Innehållsförteckning för 2022-01-25 från Cape Argus

Liam Karabo Joyce liam.joyce@inl.co.za The seventh studio album of Arno Carstens, Out of the Light into the Night, has emerged gradually through staggered single releases, before coming together as a finished project. The album connects his love of energised alt-pop production on one side of the spectrum, with his ability to craft anthemic acoustic-driven ballads on the other. Out of the Light into the Night will be his first English solo album since 2014’s Lightning Prevails and includes the singles Go Easy Love, Empire of the Night, Out of the Blue and new single Reason. We caught up with him. Tell us about your album, Out of the Light into the Night, and when did you start working on it? I started working on it about three years ago. We…

Rafieka Williams rafieka.williams@inl.co.za THE man accused of the murder of 8-year-old Reagan Gertse made a brief appearance in the Western Cape High Court yesterday. Jakobus Petoors was charged with the kidnapping, rape and murder of Reagan in February 2020. Reagan’s body was found in bush along a river bank in Tulbagh in the Cape Winelands after he was reported missing. The State alleged that Petoors was the last person to be seen with Reagan. It said that on the morning of February 29, Reagan was seen in the company of Petoors. Later that day Reagan attended a party at the home of Amelia Booysen. It is the State’s case that an hour after Reagan left the party he was seen with Petoors. When he did not arrive home that evening…

Lehlohonolo Mashigo lehlohonolo.mashigo@inl.co.za Clover industries has expressed shock at the death of Tshepe Moalatsi, who was killed in an escort vehicle assigned to protect a Clover delivery vehicle from attack by striking workers. A statement from Clover said the incident happened near Olifantsfontein in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, late on Saturday afternoon. A white bus with striking workers intercepted the Clover delivery vehicle on the Olifantsfontein Road, and they attacked both the Clover truck and the escort vehicle. “Although security officers responded to being pelted with bottles and rocks by firing rubber bullets, striking workers advanced and were assisted by looters in emptying the Clover truck. “In the fracas, Mr Moalatsi was shot in the head and beaten by strikers until metro police arrived, and striking workers fled with Moalatsi’s shotgun. Mr…

Yet, every year more and more people, many of them children, lose this sanctuary and become homeless. They find temporary shelter at crowded shelters or sleep on concrete under rubbish-bag tents. These scenes are so familiar that homelessness in Cape Town seems incurable. Estimates indicate at least 14 000 people in the city are homeless; finding an affordable and permanent place to call home in the city's exorbitant housing market is increasingly akin to winning the lottery. Those gruelling odds exact a physical and emotional toll on the people who have to endure them. As part of the recently launched Homeless Hub in Observatory, which will not only be a drop-in centre for the homeless and a centre committed to the upliftment, empowerment and employment of the homeless in the…

When I think of 2020 and 2021, I think of the many situations of online teaching, the staggered timetables, and how teaching the same lesson more than once in a two-period cycle became daunting. In 2020, our matric class lost a lot of time not being at school for term two, not having a June exam to prepare them, and the teachers for the additional classes and support needed for the September mock exams. The 2020 matric group did their best under the trying circumstances and still achieved. To the matric class of 2021, first allow me to congratulate you for persevering through everything which should have stopped you. Your endurance speaks volumes. You had a disrupted Grade 11 year which impacted your matric year, especially in the poorer schools.…

nyameko royi South African space science had a big day on January 13, 2022. The Cape Peninsula University of Technology, based in Cape Town, launched its third satellite mission into space from the Cape Canaveral rocket launch site in Florida in the US. The nanosatellite constellation – consisting of three satellites – is called MDASat (Marine Domain Awareness). A nanosatellite is smaller than standard satellites, weighing between 1kg and 10kg; it’s an affordable, functional option. The mean mass of each of our satellites is 2.1kg. MDASat is designed to collect data that will enhance the security and protection of South African marine resources. The constellation will detect, monitor and identify foreign vessels within the country’s exclusive economic zone. This could help track illegal dumping and fishing. Our hope, as the…

Mutinous troops in restive Burkina Faso arrested President Roch Marc Christian Kabore yesterday and detained him in army barracks a day after staging an uprising, security sources said. Soldiers at several army bases across the West African country rebelled on Sunday, demanding the sacking of the military top brass and more resources to fight a bloody jihadist insurgency. Yesterday, several armoured vehicles of the presidential fleet, riddled with bullets, could be seen near the president’s residence. One was spattered with blood. Residents of the president’s neighbourhood reported heavy gunfire overnight. “President Kabore, the head of parliament and the ministers are effectively in the hands of the soldiers” at the Sangoule Lamizana barracks in the capital Ouagadougou, a security source said. The situation was tense and confused in the capital, where…

