Innehållsförteckning för 2022-09-22 från Cape Argus

Minister promises 2-year energy security plan Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has been slammed for repeating a promise that the country will have energy security “in the next two years”. Gordhan was addressing the load shedding crisis in a virtual address on Tuesday night at the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry annual gala dinner. “Do we have a plan and are we doing everything possible to implement the plan? The plan is to assure ourselves of energy security for the next two to two-and-a-half years and was announced by the president on 25 July,’’ Gordhan said. Gordhan said a crisis committee comprised of several ministers, which is chaired by President Cyril Ramaphosa, is actively at work, and the aim is to provide that security. Gordhan said this would not…

It is not every day the ordinary man and woman receives good news. Of late, and increasingly, the public have been pummelled by rising food prices, petrol prices of over R20 per litre, high bus and taxi fares and a lack of rail transport. The continued load shedding, now reaching levels of Stage 6, underline the “New Dawn” has turned into the New Darkness. So, good news is long overdue, and that it came in the form of a decision by the Competition Tribunal to grant Sekunjalo Investment Holdings (SIH) and its group of companies an interim interdict against South Africa’s banking fraternity is even better. The move by South Africa’s banking sector to close down Sekunjalo’s accounts would potentially have pushed the group into liquidation, causing the subsequent fallout…

THE ANC needs to get its financial affairs in order. The payroll department of the ruling party is in such disarray that some staff have not been paid salaries for almost three months. Benefits such as medical aid contributions are regularly missed, they say. One representative even accused the party of behaving in a criminal manner by deducting money from pay cheques but not paying the provident fund. The frustration is so severe that employees at branches around the country embarked on a national shutdown on Monday. It’s a harsh indictment of the continent’s oldest liberation movement that its members say they are having to default on their house and car payments, and are having to rely on the kindness of family and friends to make ends meet. Party loyalty…

President Vladimir Putin called up Russian military reservists yesterday, saying his promise to use all military means in Ukraine was “no bluff” and hinting that Moscow was prepared to use nuclear weapons. His mobilisation call comes as Moscow-held regions of Ukraine prepare to hold annexation referendums this week, dramatically upping the stakes in the seven-month conflict by allowing Moscow to accuse Ukraine of attacking Russian territory. A senior US official said Washington was taking Putin’s “irresponsible” veiled threat to use nuclear weapons “seriously” and warned it could alter its “strategic posture” if need be. Four Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine – Donetsk and Lugansk in the east and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south – said on Tuesday that they would hold the votes over five days beginning on Friday. In…

Cassper Nyovest has announced he has lost sponsors and TV partners 10 days ahead of his most anticipated fight against fellow rapper Priddy Ugly. The boxing match between Nyovest and Priddy Ugly is set to take place at the Capital City’s Sun Bet Arena at Time Square Casino on October 1. In an Instagram post on Tuesday morning, the Tito Mboweni hitmaker said: “With Sponsors and TV partners pulling out this fight it’s gonna take a miracle to turn it around but I ain’t give up just yet.” Despite the bad news, it seems Nyovest’s spirit hasn’t been dampened. He told fans “instead of tossing and turning for hours”, he went for a run. Responding to a fan’s tweet about where the show will be airing, Mufasa confirmed that SuperSport…

Woman residents of Hanover Park gathered at the Athlone Magistrate’s Court yesterday to show their outrage over the killing of 17-year-old Jehaan Petersen. Jehaan’s remains were discovered in an open field along Greenturf Road on Sunday, September 11, with open wounds to her head and body. Her family said they last saw her the previous Thursday, but they became concerned after they received information that she had been killed and her body dumped. George Titus was set to appear on Friday last week, but missed his day in court after he was attacked by residents of Kalksteenfontein before he was arrested and then hospitalised. He made his first appearance in court yesterday. He is short in height, wearing a blue overalls jacket, with multiple stitches across his scalp –…

The Judicial Conduct Appeals Committee has made a decision to uphold an appeal by Western Cape High Court Judge President (JP) John Hlophe. It has ordered that the allegations of misconduct levelled against Hlophe, by Deputy Judge President (DJP) Patricia Goliath, and his counter-claim be investigated with the establishment of a tribunal. This follows an appeal by Judge Hlophe against a decision by the former Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng on his recommendation to the Judicial Conduct Appeals Committee, for the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to establish a tribunal to investigate and report on allegations of assault, use of abusive language, and abuse of power allegedly by Judge Hlophe in the running of the Western Cape division. The complaint by Judge Goliath was, in effect, that Judge Hlophe had assigned…

THE Macassar community has started a petition after being forced to endure extended periods of darkness, again. The community said recently, after each load shedding cycle of four hours, they experienced additional power outages for another two or more hours. The community had borne the brunt of Eskom power outages prior to the recent load shedding where earlier this month, parts of the area were plunged into darkness for three days when a contractor struck a cable supplying the Macassar area with power. Ward councillor Peter Helfrich said last week one area was without electricity for more than 24 hours, another for 12 hours, and on Monday the area was without electricity for seven hours, which was followed by another four hours of load shedding later that day. Helfrich said…

