Indholdsfortegnelse for 2024-07-19 i Mercury

This is the sixth article in a nine-part series that summarises findings from Just Retirement Insights 2024, a tracking study conducted by retirement income specialist, Just SA. We previously looked at the possibility of living to the age of 100 – a possibility that should be factored in when planning for retirement. Unfortunately, living longer increases the risk of dementia, a degenerative disease of the brain that primarily affects the elderly. However, very few people plan for the effect that this disease would have on their ability to make sound financial decisions in late retirement. According to Just Retirement Insights 2024, only three in 10 respondents have thought extensively about planning for cognitive decline caused by dementia. This remains largely unchanged from previous years’ results and could reflect a sense…

Municipalities have been urged to take note of a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) on the process of lawfully evicting illegal occupants from municipal-owned land. This after the City of Cape Town application, to overturn a Western Cape High Court ruling that it had incorrectly applied its common law defence of counter-spoliation during an eviction in the Western Cape in 2020, was dismissed by the higher court. Counter-spoliation means the immediate action to physically prevent land invasions and where occupation had not stabilised. The SCA judgment said that counter-spoliation is only permissible where peaceful and undisturbed possession of the property has not yet been acquired. “Once a spoliator has acquired possession of the property and the breach of the peace no longer exists, counter-spoliation is no…

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa last night said South Africa has the opportunity to make the country a better nation when he spelled out the Government of National Unity’s (GNU) plans for inclusive growth and job creation. “The coming together of all the parties that decided to co-operate is quite a historic moment for our country. We must make the GNU work and function and succeed,” Ramaphosa said. Delivering his Opening Address of Parliament in the City of Cape Town hall, Ramaphosa said he was grateful that all the leaders of the nine other political parties in the GNU wanted the new government to work. “We shall make it work,” he said. Ramaphosa said they shared a commitment to reconcile the nation by advancing social justice and equal prosperity for all. “We…

It is apparent that the criticism that has been raised on many platforms over the Government of National Unity (GNU) and what exactly it represents and how it should function are being proved correct. Two recent examples indicate this conclusion. First, one of the alliance partners of the ANC, the general secretary of the SACP, Solly Mapaila, has bluntly called the ANC a “sell-out” – the most disparaging term used for traitors in South Africa – accusing it of forming a coalition with the DA under the guise of a GNU. Which then raises an interesting question: What are two communists, Blade Nzimande and Buti Manamela, doing serving as ministers in the GNU if the ANC has “sold out”? The confusion is further underlined by the fact that Mapaila is,…

HAVING experienced three decades of the increasingly corrupt and failed implementation of the Marxist Freedom Charter begs the question about what reader value there is in providing extensive space to the two-part series by one Gillian Schutte (The Mercury, July 16-17) decrying the policies of the GNU while advocating more Marxism as the panacea for our ills. Although the likes of Schutte are entitled to their opinions, how does their blatant refusal to accept the conspicuous failure of Marxist ideology entitle them to media prominence? It is unlikely that the same prominence would be afforded to someone advocating national socialism or apartheid – both failed ideologies. Significantly, while Schutte’s thinking replicates that of former president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe Party, nowhere in her ideological harangue does she account for the…

NEW Chinese ambassador to SA Wu Peng has hit the ground running barely weeks after arriving to strengthen diplomatic ties between Beijing and Pretoria. Wu begins his term at a time when the flourishing bilateral relations between the two nations – well into the 26th year – are described as cruising in the “golden era”. China has been SA’s biggest trading partner for more than a decade – in fact, for 14 years in a row. However, the entire African continent has reaped benefits of heightened economic co-operation with China over the past 15 years. This clearly demonstrates the adherence to a mutually beneficial, win-win arrangement for all parties. But Wu is not only focusing his attention on SA. He is acutely aware of the importance of regionalism in global…

