Innehållsförteckning för 2021-12-02 från Cape Argus

Chad Williams chad.williams@africannewsagency.com Ethiopia, the seat of the African Union (AU), is on the verge of implosion. The country has been racked by conflict since the Tigray Liberations Movement Front (TPLF) resorted to seceding from Ethiopia in the middle of last year. While negotiations between the federal government and the TPLF have not yielded any tangible results, the concern is that the conflict could escalate and plunge the country into a humanitarian catastrophe. On Tuesday, a webinar hosted by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) discussed the current political situation in Ethiopia under the theme, “Ethiopia at the crossroad: Where to for peace and stability in the Horn of Africa”. Speakers included researchers from the Institute for Security Studies and professors from leading South African universities. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed,…

THE festive season always ushered in higher prices and unbelievable savings, therefore it would be important that prices remained fair during this period, according to the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group (PMBEJD) In November, the average cost of the Household Food Basket was R4 272.44. Compared to the previous month, the average cost of the Household Food Basket decreased by R45.11 (-1%), from R4 317.56 in October 2021 to R4 272.44 in November 2021. Year-on-year, the average cost of the Household Food Basket increased by R254.19 (6.3%), from R4 018.25 in November last year to R4 272.44 in November this year. Since the start of the Household Affordability Index in September 2020 the average cost of the Household Food Basket increased by R416.10 (10.8%), from R3 856.34 in September…

Liam Karabo Joyce When you look at the South African music landscape at the moment, it’s easy to forget that there’s more to it than just amapiano. Some hip hop stars have been so influenced by the genre that that is all they are producing. Yes, amapiano has taken the world by storm and we should be proud of that, however, pop, gospel, R&B and musicians in other genres are still releasing chart-topping songs. One such musician is Johannesburg-based singer Evida, who recently released his debut album, Mirror for a Miracle. Born Liam Elliot Jones, the 24-year-old musician is a Sama nominee. In 2017, he was nominated as a producer for the Best Remix category at the South African Music Awards for his remix of, The Woods by Tresor and…

Marchelle Abrahams marchelle.abrahams@inl.co.za Gender-based violence is a global scourge that only for 16 days of the year gets thrust into the spotlight. Suddenly, activists and survivors are given a platform to tell their stories, which in return, are met with solemn looks and messages of support. After that, it’s back to your regular scheduled programming. In South Africa, GBV is the catalyst for many violent crimes. Of the 53 293 reported cases of sexual offences from the 2019/2020 police crime statistics, 31 100 were against women and 22 070 against children. The pandemic has further escalated the numbers. As a result, women’s rights NGO People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA) has been forced to realign their operations in order to reach survivors and provide them with support. “When the police statistics…

Sisonke Mlamla sisonke.mlamla@inl.co.za AS ANOTHER academic year draws to a close, many parents in the Western Cape are at their wits end as more than 29 500 children have not been admitted to schools for 2022. The number of unplaced children was recently disclosed by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) during its parliamentary presentation on preparedness for the 2022 academic year. Portfolio Committee on Basic Education chairperson, Bongiwe Mbinqo-Gigaba said they noted the numbers. “It is concerning, but we also understand the reasons provided by the DBE for these learners not being placed.” By the end of March this year, about 500 primary school pupils from Forest Village in Eerste River were not yet placed. That prompted their parents to protest outside the legislature and start a makeshift school.…

Mthuthuzeli Ntseku mthuthuzeli.ntseku@inl.co.za THE strike by In2Food workers, a prepared food and beverage business in Strand, has entered its fourth day after they downed tools over wage adjustments and what they deem as unfair terms and conditions of employment. The workers complained about long hours, intimidation and wages. The company has allegedly locked out some employees since Friday. National Certificated Fishing and Allied Workers Union (NCFAWU) secretary-general Llewellyn Domingo said workers demanded a 12% increase in March but without any negotiations the company implemented a 4% increase at the Strand branch. “For more than a year, the workers have been working for long hours, from 7.30am until latest 11pm, under the justification that the company needed to get its product out at a certain time. We have other issues…

loyiso.sidimba loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za ACTING Chief Justice Raymond Zondo yesterday denied former State Security Agency (SSA) director-general Arthur Fraser’s bid to cross-examine several witnesses who implicated him in the commission of inquiry into state capture. Commission chairperson Justice Zondo dismissed Fraser’s application to cross-examine former SSA bosses Mzuvukile Maqetuka, Moe Shaik, Lizo Njenje and ex-Cabinet minister Dr Sydney Mufamadi, who chaired the high-level review panel on the SSA. Justice Zondo said Fraser did not specify in which parts of their affidavits they implicated him and that his own statements that he submitted to the inquiry should have been signed and under oath, but were not. ”I did consider the submissions that he (Fraser) submitted but as I have indicated I am satisfied that the applicant (Fraser) did not comply with the requirement…

