Indholdsfortegnelse for 2024-08-29 i Mercury

ONE OF THE biggest problems new graduates encounter is having the required work experience to get hired in the workplace. Mvelo Hlophe, who is the CEO at Zaio, shared how the frustration led him to starting his business from a university cafeteria. Zaio is a company that holds coding boot camps. Hlophe said: “I want to share how a simple idea born in a university cafe- teria grew into a mission to empower Africa’s youth. My journey with Zaio is proof that with passion, perseverance and purpose, young entrepreneurs can create opportunities where none existed before. “It all began in 2018, during my third year at the University of Cape Town, where I was studying BCom in philosophy, politics and economics. “A conversation with a friend struggling to find employment…

NOW here’s a lass with a sense of occasion. Manette Baillie, of East Anglia, in England, marked her birthday at age 102 by parachuting from an aircraft at 7 000 feet the other day. Daredevil Manette jumped from a plane above Beccles Airfield, according to Sky News. The oldest skydiver in Britain undertook raising funds for three charities – the East Anglian Air Ambulance, the Motor Neurone Disease Association and Benhall Village Hall. She has had an adventurous life. She joined the Women’s Royal Naval Service in Egypt during World War II and married a paratrooper. She marked her 100th birthday by driving a Ferrari racing car at a speed of 130mph (210km/h) on the Silverstone racetrack. Speaking to Radio 4, she said: “I really don’t do fear, it’s…

The wise suggest that wisdom is achieved when knowledge and experience culminate and the lessons of the past allow a mature person to think before responding. This does not apply to everyone. Thus, mature people are gentler and less likely to partake in activities that are needless or will lead to confrontation. Life teaches that it is better to avoid futility. Historically, prophets said people would be led to hell-fire and would ask the angels why they were damned. Understanding this is vital as many wicked people believe they are decent humans. What am I talking about? You might be the type of person who prays, fasts, gives charity and so on, but you have some dangerous qualities that prevent your good deeds from benefiting you. For example, when you…

Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment Bernice Swarts said that the South African Weather Service (Saws) needs to do better to improve the capacity of its early warning systems. Swarts was speaking at the 3-day national consultative workshop “Early Warnings for All” in Pretoria on Monday, attended by the Saws officials and a wide range of other stakeholders. She said coastal provinces such as KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape were hard hit by unfavourable weather conditions, causing mass destruction and loss of lives. “There are few gaps here and there which explain why we have an unacceptably high number of fatalities whenever mother nature unleashes her outbursts of meteorological wrath on hot spots such as the coastal provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape,” said Swarts. The 2021 floods that swept…

PROMINENT Durban businessman and AmaZulu Football Club owner Sandile Zungu’s Gold Rush Consortium is among eight shortlisted companies that have made a bid to operate the country’s biggest tender, the National Lottery. Some of the companies shortlisted are the Thebe Investment Corporation, Hosken Consolidated Investments led by Johnny Copelyn and Yunis Shaik, the Umbulelo Consortium led by Afrirent Holdings, and Giya Games. Only one of the shortlisted companies will get the seven-year licence worth R180 billion. The Mercury understands that the tender document costs R55 000 while there is a R3 million non-refundable fee payable by the bidders. Zungu, who is also the Mangosuthu University of Technology Vice- Chancellor, said the bidding process was still in an early stage. Asked if he was confident that his company Gold Rush Consortium…

There is a clear correlation between the success of a sport and the funding it receives Freddie Hiney THERE are few things more exciting than watching your nation in a knockout game of a major tournament. For South African sports fans, these emotions ran rife for four months, from rugby to cricket to soccer. Let’s rewind to November 24 last year. It was a starry Saturday night above the Stade de France lights. Paris was the setting, South Africa versus New Zealand. History was on the line. Whoever won was about to go somewhere no other country had gone: four-time World Cup champions. Pieter-Steph du Toit’s gladiator performance and Handre Pollard’s marksman kicking inspired the Springboks to a 12-11 victory. It was a crunch match that entailed a red card,…

Britain and Germany’s leaders agreed in Berlin yesterday to work on an ambitious treaty covering issues from defence to trade that would be part of a reset of British relations with the EU. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s trip to the EU’s top powers, Germany and France, aims to help Britain move beyond the previous Conservative government’s fractious relations with European allies. Starmer, who took office last month, has put improved ties at the heart of his efforts to boost Britain’s economic growth. He billed the new co-operation treaty as a “once-in-a-generation chance to deliver for working people in Britain and in Germany” as it would deepen collaboration in science, technology, business and culture. Starmer said growth was his government’s “number one mission”. “And what we understand clearly is that building…

