Indholdsfortegnelse for 2024-09-27 i Mercury

Gerhardus Burger was an associate of the late former CEO, Markus Jooste FORMER Steinhoff shareholder Gerhardus Burger yesterday pleaded guilty to three charges of insider trading in contravention of the Financial Markets Act and was sentenced to five years imprisonment by the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court. Burger, who is 79, received a five-year sentence that was wholly suspended for five years on condition that he does not trade shares based on inside information during that period. He also has to pay back the proceeds from selling his shares. He was an associate of the late former Steinhoff CEO, Markus Jooste, who apparently sent him, Jaap du Toit, Marthinus Swiegelaar and the late Ockert Oosthuizen text messages warning them to sell their Steinhoff shares. Burger sold more than 39…

Old Mutual lifted its interim dividend 6% to 34 cents a share over the same time last year due to a stronger performance by South African equities and its strategy to invest in new growth engines, including the launch of a new “status quo changing” bank early next year. Adjusted headline earnings grew by 3% supported by a robust 14% increase in shareholder investment returns. Adjusted headline earnings a share rose by 7% to 73.5c, boosted by the R1.5 billion share buy-back in 2023. “We are pleased with the solid performance delivered while investing for the future,” CEO Iain Williamson said in a statement yesterday at the release of the interim results. He said progress on strategic delivery provided an edge to their performance, and moves to launch…

I had occasion to be with two women who work closely with the public. One is a hairstylist, the other works in guest services for a major hotel. I asked how soon each was able to identify if a customer is going to be a difficult customer, high maintenance, or easy going. “They tell on themselves,” said the hairstylist, “as soon as you open your mouth to welcome them they start with the demands, and you are wrong before you even start. “I can tell by how they walk in through the doors,” said the hotel employee, “and the first thing they do is tell you they booked online and they booked luxury. And now they want to upgrade this and upgrade that. And I can see the booking and…

Like it or not, smokers will smoke; be it cigarettes, cigars, weed, e-cigs or vapes; someone who wants to smoke will find a way to smoke. Proposed legislation, such as the Control of Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Bill (Tobacco Bill), will accomplish little to improve public health or curb smoking. Rather, the in-vain attempts to control the habits of otherwise law-abiding South Africans will accomplish little other than potentially devastating the economy. The bill makes a host of grandiose proposals, including imposing stricter standards on processing, manufacturing and importing tobacco- and e-cig-related products. It also seeks to regulate and criminalise tobacco and e-cig advertising, standardise packaging to remove brand diversity, prohibit smoking in all indoor public places, ban cigarette vending machines and ban the display of tobacco and…

FinanciallY-constrained consumers in South Africa are continuing to use credit to meet their day-to-day living expenses in spite of the elevated cost of borrowing. TransUnion yesterday released its second quarter South Africa Industry Insights Report, which revealed South Africans increasingly used new and existing credit products to meet their rising consumption needs via credit cards, personal loans and retail revolving loans. The number of overall credit originations (a measure of new accounts opened) increased by 15.2%. Overall, the number of credit active consumers grew by 4.7% year-on-year to 18.5 million people, of whom 28.1% hold credit cards. TransUnion said this showed that more South Africans had access to financial products and services to facilitate lifestyle essentials. Originations for consumption-led products, facilities to pay for day-to-day expenses, accounted for 83% of…

Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Thembi Simelane insists there is no conflict of interest between her and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in relation to an investigation by the Hawks into money linked to VBS Mutual Bank. Simelane said the NPA was mandated to ensure that it exercises its functions without fear, favour or prejudice. “I understand the matter mentioned is being investigated by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation,” she said. Simelane was responding to parliamentary questions from DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach, who asked how she intended to deal with the alleged conflict of interest between her and the NPA, whose investigations must proceed unhindered. Earlier this month, the Hawks executed a search and seizure warrant at the Polokwane Municipality, which invested more than R300 million in the VBS…

A Gauteng couple have been sentenced in the Johannesburg High Court for heinous crimes committed against their children. The 30-year-old mother and 41-year-old father were convicted of child abuse, rape, and murder in connection with the circumstances surrounding the death of their two-year-old girl, and abuse of their six-year-old son. The court heard the couple’s disturbing history of abuse that started in 2018 when the Department of Social Development (DSD) removed the two minors from their parents’ custody due to allegations of negligence, drug abuse, and child abuse. However the parents regained custody in December 2020 following a Children's Court order. The two-year-old daughter died on May 11, 2021, due to injuries sustained from abuse. The case was initially filed as an inquest docket but an investigation led by Sergeant…