To qualify as a failed state, service delivery needs to collapse completely and lawlessness must be rampant. Experts, however, say that South Africa is not yet a failed state. That it is indeed failing, is true for all to see. For South Africans, hearing the words “lack of service delivery” or “lawlessness”, immediately brings a plethora of examples and real-life experiences to mind. For many of us, especially our poorest citizens, the state is not failing – it has failed a long time ago. For over a decade, Eskom has been at the forefront of electricity service delivery discussions. It is probably the truest and most accurate example of the failures of our government. South Africans have been living with load shedding for more than fifteen years now. Fifteen years!…

Although South Africa’s municipalities have a safety mandate, they face capacity constraints and other challenges in preventing crime by law enforcement. This was one of the findings contained in a preliminary report recently released by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in co-operation with the SA Local Government Association (Salga) on the state of local government law enforcement and how municipalities can raise their crime-fighting profiles. This report, which focused on the law enforcement powers, capacities and challenges of local government, explores critical issues that local governments must address to strengthen their responses to safety challenges. The reports noted the constraints in by-laws, their development, training and human resources development, police and National Prosecuting Authority approach to traffic and by-law violations, including municipal courts in enforcing traffic laws and by-laws…

The provincial Department of Human Settlements has warned of a fraudulent operation that uses an ostensible department Facebook page, which criminals use to lure unsuspecting people into a housing scam. Spokesperson for Human Settlements MEC Tertuis Simmers, Ntobeko Mbingeleli, said the department had picked up several online housing scams that request desperate RDP house seekers to pay for government housing assistance. “The department recently learnt of a Facebook account, ‘RDP House Application 2022/2023’, where fraudsters pose as officials facilitating approvals for houses, keys and title deeds,” Mbingeleli said. He said a Cape Town resident was the most recent victim to be hoodwinked. “In anticipating the receipt of a housing opportunity, she paid over R2 000 into a bank account to process her ‘approval letter’ for a house in one of…

I recently had to have an X-ray of my right foot to check on blood circulation to my foot bones. I met a 45-year-old patient who, because of chronic sugar diabetes, had to have the toes on one of his feet removed and one of his legs amputated below the knee. He told me that he had been out of work for two years, adapting to his new physical condition. He was fortunate to find a job from home doing administrative work for a person he had worked for in building. His wife has to work full time to support the family. He has an energetic 11-year-old son at school. If one’s sugar level is above 7, glucose can have a disastrous effect on your body. It can cause the…

Western Cape High Court Judge Mokgoatji Dolamo struck down an urgent interdict from the Observatory Civic Association (OCA) which sought to stop the developers of Amazon’s African headquarters from continued construction. The association discovered continued work on the River Club development site in June, after a high court order had effectively brought construction to a halt in March. The matter was heard on September 2. At the time the Liesbeek Action Campaign, backed by OCA, said: “We are fighting to protect the fundamental rights of First Nations people, as well as proper legal process and democracy. Our campaign is supported by 20 indigenous Khoi and San entities, multiple civics, multiple environmental NGOs and almost 75 000 people who have signed our petition. “We will not allow this ultra-wealthy developer to…

PROMISING recent resource finds in Mozambique and Namibia – as well as Cote d’Ivoire, Uganda and Tanzania – bode well for Africa’s future. Exploration is being pursued with renewed vigour, and the world’s energy companies are eyeing the continent with keen interest. The potential for liquefied natural gas (LNG) is especially attractive – as new liquefaction and regasification technologies have made LNG a competitive means of energy distribution. The recent finds also offer the promise of an LNG boom that could change the fortunes of many African nations, while also meeting their people’s energy needs – at lower environmental cost than other hydrocarbons. The key is unlocking these opportunities and providing the policy framework to enable them. For South Africa, refining the Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Bill into a commercially…

THE solid debut performance of central defender Edmilson Dove was a significant factor in Kaizer Chiefs' recent 2-1 win over SuperSport United on Saturday. Coach Arthur Zwane wasted no time fielding Dove, a 26-capped Mozambicque international, at the expense of 2021 PSL Defender of the Season Njabulo Ngcobo. Dove seemed to understand his role well, and his ability to read the game saw many attacking sorties by SuperSport nipped in the bud. He cleared well when the team’s defence was threatened, and struck up an excellent understanding with left-back Sifiso Hlanti. Zwane is in the process of rebuilding Chiefs, and Dove signalled his intention to be a part of that process. He tired towards the end, but he had been out of action in the past few months. More game…

IF it ain’t broke ... That’s the approach the Stormers are taking when it comes to the playing style that helped them win the inaugural United Rugby Championship last season. The Stormers, with a well-known monster of a pack and set-piece prowess, didn’t rely on those strengths alone en route to the final against the Bulls at Cape Town Stadium. In fact, they were one of the most entertaining teams to watch on attack, and the statistics backed it up. They were fifth in terms of points scored, fourth with tries scored, second when it came to offloads, metres gained and defenders beaten, and first in clean breaks. John Dobson’s team will get their title defence underway against Irish side Connacht at the Danie Craven Stadium on Saturday (2.30pm kick-off),…