Shakirah Thebus shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za ON World Aids Day yesterday, the City and the province partnered with ANOVA Health Institute and non-profit organisation Touching Nations to launch two new HIV testing strategies at the Delft South Clinic. World Aids Day is held annually on December 1, with this year’s theme “End inequalities. End Aids.” The World Health Organization said an estimated 37 700 000 people live with HIV, and 680 000 died from HIV-related causes in 2020. Mayco member for Community Services and Health Patricia van der Ross said the new testing strategies were part of the City’s search for new ways to find undiagnosed people and offer them treatment. “It is a massive step forward. I hope the public will embrace what is on offer to them and make informed choices…

TIGER Woods refused to put a timetable on his return to tournament golf on Tuesday in his first public appearance since a serious car crash earlier this year that left him "lucky to be alive". Speaking to reporters in the Bahamas ahead of the Hero World Challenge, Woods said he would never regain full strength in his right leg, which was left shattered after the crash in Los Angeles in February. Woods, 45, told Golf Digest in an interview on Monday his days as a full-time professional golfer were over, saying that he would pick and choose tournaments from now on. On Tuesday, the 15-time major winner gave no indication of when he expected to be fit enough to play a full 72-hole professional event, repeatedly emphasising that his recovery…

Eustace Mashimbye I HAD A conversation with one of our members recently about the different access to market opportunities that membership of the buy local movement offers. One with which we have struggled over the years is finding shelf space with our leading retailers for more locally manufactured items – from white goods to fast-moving consumer goods. We have had many round table discussions with the country’s retail chains, but only a few have yielded any meaningful results. One sector in which we have, however, made great progress is with clothing retail stores, where the sectoral masterplan has played a major part in seeing an increase in locally manufactured clothing and apparel on their shelves. The sector continues to be a blueprint that can be adopted for other sectors…

DREAMS OF GOMORRAH SHOWMAX In this local feature film, a young woman named Phiwo, who has a strict, religious father, travels to Durban to get married – but she finds herself falling in love with a woman. ALASKAN BUSH PEOPLE DISCOVERY, DSTV CHANNEL 121, 8PM The Browns, a family of nine, live deep in the Alaskan bush. This season is dedicated to the late family patriarch, Billy Brown, who died in February. As the season begins, Billy rallies the family on their North Star Ranch just before it is burnt to the ground by wildfires. MOJA LOVE, DSTV CHANNEL 157, 9.30PM Siyabonga Mdlalose highlights issues around property ownership and the property disputes that happen within South African communities, from low-income households to ultra-rich families. Find out what happens…

Reuters Norway’s state-owned postal service Posten is marking 50 years since Norway decriminalised same-sex relationships, with a heart-warming Christmas ad in which Santa Claus strikes up a romance with a man called Harry. In the nearly four-minute film called When Harry met Santa – a nod to the 1989 romantic comedy When Harry met Sally... starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan – Harry spots Santa delivering gifts to his home. Meeting again each Christmas over several years, the two slowly build a bond. But Santa’s busy schedule allows for only fleeting encounters – until he enrols Norway’s Posten to help with deliveries and the two are finally able to spend time together, and kiss in the final scene. “This year it’s all about love, highlighting the fact that 2022 marks…

Mwangi Githahu mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za AHEAD of the festive season the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has warned consumers against banking scams and is urging vigilance and caution when paying for purchases either in-store or online. The authority said it had noted a rise in the number of alleged reported scams and fraudulent activities experienced by financial customers. Advising on steps to take if consumers think they have been scammed or suspect a scam, FSCA spokesperson Kedibone Dikokwe said people should report the incident directly to their bank via their fraud hotline. “You should also reverse the respective payment or stop any debit orders and report the fraudulent transaction to the company behind the money transfer, for example an online shopping store. “If you feel that you have been treated unfairly,…

THE Animal Welfare Society of South Africa (AWSSA) has described as a “tsunami” the number of surrendered and unwanted pets admitted to its care. Spokesperson Allan Perrins said although the number of animals was adding to the workload, pet owners did the responsible thing by not dumping or selling them. “The two primary reasons we speculate have caused this massive increase may be because many households have taken a serious financial knock since the start of the lockdown. “Affordability is becoming a real issue for pet owners, not only in the Cape Flats but in the broader metro area. “A lot of people have lost their jobs. “Petrol has just sky-rocketed again. “The cost of living is a bit of a runaway train and unfortunately for many people, spending money…