Alize van der Merwe who was kidnapped in Mthatha in the Eastern Cape has been released. This was confirmed by the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (known as the Hawks) in the Eastern Cape yesterday. The 39-year-old was kidnapped in Mthatha on Friday. Van der Merwe was travelling alone in a rented white Toyota Fortuner. According to Mike Bolhuis from Specialised Security Services, a Gauteng-based private investigations company, the victim left East London and had been travelling alone on the N2 towards Umngazi Resort in Port St Johns. “Her last communication with her family was around 11.30 am when she mentioned she was planning to stop, likely at the Shell Ultra City in Mthatha (N2). At approximately 3.13pm, the family received a call informing them that Alize had been…

National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi says despite challenges the process to “rebuild” the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is on track and steady progress is being made. The NPA tabled its 2023/24 annual report in Parliament recently. Batohi said she was acutely aware of the legitimate expectations of all South Africans to see justice being delivered effectively, fairly and swiftly. “It is with this awareness that we renew our pledge to serve with integrity, fairness, humility and in relentless pursuit of justice,” she said. “Rebuilding the NPA is an ongoing and complex process, but after five years of steady progress we have a solid basis from which to continue our collective efforts to build an NPA that all South Africans can be proud of.” She described the Investigating Directorate…

Did you know that Eben Etzebeth started his rugby life as a backline player? Yes, the Springbok enforcer – the heart of the pack, the man who sets the tone physically, the No 4 lock with the “crazy eyes” – was a centre at Tygerberg High School in Cape Town. Following a big growth spurt, Etzebeth made his way into the pack of forwards, becoming a lock alongside schoolmate Marvin Orie, whom he would later partner at the Boks. Etzebeth stands on the cusp of a new South African Test caps record. He will play in his 128th Test for the Boks in tomorrow’s Rugby Championship finale against Argentina in Mbombela, eclipsing the 127 mark set by another legendary lock, Victor Matfield. It is an unusual Mpumalanga setting for Etzebeth,…

MOSCOW: In a bid to strengthen ties with African nations, Russia has been actively working to establish visa-free travel arrangements with several countries in recent years. Russian citizens can now travel visa-free to Tunisia, Morocco, Cape Verde, Gambia, Sao Tome and Principe, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Mozambique, and more. A visa-free travel agreement between Russia and Zimbabwe aimed at boosting passenger traffic between the two countries is being considered and could be signed on the sidelines of the fifth meeting of the bilateral Intergovernmental Commission in Moscow on November 5 to 7, Russian Ambassador to Zimbabwe Nikolay Krasilnikov said. | Sputnik…

LONDON: About three dozen prisoners were mistakenly freed from jail under an expansion of the early release scheme put in place by the British government to tackle prison overcrowding in England and Wales, the justice ministry said yesterday. About 1 750 convicts were freed this month as part of a government scheme that made some prisoners eligible for release after serving 40% of their sentences behind bars, down from 50%. Thousands more are expected to be let out. The justice ministry said 37 prisoners in jail for breaching restraining orders were incorrectly released but most are already back in prison. Five offenders have not yet been returned to jail. | Reuters…

The illicit drug trade is a huge multibillion dollar business. It is estimated that the 2014 drug trade was worth between $426 billion (about R7.3 trillion) and $652bn (about R11.2 trillion). Today, it must be worth much more. Huge sums drive the illicit drug business. So lucrative is it that crime syndicates and unscrupulous drug lords go to any lengths to get their stuff across the borders into the markets – women, children, animals, reptiles, pigeons and even babies. Drugs are stored in a cow’s stomach (slit and stitched) or even pushed into the rectum and then taken across the border. Despite the vigilance of the police and border guards, many drug mules are able to slip through with their haul. Even if they are caught, the drug lords don’t…

The issue of hundreds of bodies piled up in KwaZulu-Natal mortuaries, as claimed in media reports, pertains to only a few facilities in particular. The DA is aware that in all cases, KZN’s Department of Health (DoH) has completed its part in post-mortems, DNA samples and other processes. It must also be categorically stated that the department is not responsible for burials but for storage until all processes are completed. Where the wheels fall off is when the SAPS, DNA sampling and municipalities don’t come to the party. This includes delays by investigating officers, DNA identification and clearing the backlog, families who don’t come forward and not enough being done by municipalities whose responsibility it is to ensure burials of unclaimed bodies. If burials or cremations are undertaken where processes…

