third behind a left-wing coalition. But the key suspense ahead of the second round this coming Sunday was whether the RN would win an absolute majority in the new National Assembly, enabling it to form a government and make Le Pen’s protégé Jordan Bardella, 28, prime minister. Most projections published by French polling organisations showed the RN falling short of an absolute majority, but the final outcome…

Renens: A Swiss appeals trial began yesterday of six police officers acquitted over the death in custody of a Nigerian man, which has drawn comparisons to George Floyd’s killing in the US. Dozens of people gathered outside the courthouse in Renens, in western Switzerland, to show support for the family of Mike Ben Peter. The 39-year-old died following a violent arrest after he refused a police drug search in Lausanne in early 2018. In the encounter, involving six police officers, he was pinned to the ground, on his stomach, his family’s lawyer Simon Ntah said before to the initial trial. “He was held in positional asphyxia” for several minutes, he said. | AFP…

London: A Barbie that spent six months orbiting the Earth on the International Space Station will go on public display for this first time this week at the Design Museum in London. It will be part of a new exhibition marking the 65th anniversary of the Barbie brand, set to open on Friday in partnership with creator Mattel. The Barbie was made to resemble Samantha Cristoforetti, the first female commander of the ISS. On the mission in which she was accompanied by her lookalike Barbie, Cristoforetti became the first European woman to complete a spacewalk. | AFP…

Springbok attack coach Tony Brown wants to get that attacking instinct of flyhalf Handre Pollard, that he showed as a Junior Springbok, back into his game. It might not happen this weekend when South Africa face Ireland in the first of two Tests at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria (kick-off 5.05pm). Still, Brown is working hard behind the scenes with the double World Cup-winning flyhalf to rediscover a trait that made him a threat across the park. There’s nothing wrong with Pollard’s kicking boot and he has saved the world champions on multiple occasions with his accuracy at goal. His crucial kicks brought South Africa World Cup success in 2019 and last year. But the Boks are constantly looking to evolve their attack with their skilful backline players, and Brown is…