Jehran Naidoo jehran.naidoo@inl.co.za Former defence and military veterans minister and National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula allegedly lied under oath about the July unrest, according to KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi. He said yesterday that the former minister lied about him several times in her sworn statement to the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) last week . He told the commission’s Buang Jones and Smanga Sethene that Mapisa-Nqakula did not attend any meetings at the police provincial headquarters in Durban CBD. He said she attended one meeting at the eThekwini disaster management centre. The former ministers of defence and state security were based at the five-star Beverly Hills Hotel in uMhlanga, according to both Mkhwanazi and Major-General Phumelele Makoba. Makoba assumed the command role after Mkhwanazi went on paternity…

Sisonke Mlamla sisonke.mlamla@inl.co.za THE City’s recently launched sewer spill reduction plan to help address 300 sewer blockages and overflows in the city has been widely welcomed. The plan targets a 50% reduction by 2030 through a combination of strategic upgrades, intensified proactive maintenance, more efficient use of resources and community education. Water and Waste Mayco member Zahid Badroodien said over the next three years, more than R10 billion of the City’s R29 billion capital expenditure plan will be invested in water and sanitation infrastructure to support sustainable development, of which R1.6 billion is specifically for conveying sewage. Badroodien said sewer blockage hotspot areas that would benefit include, among others, Khayelitsha, Phoenix/Joe Slovo, Dunoon, Wallacedene, Wesbank, Montrose Park. He said the department’s 2030 goal was to decrease the number…

THE 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children Campaign is a UN campaign to challenge violence against women and children (GBV). It runs every year from November 25 until December 10 and includes the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, World Aids Day and the International Day for Persons with Disabilities. The 16 Days period forms the centre point of the government’s view of 365 Days of Activism. It is not only during the 16 Days campaign that the team at Wynberg court and Heideveld Thuthuzela Care Centre address the scourge of gender-based violence (GBV) but deals with the accountability of these offences on a daily basis. The most important message that must go out to the community is to immediately report all…

Stuart Hess stuart.hess@inl.co.za THE extension of the deadline for the final report from the Social Justice and Nation-Building Ombudsman comes as no surprise given the volume of testimony the office had to process. CSA c onfirmed yesterday that its board of directors had given Ombudsman Dumisa Ntsebeza until next Monday to submit his final report. The original deadline was Tuesday, which was already an extension of a September 30 deadline. However, that date was changed to accommodate responses from those who had been named in the original phase of the Ombudsman’s oral testimonies conducted in July and August. A number of individuals and entities adversely mentioned during the hearings were given the opportunity to submit written responses, including CSA director of cricket Graeme Smith, the Proteas men’s team coach Mark…

Zaahier Adams zaahier.adams@inl.co.za CAPE Town City are simply a frustration. They are a team blessed with an abundance of talent put together by the shrewdness of their wily owner John Comitis. They have a coach, Eric Tinkler, that has played at the highest level both at club level in the English Premiership and internationally for Bafana Bafana. Equally, he is one of the most astute tacticians in the local game. Then what is wrong with the Citizens? Why does a team that has both high-quality foreign and Bafana internationals find themselves drifting in 10th place on the log? Is it the lack of spectators that renders the atmosphere in the stadiums soulless? Surely, that can’t be the answer for the listless displays that City are prone to producing as it's…

Given Majola given.majola@inl.co.za SOUTH Africans are predicted to each spend an average of R6 326 over and above their usual monthly expenses during this festive season, an annual Summer Spending survey by short-term lender Wonga reveals. Based on Statistics SA’s mid-year population size estimates, the survey said this meant that local consumers were set to pump R252 billion into the local economy. Some 6 400 South Africans shared their plans for the festive season in the survey conducted last month. This revealed where they planned to be, what gifts they would like and how much they intended to spend. They also gave an indication of how they were feeling about next year. According to the results, the average spend per person over this period was forecast to…

Liam Karabo Joyce liam.joyce@inl.co.za When it comes to music, language is no barrier. That’s because, as clichéd as it might sound, music really is a universal language. This is why Korean music, aka K-pop, has become so popular. Thanks to toe-tapping techno beats, crazy-colourful aesthetic, trend-defining fashion and perfectly choreographed videos, K-pop has become something of a global phenomenon and its stars are smashing records. From BTS winning Artist of the Year at this years American Music Awards to Blackpink being the first K-pop group to perform at Coachella in 2019, these stars are shining bright. K pop is part of what is called “Hallyu”, which means “Korean wave”. It refers to the colossal and ever-growing impact of South Korean culture, shown in the popularity of everything from K-dramas on…

Gene Weingarten THE one-storey clapboard house looks dingy and dilapidated, and the lawn is cluttered with crap. The backyard makes the front look like Versailles. There are piles of garbage and mouldering pits of ashes where trash and food scraps have been burnt. No person lives in the house, which is in rural northern North Carolina, a financially annihilated area where many people are living thin. The house has been abandoned since January, when the owner, an elderly man, died of Covid-19. We are here in late July. The squalor seems lifeless, but, terribly, it isn’t. You hear the three dogs baying before you see them, and then you see them and recoil. Each is tethered to a metal cable, which is tethered to its own primitive wooden doghouse.…