Mthuthuzeli Ntseku mthuthuzeli.ntseku@inl.co.za mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has upheld the Table View residents’ appeals against a decision made by the City's Municipal Planning Tribunal (MPT) and set aside its approval of an application for a development in the area. The application, which was brought forward by Elco Property Development, relates to the proposed development of Erf 3737 and 3738, on 89 Arum Road, with 56 units and 47 parking spaces, and consolidation of these plots. The application received fierce objections from some of the residents, who said it was procedurally flawed. Hill-Lewis said that in March 2019, land use management (LUM) approval was granted for the consolidation and rezoning of Erf 3736, 3737, and 3738, from single residential to general residential, which permitted 56 dwellings on the consolidated Erfs, subject to…

Loyiso Sidimba loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za ANOTHER Gupta-owned company has lost its legal challenge to a North Gauteng High Court order, forcing it to pay nearly R89 million of a R123m loan it received from the Bank of Baroda. Annex Distribution’s bid was to try to overturn the judgment of the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria forcing it to pay back the money. The lengthy legal battle between the sister company of the controversial family’s Sahara Computers started when it borrowed R123m from India's international bank. Annex Distribution’s failure to pay led to the bank launching a bid to liquidate the company, which was granted in May 2020. Judge Mandla Mbongwe said that since May 2020 both parties had tried unsuccessfully to resolve the matter until they agreed that another Gupta company,…

Over the past two years, we have learnt about the different possible causes and prevention methods of the Covid-19 virus. Similarly, we even read about conspiracy theories, myths, misconceptions and what future variants will look like. With all the mysteries still surrounding the novel Covid-19 virus and despite the disagreements of our contemporary scholars on this issue, it is not out of order to also acknowledge that the emergence of plagues and disasters is the result of human disobedience to the Almighty’s laws. While science has its role to play and I am not anti-science, as a Muslim I believe that we should also look at pandemics and disasters from a religious angle. As humans with our conduct, we have corrupted the Earth and environment. In order to mitigate the…

PN Hendricks Well to our surprise, but also not, we have once again made history in Hanover Park. From where we were to 2021 ... 79.2% ... our hard work has paid off. I want to compliment our matric learners of 2021 who against all Covid-19 odds made themselves, their parents, the wider community of Hanover Park and the school (Mount View High School) … very very proud. Where do you start as a collective all played their part – hard work. If you define it, many afternoon classes from Monday to Friday and some weekends. I salute Mount View High teachers. Dedication with very long days with no reward from their bosses. Offering up family time and sacrificing holidays. Sitting up late nights preparing to simplify lessons. In Hanover…

Alex Moumbaris THIS is part two of a three-part series on how secret internationalist support for the armed Struggle by courageous individuals helped overthrow the apartheid regime, extracted from a new book, International Brigade Against Apartheid: Secrets of the People’s War That Liberated South Africa, edited by former intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils. Here is an edited extract. IT WAS one of the worst experiences of my life. My young pregnant wife and I were arrested on the South African border in 1972. We were manhandled and taken off to a nightmarish detention in Pretoria by the security police. It was the last time I saw her free for many years. I was born in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1938 of Greek parentage. My parents divorced in 1945. In 1952, after King…

Occasionally, the world experiences a ‘black swan’ – an unforeseen negative event that affects how we do business, how we work and how we live. It is an unpredictable event that is beyond what is normally expected of a situation and has potentially severe consequences. Covid-19 is the black swan for our generation, which has caused a shift in work and personal life, bringing about the ‘new normal’ as we know it. Black swan events are characterised by their extreme rarity, severe impact and widespread insistence. A notable area that this latest black swan event has had a significant impact on is the job market – causing it to evolve and adapt to a changing workforce, and thus the ‘gig economy’ has come into play. In a South African context,…

Nomalanga Tshuma nomalanga.tshuma@inl.co.za THE case against the Brackenfell cop accused of rape has been postponed to next week. The officer, who was to make his first appearance in the Blue Down’s Magistrate’s Court yesterday, will appear on February 2, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said. NPA Spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said: “The accused will be applying for bail then. He is remanded in custody until then.” The victim reported the incident to police investigative body Ipid nearly two weeks ago. The 26-year-old claimed that on January 10 the officer, under the guise of escorting her to a friend’s house, sexually assaulted her on a farm in Stellenbosch. Speaking to the Cape Argus she said she was glad the officer would remain in jail until his bail hearing. “I am happy…

