Innehållsförteckning för 2022-09-29 från Cape Argus

South Africa’s largest online retail company, Takealot, is in hot water with the Department of Employment and Labour over health and safety issues and also for the hiring of undocumented foreign nationals. In a statement yesterday, the department said it had issued three notices for non-compliance with Occupational Health and Safety regulation to Takealot in Gauteng. The department has granted Takealot 60 days from the date of the served notice to get its house in order. “The Department of Employment and Labour’s Inspection and Enforcement Services inspectors have discovered that it has not been complying with the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993, at its warehouse in Gauteng, Kempton Park, where parts of the facility pose an immediate danger to its workers on-site,” it said in a statement.…

History Channel’s reality show, Alone: Polar Bear Island is the ultimate test of human will as contestants endure total isolation among predators looking for a meal. Season nine of the self-documented series follows 10 participants who are dropped into a remote valley in the wilderness of Labrador, Canada, where they are only allowed to carry 10 items that will help them with their 50-day stay in polar bear territory – in the hopes of outlasting everyone else to claim the $500 000 prize. Contestant Dr Teimojin Tan, who took along a sleeping bag, axe, multitool, ferro rod, pot, bow and arrows, paracord, trapping wire, fishing line and hooks, and emergency rations, described his experience on the show as life-changing. Tan was asked to join the show because of his insight…

A group of Ravensmead residents yesterday protested outside the Bellville Magistrate’s Court, calling for the court to refuse a 41-year-old Mitchells Plain father’s release on bail, as he stands accused of raping a 17-year-old girl. The 41-year-old driver, who has 14 previous convictions and is wanted for charges in Johannesburg, yesterday brought a bail application through his lawyer, Sameer Sayeed, after he was charged with rape, kidnap and intimidation five months after the alleged incident. Detective Chantel Klein yesterday took the stand to oppose his release on bail. She testified that according to the victim, the incident took place on April 30 in Ravensmead where the girl had been drinking at a party with friends. Klein said the victim was still sober when the accused offered her a drink, which…

Four years after the Estina Dairy Farm case was provisionally withdrawn, former mineral resources minister Mosebenzi Zwane and his co-accused appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court yesterday. Zwane and two others, Ugeshni Govender, a former Sahara employee, and Ronica Ragavan, were arrested on charges pertaining to the R280 million Estina Dairy Farm Project and have been charged with fraud, theft, corruption and money laundering. Speaking to the media after the court proceedings, Zwane said he was pleased that the matter was finally in court. “I have been tried so many times by journalists, the public and everybody,” he said. Zwane said he was prepared to co-operate with the court to clear his name. “My name has been tossed around by everybody outside, and it’s good that I am here…

The battle against offshore oil and gas exploration along the South African coastline is on again, with about 50 small-scale fishers supporting eco-justice and community-based organisations protesting in Pepper Bay, Saldanha, to oppose the arrival of the Azinam/Eco Atlantic oil rig in the next few days. The Eco Atlantic oil rig departed the North Sea on August 12 to make its way to South Africa, where it intends to drill an exploration well in Block 2B, off the West Coast, to assess the hydrocarbon potential as part of its exploration right granted by the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE). Africa Energy reported both Total and Shell recently announced significant oil and gas discoveries in the same area, off the shore of Namibia. However, the growing opposition to offshore…

The DA has called on other companies to join Vodacom as it works with Eskom for a solution to source 100% of its electricity demand for its South African operations from renewable independent power producers (IPPs). DA MP and the party’s spokesperson on communications, Dianne Kohler Barnard, welcomed the decision. “Vodacom’s move will provide it with renewable energy and provide a blueprint for other South African corporations. “Not only will they pave the way for other network companies to do the same, but hopefully this will open the floodgates of free enterprise to similarly make a plan. “This move will also avoid the inevitable network infrastructure breakage, caused by the increasingly high levels of load shedding,” she said. Kohler Barnard said the move will also add electricity to the increasingly…