Gerry Cupido geraldine.cupido@inl.co.za Children can never have enough playtime, especially when it’s time spent with their best friends. For the only child who doesn’t have any siblings to play with, playdates are perfect. They don’t have to wait for large family gatherings or their friends’ birthday parties to get together with their buddies outside of school time. However, if your little one is under 10 years old, playtime with friends generally requires some form of supervision. While arranging a playdate is easy when you know your child’s friends and their parents, it can often be more difficult when it’s a first-time date. If, however, your little one is as persistent as my seven-year-old can be, then it’s only a matter of time before you have to give in to the…

Nomalanga Tshuma nomalanga.tshuma@inl.co.za THE Hanover Park Community Policing Forum, in partnership with 11 local neighbourhood watches, anti-crime organisations and social activists, has begun putting in motion its planned community safety projects specially designed to tackle the festive crime fervour expected to hit the local community over the next few weeks. The collective will host its first community engagement campaign tomorrow, an anti-violence demonstration around the community, followed by the launch of the community’s own crime statistics report on Saturday. CPF public relations officer Kashiefa Mohammed said there was deep concern about the ongoing violence in the community and the initiatives were in response to, and a stance against, ongoing crime. “The murder of that young woman sparked something deep within us all, especially seeing as we are currently observing 16…

Bongani Nkosi bongani.nkosi@inl.co.za THE National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) is facing a budget shortfall of about R10 billion for the next academic year, a situation that the Higher Education Department partly attributes to budget cuts. Higher Education, Science and Technology Minister Blade Nzimande revealed in a written reply in Parliament that the department was scrambling to avert a shortfall in the NSFAS budget. “A shortfall on the NSFAS budget is still anticipated for the 2022/23 financial year and engagement is ongoing within the government budget processes in relation to this matter,” said Nzimande. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana allocated R56.8bn to fee-free higher education and training for the next academic year. This was an increase from the R44.7bn of the current financial year. Godongwana delivered the medium-term budget policy…

RENOWNED for its extraordinary commitment to luxury hospitality, the Taj Cape Town stands out like a beacon above its peers, and is within striking distance of some of the city’s most famous landmarks and attractions. Reimagine the holidays and indulge in a feast of special dishes at The Mint Restaurant, The Lobby Lounge and Bar and Bombay Brasserie at Taj Cape Town this festive season. “Taj Cape Town has emerged with improved vigour from the effects of the global pandemic as the team’s agility and adaptability to changing hospitality trends have been key driving factors tiding us over the unprecedented business scenario of the recent past,” says Mark Wernich, cluster general manager Taj Cape Town and Taj Pamodzi, Lusaka. “One of Taj Cape Town’s hospitality trends, which remains deeply rooted,…

Rafieka Williams rafieka.williams@inl.co.za THE minibus taxi industry in Cape Town is in a predicament as the latest fuel price increases ad pressure on taxi drivers to make more money in order to survive. Taxi associations said fare increases were unlikely, but the fuel price hikes had put them in a difficult position. Drivers would earn less as more money would now be spent on fuel. The petrol price increased by 75 cents a litre, while diesel went up by 72.5c a litre. At the start of November, the petrol price increased by R1.21 and diesel by R1.48. Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata) general secretary Mandla Hermanus said: “Every time there is a fuel increase it hits us hard because we cannot always adjust our prices based on the increases. We…

Kristin Engel kristin.engel@inl.co.za WITH experts calling on individuals and organisations to reduce waste, Cape Town-based coffee pod company 4WKS aims to kick-start sustainability habits in consumers with its new compostable packaging, and bring about consumer consciousness when it comes to waste. South Africa is experiencing a critical waste challenge, much of which stems from unnecessary single-use plastic packaging and, in the Western Cape alone, 4WKS said about three million tons of organic waste were produced annually and most of this ended up in landfill, which is increasingly running out of airspace. In response, the Western Cape provincial govern- ment passed new legislation this year, requiring a 50% reduction or ban of organic waste from landfills by 2022, and a 100% diversion by 2027. Department of Environmental Affairs and Development…

THE worldwide governing body for netball, World Netball, has appointed Dr Charlotte Scholtz as technical delegate for the Netball World Cup 2023 in Cape Town. The appointment marks an acknowledgement by World Netball that Scholtz, a geneticist, is equipped to oversee the competition planning and provide technical advice to ensure the event adheres to the organisation's standing orders. Scholtz, ever the academic, responded to the appointment with a quote from Oliver Wendell Holmes jr, the American jurist and legal scholar: “A mind that is stretched by new experiences can never go back to its old dimensions”. She continued: “I am confident that being part of the Netball World Cup 2023 will be a magnificent opportunity for growth and development for myself and South Africa.” Given the slew of highly…