The SAPS says burial cases are treated as priority cases and all DNA samples submitted for testing are being processed or have been finalised. The SAPS was responding after calls were made by labour unions for the government to tackle the issue of unclaimed bodies in mortuaries. It was reported last week that the health department had revealed that as of August 2024, 3 186 bodies remain unclaimed nationwide, with KwaZulu- Natal accounting for 1 527 cases, while the Eastern Cape has 526. The KZN Health Department said it acknowledged the issue of unidentified and unclaimed bodies in mortuaries and was working with the SAPS to speed up the tracking of families. SAPS national spokesperson, Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, said all samples submitted by the Department of Health and Forensic Pathology…

Motorists can expect to save more at the pumps in October when fuel prices are adjusted next week. The Automobile Association (AA) says current unaudited data from the Central Energy Fund (CEF) indicated significant reductions to fuel prices across the board, making this the fifth consecutive decrease this year. According to the CEF’s figures, ULP95 petrol is expected to decrease by around R1.13/litre while ULP93 is set for a drop of around R1.05/l. Diesel is expected to drop between R1.12/l and R1.10/l while illuminating paraffin will drop by around R1.08/l. “If these decreases are realised, the cumulative impact of this fifth decrease is substantial,” the AA said. “Considering, for instance ULP93 inland, the past four decreases amounted to around R3.36/l which brought about a saving of around R168 on a…

The Eastern Cape department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) has welcomed the sentencing of men involved in a bogus initiation school. Senior prosecutor Nkululeko Mathenjwa had argued at the Mbizana Regional Court for an appropriate sentence, stating that the deaths of initiates had reached alarming proportions. Non-registered traditional surgeon, Yongama Mdludla, was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to contravening the Customary Initiation Act 02 of 2021 and culpable homicide. The 21-year-old’s accomplices, Yamkela Bentswana, 27, and Mihlali Khiphi, 24, were sentenced to eight years behind bars. This was for their roles in the death of initiate Mvuyisi Dingile, 17, in November last year. National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson Luxolo Tyali said Mdludla was the principal of a non-registered initiation school in Mfuleni Location, Mbizana. “He…

Residential vacancy rates are on the rise with KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape most affected. This is according to TPN’s residential vacancy survey report which showed that the residential vacancy rate had risen from 4.42% in Q1 2024 to 6.72% in Q2 2024. The report recorded double-digit increases for KZN and the Eastern Cape while Gauteng and the Western Cape were in line with the national average. Waldo Marcus, the head of marketing for TPN credit bureaus, said the higher vacancy rate reflects fluctuating supply and demand as well as economic pressures and evolving consumer behaviour. “Rental vacancies have been gradually increasing since 2018, driven by a growing supply of rental properties which continued to grow until 2020,” Marcus said. “Although persistently high interest rates have bolstered the rental market,…

A former SANDF special forces operator Leon Santos Conga, who knowingly infected a woman with HIV, was this week sentenced to life imprisonment for her rape and attempted murder. The woman, Antoinette Ndishishi, who has given permission for her name to be published, earlier asked the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court to impose the ultimate sentence – life imprisonment – on the man who was her partner at the time. The pair were in a relationship for four months from December 2016 to April the following year. Before they began their relationship, Ndishishi had done an HIV test which came back negative. She insisted on knowing Conga’s HIV status and he lied, saying that he was negative. He said this was the reason why his employer was able to deploy him…

A STUDY, authored by Dani Madrid- Morales, Herman Wasserman, and Saifuddin Ahmed, and titled “The Geopolitics of Disinformation: Worldviews, Media Consumption and the Adoption of Global Strategic Disinformation Narratives,” has recently surfaced in The Conversation – a platform that prides itself on being progressive and academically credible. It is headlined with the brazen claim, “Chinese and Russian Disinformation Flourishes in Some African Countries – Anti-US Sentiment Helps It Take Hold.” This piece of “research” pushes the exhausted idea of an “information disorder” allegedly rampant across Africa, painting Africans as somehow more prone to being manipulated by Russian or Chinese “disinformation.” Stripping away its academic pretensions, what’s revealed is a rehashed colonial narrative, an attempt to pathologise anti-colonial and anti-imperialist thought and dismiss it as the result of foreign meddling. The…

The US is spearheading a new diplomatic effort to end hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday, hoping progress on that front could help rekindle stalled Gaza peace talks. Details are being discussed on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, according to two Lebanese officials, two Western diplomats, a source familiar with the thinking of the armed Lebanese group Hezbollah, a source in Washington and a further person briefed on the talks. Western officials said the most urgent diplomatic focus for now is to stop the violence in Lebanon, which carries a greater risk of spiralling into a regional war. At the UN, Cyprus’ President Nikos Christodoulides said the US and France were trying to hammer out an interim…