The UN World Food Programme began a probe into the conduct of several staff members in Sudan over allegations of fraud and flouting rules of neutrality, people familiar with the matter said. The WFP’s Office of Inspections and Investigations will scrutinise the officials, including the body’s deputy country director, Khalid Osman, the source said. Osman declined to comment. Part of the probe aims to establish whether WFP staff concealed information from donor countries and jeopardised their impartiality by becoming too close to the warring parties. The UN has struggled to deliver food aid to millions facing famine after war broke out in April last year. The WFP has also reinforced its Sudan crisis management response to provide humanitarian assistance. The UN says Sudan, with its 46 million population, has the…

ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopia said it has more than doubled electricity production from its controversial mega-dam on the Blue Nile after two more turbines started operations. The multibillion-dollar Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Gerd), which has long been a source of tensions with downstream nations Egypt and Sudan, is now generating 1 550MW of electricity. The dam’s spillways also released an extra 2 800 cubic metres of water to the downstream countries, Gerd said in a statement. Ethiopia first began generating electricity at the $4.2-billion project, in the north-west of the country about 30km from the Sudan border, in February 2022…

Hanoi: Police in Vietnam have arrested more than a dozen people in connection with a baby smuggling ring that trafficked 16 newborns across several cities and provinces in the country, reports said yesterday. Sixteen men and women have been taken into custody for trading the babies aged between three days and three months old. The gang targeted women through closed groups on social media, exploiting those struggling to provide for their children. They bought each baby for between $400 (R7 113) and $930 (R16 537). The gang then falsified adoption documents and resold them for between $1 400 and $3 000.…

AS the penultimate games of the men’s and women’s lawn bowls leagues concluded last weekend, battles were intense. Teams across the divisions fought fiercely for crucial points, either to secure their place at the top of the standings or to stave off the threat of relegation. With the final round of matches looming, the stage is set for an exhilarating conclusion to the season, particularly in the first and second divisions, where the battles for promotion and survival are coming down to the wire. In the men’s first division, Westville have solidified their dominance, gaining an impressive 15 points from their match against Wentworth. This victory has placed them firmly at the top of the log, with a commanding 19-point lead over second-placed Parkhill. With such a substantial lead, Westville…

Maintaining healthy eating habits is important for overall wellness, and the workplace is an environment where these habits can often be challenged. Long hours, stress and limited options may tempt us to make unhealthy food choices at lunchtime. However, by adopting a few simple strategies, you can create healthy lunch habits at work that will not only nourish your body but also enhance your productivity and energy levels throughout the day. Lunch breaks provide a break from your normal workday, helping you to feel more refreshed when you return so it’s easier to concentrate. Numerous studies show that productivity increases after we take breaks. With more and more people reporting burn-out, and feeling the physical and mental effects of constant work, there isn’t a better time to reconsider your habits…

Congratulations to Kamini Prakash for not pussyfooting around issues raised in her letter (Notion presupposes a pecking order of Indians, The Mercury, August 26, 2024) despite Essa’s penchant for bullying, especially women. She and others from our community who do not mince their words as far as Essa and his anti-India, anti-Hindu hate campaign is concerned have our support. He cannot write daily to the media, disseminating hate against, whites, Indians, Christians, Jews and, especially, Hindus and then claim that those responding to his “hate continue trying to drive a wedge between religious groups (read: Hindus and Muslims)”. What is bothering him is that the entitlement some have given themselves to be the only ones who should create the conversation, the narrative, the opinions, in the so-called “Indian community”…

For years, I followed the case of the Please Call Me inventor, Nkosana Makate, in which Nkosana and his lawyers felt that Vodacom owed him billions, while Vodacom, though willing to compensate him for his invention, argued that it did not owe him the billions he was demanding. What brings me back to the case that has been in the news for years, with both parties adamant about sticking to their standpoint, is the fact that there must be rules that serve as a guideline on how such a situation should be handled. Many intelligent employees, who end up being seen as valuable asset to the company due to the bright ideas they bring and which help grow the business, are usually content with not such significant forms of recognition;…

THE rights of reclaimers, or waste pickers as they are also known, have come under the spotlight in the Supreme Court of Appeal, with the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) arguing that the rights to housing and work for persons working in this informal sector must be protected in line with international law and standards. The ICJ entered the fray as a friend of the court in the case which arises from an appeal of the City of Johannesburg against a decision of the high court handed down in Ryckloff-Beleggings Ltd, where the City was ordered to afford alternative accommodation for the waste pickers. The City has tendered alternative accommodation, but on condition that the occupiers are prohibited from sorting and storing their reclaimed goods at the alternative accommodation. The…