President Joe Biden’s reelection bid was mired in fresh turmoil after reports that top Democratic leaders had privately pushed him to end his campaign, while Donald Trump was set to accept the Republican presidential nomination yesterday. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have all expressed deep concerns directly to Biden in recent days that he will not only lose the White House but also cost the party any chance of winning back the US House of Representatives in the November 5 election, according to reports in multiple news outlets. Biden, 81, has thus far refused to entertain public calls from 20 congressional Democrats to step aside, following a halting performance at his June 27 debate against Trump, 78. His troubles…

Thousands of students armed with sticks and rocks clashed with armed police in Dhaka yesterday as the Bangladesh authorities cut some mobile internet services to quell anti-quota protests that have killed at least 16 people this week. The nationwide agitation, the biggest since Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was re-elected for a fourth time, is fuelled by high unemployment among the youth, with nearly a fifth of the 170 million population out of work or education. Protesters are demanding the state stop setting aside 30% of government jobs for families of those who fought in the 1971 war of independence from Pakistan. Ten people died in clashes with police on Thursday in Dhaka, the highest toll in a single day so far, including a bus driver whose body was brought to…

New Delhi: An Indian passenger train derailed and overturned several of its cars yesterday, killing at least two people and injuring 24, with rescue and relief efforts ongoing. India’s railway network is the main form of travel in the vast country, but it is poorly funded and deadly accidents often occur. The Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express, a 22-car passenger service that runs for 2 640km, derailed near the northern Hindu holy city of Ayodhya. At least four carriages had overturned at the site of the accident in Gonda district. An average of 20 000 people in India died each year between 2017 and 2021 in rail accidents official records show. | AFP…

Seoul: Despite many months-long efforts by the medical community and the government for a breakthrough, over 10 000 striking trainee doctors were presumed to leave hospitals as they have decided not to withdraw their resignations, the health ministry said yesterday. More than 90% of around 13 000 junior doctors walked away from their jobs in February in the form of resignations against the government’s plan to sharply raise medical school admissions. The government has presented a set of measures to convince them to return to work but a majority of them have remained off their jobs. The ministry has vowed not to suspend their medical licences. | IANS…

BRITISH race car driver Lewis Hamilton is more than just a sports person, he’s also a fashionista. With seven Formula One World Drivers’ Championship titles to his credit, Hamilton has been announced as Dior’s newest brand ambassador. Hamilton, who has expressed fondness for South Africa, is the brand’s menswear representative. According to a statement from Dior: “The House is pleased to welcome Seven-Time Formula 1 World Champion @LewisHamilton as the newest Dior Ambassador for the men’s collection. “Fresh from his victory at the British Grand Prix, this momentous announcement kicks off with the release of a lifestyle capsule designed as part of a guest collaboration with Dior’s creative director of menswear, @KimJonesStudio – reaffirming a lasting legacy of embracing icons who redefine what is possible.” In his debut collection as…

Good morning. Please, tell me something beautiful. Tell me of a private act of kindness you witnessed. Good afternoon. Please tell me something uplifting. Tell me about a moment when you saw happiness. Good evening. Would you like to know about the goodness that surrounded our lives today? When I, your distant columnist, try to promote such dialogue, I am not suggesting blindness to your surrounding difficulties where you live or that I want to deny the challenges I face. Difficulties are obvious, glaring, they are in our faces. The beautiful, the uplifting and the goodness surrounding you and me are often subtle, working, creating, loving and beneath the surface. The bully is easy to see. They are unmistakable. The humble often does their work from a hidden place. Beauty…

RAMAPHOSA’S bloated Cabinet is a drain on resources and represents an unprecedented betrayal of voter trust. The recent budget cuts facing every department in the national Parliament stem directly from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to expand the Cabinet to its largest size ever. This expansion, adding an additional number of ministries, was a compromise reached with opposition parties, including the DA. Ironically, these same parties had campaigned vigorously on an anti-ANC platform, promising to prevent the ANC from securing a clear majority. The DA, in particular, criticised the ANC for maintaining what it perceived to be a bloated Cabinet and wasting taxpayers’ money. Their manifesto was clear: if given power, they would trim the Cabinet and reduce unnecessary expenditure. However, after the elections the DA’s actions starkly contradicted its pre-election…