GITEGA: Burundi has expressed its willingness to contribute to the restoration of security in Haiti by sending a peacekeeping contingent. The announcement came from the Burundi Ministry of Foreign Affairs on X, following a meeting between Foreign Minister Albert Shingiro and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. This offer comes as Kenya has already deployed 400 police officers to help quell violence in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, with plans to send an additional 600. Other nations, including Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, and Jamaica, have also indicated their willingness to contribute to a support mission. | Sputnik…

TOKYO: A Japanese man said to have spent the world’s longest time on death row was acquitted of murder yesterday, his legal team said, ending his family’s search for justice after a wrongful conviction for crimes committed nearly 60 years ago. The Shizuoka district court cleared Iwao Hakamada, 88, in a retrial of the murders of four people in the central Japanese region in 1966. It was sweet to hear the words “not guilty” in the courtroom, said Hideko Hakamada, who has battled for decades to clear her younger brother’s name. Hakamada spent 45 years on death row before a court ordered his release. | Reuters…

THE country is on tenterhooks as we wait for the Boks to take the field tomorrow against Argentina at Mbombela (Nelspruit). It’s an issue that should be done and dusted. The Boks win the competition. How they last week allowed a first-half yellow card to throw them so far off balance, in a match they at one stage looked like winning with ease, is one of those mysteries that make the game of rugby what it is. But this time, we have to nail it down from the start. No more yellow cards, no more embarrassment. This time, pride’s at stake. The damsels of the Pub With No Name are strumming at their knickers in anticipation of being called on tomorrow to supply elastic for a fashioning of catapults for…

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address at the UN this week reaffirmed South Africa’s stance on Palestine. Ramaphosa spoke concisely and did not mince his words. He called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and echoed the calls of people across the world, for the international community to put an end to the carnage in Gaza, which unbelievably, has spread to Lebanon. He called on the international community to put pressure on Israel to end the war in Gaza. What international community? The international community, at whose doorstep the citizens of the world are begging for an end to the destruction, refers only to the US. Only America can pull the leash on Israel’s genocidal aspirations and like any decent pet owner whose pet has attacked and killed, euthanise it. Israeli Prime…

The proliferation of online media platforms is having a devastating effect on the print media. Astronomical operational costs are crippling the industry, as is the lack of support by the buying public who scroll through dozens of online sites looking for news just because it’s free. Tens of thousands of employees, truck drivers, machine operators, editors, journalists and so on stand to lose their jobs in the event of the print media shutting their doors. The retail cost of a newspaper has to logically rise in order to keep the machines running and newspapers on the street. If sales drop, costs go up. We can all help to keep the print doors open and costs down by dipping into our pockets and handing over a few coins, the same price…

The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport has placed teams on standby and various sectors of government are co-ordinating plans ahead of expected snowfall next week. This comes after hundreds of motorists were stranded during an unprecedented snow storm last weekend that resulted in one death. Concerns were raised that the government was not adequately prepared to respond to last week’s incident and more needed to be done to mitigate the impact of such extreme weather events. SA Weather Service forecaster Siphesihle Dlamini said snow was predicted to fall on Monday into Tuesday over the extreme western parts of KZN. Rain has also been forecast. “For Monday, we have a 60% chance of showers and rain across the province, but on Tuesday, we only have 30%,” he said. Dlamini said temperatures will…

THE KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport and Human Settlements, Siboniso Duma, says the maritime industry in the province presents vast employment opportunities for the youth. The MEC was speaking at a careers expo for school pupils yesterday as eThekwini Municipality and the Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) marked World Maritime Day in Durban. The event hosted more than 570 school pupils from around Durban. Duma said young people, especially from disadvantaged communities, needed to be exposed to careers in the maritime sector because there were various job opportunities. “Opening up of the maritime industry to all sectors of KZN society will enhance the chances of the export of our agricultural produce, especially from rural small-scale farmers and co-operatives, thus opening up their chances of entering the global export markets.” Nkumbuzi Ben-Mazwi,…

KwaZulu-Natal Public Works and Infrastructure MEC Martin Meyer has welcomed the swift action taken by security guards and police that resulted in the arrest of four suspected extortionists following a shoot-out at a construction site in Durban. According to the police, the incident unfolded on Wednesday afternoon when a group of five men reportedly arrived at a construction site in O'Flaherty Road, where a road-building project was under way. The armed men allegedly demanded money from the contractor. Security guards stationed at the site were quickly summoned to intervene, leading to an argument that escalated into a gun battle. SAPS KZN spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said that four of the five suspects sustained gunshot wounds during the shoot-out with the security personnel. “The four suspects were arrested for extortion and…