DILLAN Solomons is unhappy with Kaizer Chiefs’ fall from grace in recent years, stating that he wants to be part of the team that'll end their trophy drought. Chiefs are one of the biggest brands in South African football, thanks to a trophy-laden cabinet and being the most followed club in the country. But they haven’t been at their best in recent years, enduring a seven-year trophy drought. The club has made several changes in technical and playing personnel as the result. Amakhosi appointed club legend Arthur Zwane as the new coach, while they’ve cut out the “deadwood”, signing young blood to rediscover ‘Chiefs' way’. Those new faces include Solomons (22) who was signed from Swallows FC at the end of last season after helping the Birds to avoid relegation.…

IT was only a few months ago, in April to be exact, that the Dragons were slayed 51-3 at Hollywoodbets Kings Park, but the Welsh side will fancy their chances of revenge on Saturday when they host the Sharks just a week after their giant-killing performance against Munster. The Irish giants were expected to beat the Dragons comfortably at Rodney Parade but clearly there has been some hard work done in the Welsh valleys in the off-season because all four Welsh teams have been much improved in the two rounds of the new United Rugby Championship (URC) season. That 23-17 win over Munster ended a six-game losing run in the URC for the Dragons, who had a miserable time of it last season, finishing 15th out of the 16 teams,…

WHILE Stormers wing Seabelo Senatla will be out for a significant period, the United Rugby Championship (URC) champions will be boosted by the return of Leolin Zas soon enough. Senatla picked up a pectoral injury in their opening win over Connacht in Stellenbosch at the weekend after being dangerously cleaned out by Bundee Aki. While losing the former Sevens star is a huge setback for John Dobson’s side, the return of the inaugural season’s top try-scorer should cushion the blow a little. Speaking yesterday, Dobson went though their options to replace Senatla. “He’s having an op today, so he’s out ... not sure for how long, but its going to be a few months,” he said. “Zas will probably be another week ... if we really got into trouble we…

With the 2023 university applications already being wrapped up and institutions preparing to accept tens of thousands of new students in a matter of months, cybersecurity readiness on campus is vital, according to Doros Hadjizenonos, a regional director Southern Africa, Fortinet. First year students are gearing up for university life with an array of networked technologies, while administrators and faculty are preparing to onboard and manage these new students. Make no mistake, South African education systems are in the line of fire, just like other countries. According to SNG Grant Thornton, a South African member firm of Grant Thornton International, local examples on cyberbreaches include the University of Mpumalanga experiencing an attack on its bank accounts. At the University of Johannesburg, a first year student’s personal information was mistakenly leaked…

THE SABC has responded to veteran actor Vusi Thanda’s public appeal for financial assistance in a viral video that caused a social media uproar last week. In a statement sent to IOL Entertainment, the SABC’s group executive: corporate affairs and marketing, Gugu Ntuli, said Thanda wasn’t owed any compensation by the broadcaster. “The SABC can confirm that our records show that we are up to date with submitted payments for repeat fees in regard to Mr Vusi Thanda. It must be noted that Emzini Wezinsizwa was last broadcast on SABC1 two years ago, and any claims for the last repeat for Mr Thanda have been settled.” Ntuli said the “SABC empathises with the plight of Mr Thanda” and encouraged him to contact the public broadcaster directly for any outstanding fees…

The Elliot post office officials from the Eastern Cape and their spouses who were arrested by members of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) have been granted bail in the Mthatha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court. Former branch manager Palesa Aviwe Sigaqa, 37, her spouse and former police officer, Masonwabe Madlinggozi, 40, former Post Office teller Busisiwe Geleba, 35, and her husband, 50-year-old former teacher Luyanda Brighton Geleba, face charges of fraud and money laundering. The group is alleged to have stolen grant funds from the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) from 2020 until 2021. Provincial Hawks spokesperson Captain Yolisa Mgolodela said the group was arrested on Tuesday by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation team in Queenstown. “Investigations revealed that the Post Office officials orchestrated the transactions by omitting…

Social housing giant Communicare has apologised for the “extreme unhappiness” being caused by a vandalised house that is part of its Ruyterwacht property portfolio. The apology came in the wake of a complaint from Cape Town housing activist Colin Arendse who wrote to Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis about the danger crime posed to residents of the neighbourhood because of the state of the house. In his email to the mayor, copied to media houses, Arendse said: “We all know that once the criminal element becomes aware of houses that have been abandoned, it immediately leads to other social ills in the area.” He claimed the previous tenants appeared to have been evicted by the City and since then the house had been stripped by vandals who had carried away fixtures and…