The worst of the people who presided over the courts during the apartheid anni horribiles (horrible years) believed they were serving a cause. That their cause was destroying people’s lives in their multitudes and had no semblance of nobleness was, to them, a mere terrain of the execution of the cause. It was that, all the many excesses and devastating manifestations of apartheid that made the fight against apartheid a just and singularly noble cause, a characterisation that can never be reasonably disputed, notwithstanding the loss of shine that has been visited on the cause by the wanton corruption and malfeasance that has been revealed as having been a feature of the post-1994 era. The lesson for all of us today is to examine anything that we are tempted to…

A RETIRED couple, said to be living on a state pension but who allegedly received income from renting out the premises which they are renting to a nudist colony over weekends for extra money, were evicted after they fell into arrears with their rent. The owner of the property in Meyerton, the estate of the deceased owner, turned to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, to have Dewalt Ryan and his wife Doris Ryan evicted. The application was brought under the provisions of the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from Unlawful Occupation of Land Act. The couple opposed the eviction application and said they had a lien over the property from certain improvements made to it. The court was told that in March 2017, the now deceased husband of Margaret Wood…

No economic growth can be expected in a sick environment IN 1994, South Africa witnessed historic change when all voters of legal voting age were welcome for the first time to cast their votes and elect the government of their choice. This followed years of being involved in the Struggle, by especially African communities, characterised by extreme hardship, poverty, inequality and unemployment. In 1994, about 35% of South Africa’s population lacked basic water supply services. Thirty years down the line, South Africa has made significant progress in improving water services, but challenges remain in sustaining effective water delivery and addressing affordability issues. The situation is even worse in rural and peri-urban areas. It is projected that about 70% of South Africa’s population will be urbanised by 2050. One can…

Israeli forces bombarded the Gaza Strip’s historic refugee camps in the centre of the enclave and struck Gaza City in the north yesterday, killing at least 21 people, and tanks pushed deeper into Rafah in the south, health officials and residents said. A barrage of Israeli airstrikes killed 16 in Zawayda town, Bureij and Nuseirat camps and the overcrowded city of Deir-Al-Balah, the last major urban centre in Gaza not to be invaded by Israeli forces, health officials said. In Gaza City in the north, medics said five Palestinians were killed in two separate strikes. The Israeli military said its forces killed two senior Islamic Jihad commanders in two airstrikes in Gaza City, including one whom it said had taken part in the October 7 attack in southern Israel that…

Russia had not ruled out new deployments of nuclear missiles in response to the planned US stationing of long-range conventional weapons in Germany, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said yesterday. Ryabkov said that the defence of the Kaliningrad region was in focus. The US has said that it will start deployment in Germany from 2026 of weapons that will include SM-6, Tomahawk and new hypersonic missiles to demonstrate its commitment to Nato and European defence. Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month that Moscow would resume producing short and intermediate-range land-based missiles and decide where to place them if needed. Most of Russia’s missile systems are capable of being fitted with either conventional or nuclear warheads. Ryabkov said Russia would choose from the widest possible array of options to work…

BEIJING: Chinese leaders pledged yesterday to modernise the country’s industrial complex, expand domestic demand, curb debt and property sector risks, as well as implement financial and fiscal reforms, state media said after a key Communist Party meeting. Beijing wanted to improve social security, healthcare and income distribution systems and introduce land reforms, the report said. “Restrictions on the market will be lifted, while effective regulation will be ensured to better maintain order in the market and remedy market failures,” said the report. The world’s second-largest economy grew at a slower pace in the second quarter. | Reuters…

HYDERABAD: Usha Chilukuri Vance, the wife of Republican Donald Trump’s vice-presidential running mate, J D Vance, has a great-aunt in southern India, aged 96, who is celebrated in local media as the country’s oldest active professor. Shanthamma Chilukuri travels 60km most days to university to teach physics. The parents of Usha Vance, 38, teach engineering and molecular biology in San Diego. After studying law at Yale University where she met her husband, she was a law clerk to US Chief Justice John Roberts and became an attorney. She resigned from her job after her husband was named as the Republican vice presidential candidate. |…