Consumers have been given the opportunity to provide their input on Eskom’s Multi-Year Price Determination (MYPD) revenue application for the years 2026 to 2028. The MYPD application, which is available on Eskom’s website, outlines the power utility’s financial position and the tariff increases it is seeking for the coming years. Eskom is required to submit to the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) the revenue it requires in order for the regulator to make its determination on the tariffs. In the application, Eskom notes that debt relief package obligations, municipal debt, “correction” of previous decisions by Nersa and the fact that the energy industry is undergoing a transition are the factors that it considered in its application. The power utility is requesting a 12.74% tariff increase for 2025,…

Durban businessman Thoshan Panday is recovering in a private hospital in the city following reports of him suffering ill-health. The 52-year-old was arrested on September 5, 2024 on tax fraud charges and was denied bail a few days later. Panday was due to appear in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday this week. However the National Prosecuting Authority’s Investigating Directorate (ID) Against Corruption said the matter was postponed in Panday’s absence to October 4. ID spokesperson Henry Mamo- thame said an inquiry would be conducted into Panday’s absence in court, as the head of Westville prison did not inform the magistrate’s court that Panday would not be in attendance at the court. “Despite a medical certificate being produced by his legal representative and handed in to the record indicating that…

THE tagline “Water doesn’t come from a tap” brings back fond memories of the advocates for sustainable management of water resources getting the messaging spot on. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF’s) “Journey of Water” campaign, which made this phrase famous, spoke to the need to consider catchments as crucial areas for water security. Similarly, the Day Zero campaign by the City of Cape Town, spurred on by the extended droughts, did a wonderful job conveying this message. Disaster was averted mainly through the collective buy-in from residents, but the success was ultimately driven by good communication and mobilisation of civil society. The effects of the messaging around that drought can still be felt when you visit some hotels in the city. Low-flow taps, toilets, and showerheads are…

Mpox epicentre the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is less than a week away from the start of a vaccination campaign, but the roll-out faces challenges in a vast country with limited roads, often in poor condition. Residents of Kamituga, a bustling mining town in the DRC’s South Kivu province, will be among the first to be vaccinated when the campaign begins on October 2. But authorities still face logistical challenges – only one road leads to Kamituga and most of the communities surrounding it are isolated. Taxis crammed with passengers sit beside large trucks, moving slowly through the winding, bumpy mountain pass. For the most part, the road is a dirt track, with bridges of metal beams and wooden planks that allow drivers to cross overflowing rivers. The town,…

DARFUR: Sudan’s army launched artillery and air strikes in Sudan’s capital yesterday in its biggest operation to regain ground there since early in its 17-month war with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Witnesses reported heavy bombardments and clashes as army troops tried to cross bridges across the Nile connecting the three adjoining cities that make up the greater capital, Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri. Army sources said their forces had crossed bridges in Khartoum and Bahri. The RSF said it had thwarted the army’s attempt to cross two bridges to Khartoum. The RSF has continued to make advances in other parts of Sudan. | Reuters…

The rock and surf anglers have been battling the cold in the early mornings. The rewards of fighting the cold have been some decent inedibles and edibles. The rain in the North Coast has made for some colour lines around the river mouths. These conditions are brilliant for catching snapper salmon and kob. Paddletails and chokka baits are the way to go for both of these species. The eMkhomazi River mouth is looking particularly deadly after the recent rains. There have been some early summer fish around so be prepared for some drag screaming! Bloody baits produce enough scent to get the fish’s attention. There have been raggies, blackfin and plenty of flatfish to be caught. The beaches in and around Durban have seen some decent fishing this past week.…

Kaizer Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi wears his heart on his sleeve, and that’s why he’s oozing confidence that they’ll return the glory days to the club. Nabi has had a promising start to life at Chiefs. He won the first two games in the Premiership, beating Marumo Gallants 2-1 and AmaZulu 3-1 (both away) respectively. His team’s character is set to be tested tomorrow (3pm kick-off) when they host serial champions Mamelodi Sundowns at the FNB Stadium. Nabi knows that this is one of the biggest games in the local sporting calendar, given Sundowns’ dominance over the years. But the Tunisian tactician is not fazed by the challenge. As he addressed the media at VodaWorld in Midrand yesterday, he cut an animated figure as he mostly cut off his English…