Four men including an ANC eThekwini ward 101 councillor Mzimuni Ngiba, accused of killing his predecessor Siyabonga Mkhize, lost their court appeal to be detained at the Department of Correctional Services Westville. Ngiba, Nkosinathi Ngcobo, Sifiso Vincent Mlando and Sandile Mzizi appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court yesterday where they gave reasons for not wanting to be detained at the Ebongweni Maximum Correctional Services Centre. Their legal representatives brought the application before Magistrate Vanitha Armu. Advocate Roshan Dehal argued that the accused were a distance away from their families, who are unable to visit them, and that he could not consult with his clients because it was a three-hour drive to the facility. Dehal added that correctional services did not allow them enough visitation time to discuss the case with…

The City of Cape Town’s water and sanitation directorate is advising residents in Somerset West, Hout Bay, Parow Central and Bellville South of water disruptions in parts of the communities, from Wednesday to Friday. In Somerset West, the disruption of water supply will affect the Heldervue area from Wednesday, September 28, at 9pm until Thursday, September 29 at 4am, and again on Thursday, September 29, from 9pm until 4am on Friday, September 30. The City department will also be conducting zero pressure tests on the main water supply to the Parow Central area. Residents are advised of the disruption of water supply to this area on Thursday, September 29, from 9pm until 4am on Friday, September 30. In Hout Bay, the City will be shutting down the water supply from…

ORLANDO Pirates midfielder Fortune Makaringe was singing from the same hymn book as that of his coach Jose Riveiro as he looked ahead to Saturday’s MTN8 semi-final, first leg clash with Mamelodi Sundowns. The Buccaneers duo were in agreement that history will have no impact on the outcome of the Orlando Stadium clash, billed by some as the final before the final. After his coach had told the media gathered at the Premier Soccer League offices that “the last two seasons won’t be playing on Saturday”, Makaringe reiterated the sentiment. “It’s a good thing that coach Jose was not there (when Sundowns dominated Pirates). That’s why we don’t dwell much on what happened in the past. We’d rather look to the future. “In as much as I was there when…

ENGLAND manager Gareth Southgate said right-back Kieran Trippier is ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold in the pecking order because of his “all-round game”. Liverpool defender Alexander-Arnold was left out of the England squad that drew 3-3 with Germany in the Uefa Nations League on Monday, with Reece James starting and Trippier on the bench. Alexander-Arnold has made just one international appearance in 2022, casting doubt over his place in Southgate’s plans ahead of the World Cup in Qatar. “The other night (against Italy), we didn’t need the left-back cover,” Southgate said. “Against Germany we did because of the way we went with the team, so we needed Chilly (Ben Chilwell) on the bench and we had Kieran who, at the moment, I feel his all-round game is ahead (of Alexander-Arnold).” Southgate…

RICHARLISON responded angrily yesterday to racist abuse after he scored as Brazil thrashed Tunisia in a friendly in Paris. “As long as you continue to ‘blah blah blah’ and don’t punish, it will continue like this, happening every day and in every corner. No time left, man!” he tweeted in Portuguese. Richarlison was pelted with objects from the stands after putting Brazil ahead for the second time as they thrashed Tunisia 5-1 at Parc des Princes on Tuesday. The Tottenham Hotspur forward celebrated in front of the Tunisian supporters, who responded by throwing a banana and plastic cups in his direction. Brazil midfielder Fred kicked the banana off the pitch before extra security guards took up residence on the side of the field. “Unfortunately ... a banana was thrown on…

As South Africa finds itself in one of the worst energy crises in recent history, with ailing power utility Eskom enforcing stage 6 load shedding on the country twice in the past two months, there have been calls for alternative energy supplies. Due to the accelerated energy transition announced recently by government, its push for sector industrialisation will be led by increased local manufacturing, with a projected target of over 55% for government procurement by this decade’s end. The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) South African government’s development funding agency, which plays a pivotal part in the country’s energy transition and seeks renewable energy inputs, has sent a delegation to Spain to visit Nordex SE’s wind turbine manufacturing facilities. The delegation is being led by Nordex Energy South Africa’s (Nesa) managing…