Almost 90% of service providers taking part in the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) in KwaZulu-Natal have received their outstanding payments, the organisation representing them said yesterday. The remaining service providers are scheduled to receive their payments on Friday, resolving the three-month payment delay and averting a threat by suppliers to stop the programme with potential catastrophic consequences for the thousands of children who benefit from the scheme. The KZN spokesperson for the NSNP suppliers, Thabang Mncwabe, said the association was still preparing to go to court to avoid a repeat of the non-payment saga. “The issue is not resolved, because the Department of Education pays the suppliers only after we raise our concerns. It must also be noted that the association has instructed its legal team to compile an…

South Africa endured an electricity crisis from 2008 characterised by intermittent rolling blackouts and a growing culture of non-payment. The state-owned utility, Eskom, came to be regarded as the single largest risk to South Africa’s economy. At the end of March 2020, Eskom’s debt stood at R488 billion ($27.4bn). The government has attempted several measures to overcome the country’s energy problems. These have included new Eskom boards, new CEOs, bailouts for Eskom and a National Energy Crisis Committee that includes the private sector. Now it’s trying legislative reform. In mid-August 2024, President Cyril Ramaphosa approved a new law that marks the most significant change to date in the electricity supply industry. The Electricity Regulation Amendment Act is the beginning of the end of Eskom, the near state monopoly that has…

Russian-born Telegram boss Pavel Durov was being transferred yesterday to see the French investigative judge who was due to decide whether to place him under formal investigation following his arrest as part of a probe into organised crime on the messaging app, a judicial source said. Durov’s detention as he landed in Paris on a private jet on Saturday has put the spotlight on the criminal liability of app providers and fuelled debate on where freedom of speech ends and enforcement of the law begins. The investigating judge yesterday decided to conclude the initial police questioning and see Durov, in police custody since his arrest, to decide whether to take the probe further. Being placed under formal investigation in France does not imply guilt or necessarily lead to trial, but…

WASHINGTON: Democrat Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign yesterday launched an ad campaign attempting to tie Republican Donald Trump to Project 2025, a set of conservative policy proposals that the project’s participants hope Trump adopts if elected. Trump has tried to distance himself from Project 2025. The Harris campaign says the project is proof that Trump would adopt a series of authoritarian and hard-right policies if elected on November 5. Recent polls have shown Harris building a small lead over Trump since she entered the race on July 21. A Reuters/Ipsos poll from late July showed Harris up by 1 point, 43% to 42%. | Reuters…

BENGHAZI: Libya’s oilfield closures spread yesterday as the Sarir field almost completely halted output, two field engineers said, amid a political dispute over control of the central bank and oil revenue. Authorities in the east declared on Monday that all production will be closed. Force majeure had already been announced on exports at the 300 000 bpd Sharara oilfield and this week there were disruptions at El Feel, Amal, Nafoora and Abu Attifel. The move to shut off Libya’s main source of revenue comes in response to the Tripoli-based Presidency Council sacking Central Bank of Libya chief Sadiq al-Kabir, prompting rival armed factions to mobilise.…

“No” can stick in the throat and be hard to say at times. Perhaps, like you, I sometimes fall into the trap of saying “yes” when “no” would be far better for all concerned. It happens when I am trying to please or impress someone or I believe my “no” might hurt someone’s feelings. A decided, thoughtful “no” can be healing, mark a powerful stand and set solid boundaries. “Maybe” leaves a door open and could temporarily appease the one who might need to hear “no”. If we say “yes” when we really mean “no”, we get ourselves entangled to one degree or another in things that were never ours to begin with. “No” can also come too easily. If it’s automatic, default and unconsidered, it could welcome regret. A…

General Zod was one of the many villains who was banished to Superman DC’s Phantom Zone during the period before the planet, Krypton, finally exploded. The criminals were deemed a disgrace to the good people of the iconic, ultra-civilised and technologically advanced planet located under a red sun. The judicial system there decided that the warped degenerates did not deserve to be placed into the normal, friendly and stereotyped common prisons with other average deviants and unfairly enjoy breathing the fresh, pure and blessed atmosphere of the amazing planet. They were shunted, using mega high-speed wi-fi, into that Never-ending Ever-Ever land that exists everywhere yet nowhere in the universe. This leads us to the big question: Where exactly would Israeli Prime Minister, Comrade Benjamin Netanyahu, and his lapdogs be housed…