Mthuthuzeli Ntseku mthuthuzeli.ntseku@inl.co.za THE greater Goodwood area is set to get six more CCTV cameras, to be installed in high-crime areas. The district has been grappling with metal and steel theft, the destruction of rail infrastructure and business robberies. Currently, it has 17 cameras. Metro police department spokesperson Ruth Solomons said the R5-million project is earmarked for the new financial year, which runs from July 1. She said the department was waiting for confirmation of equipment rates, as they also needed to factor in the cost of civil works for fibre installations, equipment in the control centre to view the cameras, and recording equipment to review footage. The cameras would be monitored by the City. Neighbourhood watch chairperson Leona van Wyk said among crimes reported were common robberies and aggravated…

Sihle Mavuso sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za THE deteriorating state of South African ports and anti-competitive business conduct by some foreign vessels operating in the country were some of the concerns that were raised by industry players to Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula in Durban yesterday. Mbalula was in the KwaZulu- Natal coastal port to unveil a set of investments aimed at reviving the ailing sector, which was left battered by the pandemic. The drive is under Operation Phakisa, which is aimed at unlocking the country’s ocean economy. Mbalula’s first stop was Dormac Marine and Engineering, a shipbuilding company operating from the Port of Durban. Speaking to the media, Dormac management and staff after touring the gigantic shipyard of the engineering firm, Mbalula said working closely with Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan and…

Ebrahim Essa | Durban There’s looting and there’s looting. The word “loot” also appears in the Hindi and Urdu languages and is used, quite often, to mean overpowering, overwhelming, robbing, destroying dignity and even raping. Watching Julius Malema questioning proprietors of restaurants as to the ratio of local black people to foreign black people made me realise that there’s certainly another very important statistic that needs to be most urgently researched and checked out as a matter of national urgency to avoid a cliffhanger situation that can easily make the July looting seem like a silly joke. And that is profiteering, especially as far as all basic food items are concerned. “Basic” is no longer reserved just for bread, rice, maize, beans, potatoes, tomatoes, milk and onions, but…

Michael Bagraim | Highlands Estate Unfortunately, and without any insight, it appears the Department of Education has once again kept schooling at 50%. This means children only get 50% of their education when, in fact, education in South Africa is at an all-time low. There are other repercussions which will take years to evidence. One of the direct instant results is that those children receiving the benefit of school feeding will not receive that benefit on days off. The Department of Basic Education has not taken proper advice and is not listening to international experience. These kids are often exposed to dangers at home when their parents go to work. There are numerous other negative implications our ministry wants to avoid thinking about.…

The Kremlin accused the US and its allies yesterday of escalating East-West tensions by announcing plans to boost Nato forces in Eastern Europe and evacuate the families of diplomats from the US embassy in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the probability of military conflict in eastern Ukraine being initiated by the Ukrainian side was higher than ever. Peskov said Ukraine had deployed a large number of troops near the borders of breakaway regions controlled by pro-Russian separatists which he said indicated that Kiev was preparing to attack them. Ukraine has denied this. Peskov said information coming from the West was filled with “hysteria” and “laced with lies”. Nato said earlier it was putting forces on standby and reinforcing eastern Europe with more ships and fighter jets in response…

With Stormers head coach John Dobson seeing a potential spot at inside centre for Damian Willemse, could we finally see the talented back settle in one position? Willemse positional drifting has become as much a part of his identity as his unmatched ability to humiliate defences and make ridiculous displays of skill look easy. But is Willemse’s positional musical chairs situation nearing its end with the Stormers? At the weekend, the Stormers came from behind to pull off a 30-26 United Rugby Championship victory over the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. Manie Libbok started at flyhalf, while Willemse donned the fullback jumper. Warrick Gelant, who not too long ago returned from the lengthy injury he suffered after returning to the Cape, was on the bench. He made a huge…

Wynona Louw wynona.louw@inl.co.za Stormers assistant coach Norman Laker says they have “good plans in place” for their next United Rugby Championship (URC) fixture against the Sharks. At the weekend, the Stormers fought back well to bag a 30-26 victory over the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld. What should have made the result even sweeter for the Capetonians was the midweek Currie Cup thrashing the Bulls – playing their URC team loaded with Springboks and experience – handed a very green Western Province side. It was a more level playing field at the weekend, however, and while the Bulls did well to come back and even go ahead at one stage, the Stormers scored a stunner of a try late in the match to claim victory. Laker said they are pleased with…