The Lansdowne homeless community living next to the train station, still reeling from shock over the fatal shooting of two men, has appealed for more patrols by the neighbourhood watch. The community fears drug-related crimes and gangsterism are filtering through from Hanover Park and creating increasing safety concerns, not only in that vicinity but also in the community. Last week, two men were killed while a third sustained serious gun injuries after perpetrators on bicycles opened fire on them while they were sitting on a bench by the railway line and fled on their bicycles. David, whose brother William Fries was shot, said his brother was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He said William was a man with a big heart and would help homeless people with…

South African families are being financially squeezed and are operating on shrinking budgets as jobs dwindle in agriculture and manufacturing and the prices of food and other vital groceries continue to increase. The most recent earnings data from Statistics SA’s Quarterly Employment Statistics (QES) and the SA Reserve Bank (SARB) show that many families are operating under constrained budgets. SARB said real economic activity in South Africa contracted by 0.7% in the second quarter of 2022 and the net wealth of households declined in the second quarter of 2022, as total assets decreased while total liabilities increased. On top of this, Stats SA reported that despite fuel prices dropping slightly in August, the price of bread, cereal, meat, milk, eggs, cheese, rooibos tea, instant coffee, detergents and laundry soap had…

APARTHEID forced removals and the women who fought valiantly for freedom and education came to the fore during recent Heritage Day commemorative events. The Simon’s Town Museum and the Simon’s Town Phoenix Committee facilitated a visit to the “Wag ‘n Bietjie“ memorial benches. This community-driven project, developed by the two organisations, was unveiled in 2019 and placed on Jubilee Square overlooking False Bay in 2021, a stark reminder of apartheid forced removals. A wreath-laying ceremony took place at the Memorial Monument erected by Black Sash after the forced removals. Attendees participated in a commemorative walk down the Main Road to St Francis Church led by the Ocean View Bikers, the St Clare’s and United Reformed Church Brigades from Ocean View, followed by the Simon’s Town and Noordhoek communities. In attendance…

First T20I South Africa 106/8 (Maharaj 41, Markram 25, Parnell 24; Singh 3/24, Chahar 2/24, Patel 2/26) India 110/2 ( KL Rahul 51*, Yadav 50*; Rabada 1/16, Nortje 1/32) India won by 8 wickets, lead 3-match series 1-0 SOUTH Africa were suitably chastened, embarrassed and will hope that it does not happen again anytime soon. They will hope to leave Thiruvananthapuram and their batting catastrophe in the first T20 against India at Greenfield International Stadium yesterday in their distance as they move on towards Guwahati, desperate to avoid a repeat in the second match on Sunday. To be reduced to 9/5 within 15 balls of the innings is as unacceptable as it comes in international cricket. The fact that they rallied to 106/8 is merely a reflection of how inept…

WORLD No 2 Casper Ruud said yesterday that a bit of Roger Federer had rubbed off on him after being part of the tennis legend’s send-off last week. The 23-year-old Norwegian reached the final of the US Open earlier this month and was then surrounded by the cream of men’s tennis at the Laver Cup in London for Federer’s last hurrah. He enjoyed seeing up close the chemistry between Federer and his long-time rival and friend Rafael Nadal. The duo played together in doubles for Federer’s farewell. “Having those two together in Roger’s last match was incredible to witness,” Ruud said at the Korea Open in Seoul. “It was very fun to be around them. They joke with each other all the time. “Obviously they’re older and at a later…

ENGLAND’S aggressive approach to Test cricket under captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum has paid rich dividends at home and batsman Joe Root is keen to see how it fares abroad in different conditions. Casting aside caution and taking the game to the bowlers in an approach that has been dubbed “Bazbal”, England have chased down intimidating targets with fearless batting to win six of their last seven Tests, all on home soil. They next visit Pakistan for a three-Test series in December followed by two Tests in New Zealand in February and Root told Sky Sports he hoped England would go from strength to strength with their attacking brand of cricket. “The challenge for us now is to keep going for it, keep trying to explore new areas…