The National Independent Congress of South Africa (Nicsa) calls on the Labour Ministry to review our labour laws, specifically in relation to trade unions in the state sector. One of South Africa’s greater problems over the years has been labour and labour relations. Trade unions, per se, are the employee representative agencies that form the conduit of labour relations with the employer. South Africa’s productivity ratio in terms of man hours used is abysmal, and there is an urgent need to review the role of trade unions as it applies in the state sector. Constitutionally, every citizen has the right to freedom of choice and freedom of association. Inherent in the prerogative is the fact that any imposition by any person/s or the state on any citizen is a gross…

Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Thembi Simelane-Nkadimeng yesterday undertook to avail herself to respond to Parliament and the Office of the Public Protector in connection with allegations implicating her in receiving funds from VBS Mutual Bank. “Permit me to start by making my commitment to this House on my availability with regards to the response, if any is needed by the House or the committee or the public protector, on the issues that are doing rounds,” Simelane-Nkadimeng said. She made the commitment while responding to a separate question after she had earlier asked Deputy Minister Andries Nel to take questions directed to her on state capture. Speaking on her behalf, Nel said Simelane-Nkadimeng was on record that she intended to give her absolute and full co-operation to all law enforcement…

THE African Transformation Movement (ATM) is forging ahead with its plans to have Parliament establish an inquiry into the allegations of rand manipulation involving national and international banks. The banks were accused of engaging in “conduct considered the most egregious in competition law”. The alleged conduct related to fixing and manipulating the rand/dollar exchange rate, which has a central and crucial role in the South African economy. The Competition Commission alleged that between 2007 and at least 2013, 28 banks from multiple jurisdictions in Europe, South Africa, Australia and the US conspired to manipulate the rand through information sharing on electronic and other platforms and through various co-ordination strategies when trading in the USD/ZAR currency pair. In its submission to National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza for a Parliamentary inquiry,…

WE dedicate this editorial to the late Struggle icon, Elizabeth van der Heyden, fondly known as Betty. The only female political prisoner who served a full 10-year prison detention, she was the last surviving member of the Cape Peninsula Students Union, having fought alongside comrades like Neville Alexander, Frank van der Horst and Dulcie September. Her passing this week, just days before she could celebrate her 89th birthday in September, ends Women’s Month in a sombre mood. Not many were aware of the existence of this giant in our Struggle until earlier this month when The Mercury’s sister publication, the Cape Times interviewed her as part of its Women’s Month coverage. As we reported, her political history is a whisper in the background despite her resilience during these years,…

Israel launched a large-scale operation yesterday in the occupied West Bank, where the army said it killed Palestinian fighters, as the nearly 11-month-old Gaza war showed no signs of abating. The military said its forces killed nine militants while the Palestinian Red Crescent reported 10 deaths in the West Bank, where violence has surged during the war sparked by Gaza rulers Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel. The war has killed more than 40 000 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, and caused widespread destruction and displacement. Yesterday, Israel launched co-ordinated raids across four northern West Bank cities – Jenin, Nablus, Tubas and Tulkarem – where the military has focused much of its recent operations against armed groups. Columns of armoured vehicles entered two refugee…

Japan braced yesterday for its strongest typhoon of the year, with authorities advising tens of thousands of people to evacuate and issuing the highest warning level for wind and storm surges on the main southern island of Kyushu. “Typhoon Shanshan is expected to approach southern Kyushu with extremely strong force through Thursday and it may make landfall,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said. The storm, packing gusts of up to 252km/h and already bringing widespread heavy rain, prompted auto giant Toyota to suspend production at all 14 of its factories. Two people remained unaccounted for yesterday after a landslide buried a house with five family members inside in Gamagori, a city in central Aichi prefecture. Rescuers worked around the clock and yesterday they pulled out a woman in her seventies.…

KOLKATA: Thousands of protesters blocked train tracks and halted buses in India’s state of West Bengal yesterday in the latest demonstration following the rape and murder of a trainee doctor. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is in the opposition in the eastern state, called for a 12-hour state-wide protest strike after police fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse a march on Tuesday. Yesterday, most of the protesters were BJP workers who also forced shops to close. Thousands of doctors, many of them on strike since the August 9 crime, marched demanding justice for the victim and better workplace safety for doctors.…

PALERMO: Italian prosecutors are investigating two more crew members from British tech tycoon Mike Lynch’s yacht, along with its captain, in connection with the vessel’s sinking more than a week ago, a judicial source said yesterday. Lynch and six other people were killed when the British-flagged Bayesian, a 56m long yacht capsized and went down on August 19 within minutes of being hit by a storm while anchored off northern Sicily. This week, the boat’s 51-year-old captain James Cutfield, a New Zealander, was put under investigation for manslaughter and shipwreck. Ship engineer Tim Parker Eaton and sailor Matthew Griffith are being investigated over the same crimes, the source said.…