Independent Power Producer (IPP) ENGIE announced yesterday that construction of the Grootspruit solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in the Free State has commenced. ENGIE said the 75MW-capacity plant would be built and operated by itself in partnership with Pele Green Energy. Grootspruit was one of two solar PV power plants ENGIE would be building in the country, reflecting its commitment to transitioning operations to a net-zero environment. The other plant, the Graspan solar PV plant, will be built in the Northern Cape. Both plants are expected to be commissioned by the end of 2025. Graspan will also contribute 75MW to strengthening the grid. Together, the plants are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in South Africa by 100 000 tons of CO2 per year and will contribute to meeting the…

It’s no secret that parents and their teens often clash. “Imagine you’ve spent 15 years nurturing a plant,” explained Dr Bradford Wiles, an Associate Professor and Extension Specialist at K-State’s Department of Human Ecology, focusing on parent-child relationships. “Now, picture that plant about to be dropped out of a helicopter, transitioning from life indoors to the outdoors. It’s terrifying, right? They’re not angry about the helicopter jump; they’re scared. Really scared. Because it’s not the fall that’s dangerous; it’s the sudden stop.” For many teenagers, understanding their parents’ rules can be challenging, whether it’s curfews, academic expectations, or chores. This struggle is common among teens, but regardless of whether parents are strict, lenient, or somewhere in between, their decisions are typically driven by concern for their teens’ well-being. In the…

HEY, a treat for rugby fans. The Sharks were supposed to be playing the Pumas tonight in Mbombela (previously Nelspruit). But the fixture has been switched due to a clash with football up there and, now, the match will be at Kings Park, Durban. Yippee, what a bonus for local fans! Let’s chalk one up, Sharkies! Let’s forget those aimless kicks downfield that cost us the match last time. We’ve got the talent, we’ve got the beef, all we need now is the plot. Let’s make this a real bonsella game. The damsels of the Pub With No Name in Morningside are, of course, delighted and the strumming at their knickers is at a crescendo as they anticipate supplying elastic for a fashioning of catapults for the time-honoured celebratory feu…

EBRAHIM Essa and Zaynab Khan bemoan that the world has forgotten the war and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Is it so? Not really. When a phenomenon like a volcanic eruption and a war occurs for the first time, it catches our attention, but as it drags on endlessly it loses its appeal. The world has grown tired of the conflict in Gaza. It’s a natural human reaction. Like Ukraine, Sudan, the DRC and many other war-torn regions of the world, Gaza has become just another war. Think of the funeral sites on the banks of the Ganges. There are so many deaths in India that the burning of bodies on wooden pyres has become an everyday thing. The mourners place the bodies on the pyres, do their rituals in…

KwaZulu-Natal businesses have risen to the challenges posed by South Africa’s demanding economic environment and ensured that the province maintained its position as a key player in the country, contributing about 16% to the national GDP. KwaZulu-Natal may be the third-smallest province by land size in the country, but its entrepreneurs ensure that the province competes above its weight and is second only to Gauteng in contributing to the economy, said Kuben Chetty, head of commercial banking: client coverage KZN at Standard Bank. Speaking at the Standard Bank KZN Top Business Awards gala dinner at uMhlanga Rocks, Chetty said, “Standard Bank is proud to be associated with what has become KZN’s premier business award. Since its inception 18 years ago, the event has grown with the province, reflecting the events…

The University of Zululand (Unizulu) hosted a two-day African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) regional trade conference with expert speakers stressing the need to increase trade from the continent. The (AfCFTA) is the flagship project of the AU’s Agenda 2063, a blueprint for attaining inclusive and sustainable development across the continent over the next 50 years. It aims to boost intra-African trade by providing a comprehensive and mutually beneficial trade agreement among the states covering trade in goods and services, investment, intellectual property rights, competition policy, digital trade, and women and youth in trade. One of the keynote speakers was the High Commissioner to India, Professor Anil Sooklal, who said the idea of AfCFTA is to bring Africa together through trade. Sooklal said more than 50 countries are participating and…

A WIFE whose husband secretly sold their home, leaving her and their children unlawful occupiers, received a lifeline when a judge ordered an urgent inquiry about whether she and her children had other living options. The woman, who has not been identified in order to safeguard the identity of her children, was married in community of property to her now- estranged husband. She told the court the first word she had heard about the sale of their matrimonial home, in which they had lived for more than 15 years, was when the new owner pitched up and said he wanted to move in. She turned to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, in a bid to overturn an order by the lower court, granted in favour of the new owner, that…

The Springboks have brought tremendous joy to Mzansi over the years. They have won the Rugby World Cup on four occasions, and those were significant nation-building events in every respect. The 1995 triumph on home soil started the glorious journey, with captain Francois Pienaar’s Boks beating the All Blacks in extra time in a dramatic Ellis Park final. John Smit led the Class of 2007 to the Webb Ellis Cup by edging out England in a Paris title decider, and then came the Siya Kolisi double – in 2019 in Japan, and in France last year. We all enjoyed the trophy tours that followed each of those magnificent victories, but imagine if everybody across South Africa could watch every Bok Test? This issue has hit the headlines after the recent…

BRITISH Prime Minister Keir Starmer yesterday vowed to renew relationships with European allies soured by Brexit as he welcomed dozens of leaders to a summit to reaffirm backing for Ukraine and tackle irregular migration. Starmer, elected premier two weeks ago, told more than 45 European leaders the UK would be a “friend and partner” as he started work to improve ties hit by the country’s tortuous departure from the EU under his Conservative predecessors. “We want to work with all of you to reset relationships, rediscover our common interest and renew the bonds of trust and friendship that brighten the fabric of European Life,” Starmer told them as he opened the European Political Community (EPC) summit. Europe is grappling with challenges ranging from supporting Kyiv after Russia’s full-scale invasion to…

PARIS: Police were hunting three arson suspects yesterday after an apartment building fire killed seven people in the southern French city of Nice, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said. The dead included three children – 5, 7 and 10 years old – and a 17-year-old who tried to escape by jumping from a window, they added. The apartment is in the low-income area of Les Moulins, known for being a drug-dealing hub, in the west of the city. The apartment was occupied by a family believed to have Comoran origins, regional prefect Hugues Moutouh said, referring to the southern African island nation. Ten people were inside when the fire broke out. | AFP…

LIMA: An indigenous group in Peru’s Amazon say that drug traffickers are taking hold of the jungle after its leader was found dead this week. Mariano Isacama, leader of the indigenous Kakataibo people, had been missing for weeks before his body washed up on the banks of a river in the central Aguaytia region. Kakataibo representatives said Isacama had been shot. His disappearance was being investigated by the authorities. Isacama, 35, had received threats from drug traffickers growing coca leaves in the area, said Marcelo Odicio, a Kakataibo member. Six Kakataibo heads have been murdered in the past four years, he said. | Reuters…

IN A new series leading up to the Paris Olympics, Independent Newspapers will catch up with former South African Olympians to regale us with their unique experiences. Today, we feature swimmer Marianne Kriel. She was the first South African athlete to compete at the Olympics since 1960, and then-ANC president Nelson Mandela was pool-side to cheer her on at Barcelona 1992. Marianne Kriel: Swimming Bronze medallist, 100m backstroke, Atlanta 1996 “The first Olympics was all due to Madiba. He made it all happen for us. It was incredible to be part of the first South African team at the Olympics post-isolation. “Suddenly, we had gone from swimming in front of 50 parents in the cold and wind at Newlands pool to swimming before 25 000 people and millions watching on…

THE weather has been the main factor during the past week. The offshore fishing has been great, the shad have made a fantastic appearance for the rock and surf guys, while the bass are getting frisky. The trap stick is a rod which is often forgotten on the boat (or ski). This is a general term used for a rod that is used to put out a live bait while you fish for bottom fish. This method usually utilises a balloon and a live bait. The balloon stops the live bait from swimming too deep, along with making it constantly struggle against the resistance of the balloon and thus putting out the good vibrations. This method can be done with multiple different set-ups. You can choose to either have a…