Innehållsförteckning för 2023-05-12 från Cape Argus

Cape Town-born guitarist Cameron Ward is hosting the long-anticipated Guitar Cartel in his home town this month. Ward, 34, spent a portion of his career in Johannesburg where he lives with his wife and children. While in Joburg, for 10 years he performed alongside top artists such as Mi Casa, Lira, Hugh Masekela, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Judith Sephuma, among others. The musician moved back to Lotus River, Cape Town, to follow his mission to open the Cameron Ward Foundation where he teaches music to more than 50 students. Now Ward is hosting an event to bring guitar lovers together. He told IOL Entertainment: “We are five dynamic guitar players that cover different genres of music, coming together to showcase our talent and musicianship. “It’s long been a dream to have…

Most will spend this weekend preparing spoils for their mothers and motherly figures for Mother’s Day. However, Extinction Rebellion (XR) Cape Town and its supporters are gearing up for a Mothers Rise Up protest to spotlight the struggle mothers endure as they and their children bear the brunt of the climate crisis. Tomorrow, mothers, grandmothers, daughters, sisters, aunties and allies will gather in front of the National Gallery by the Company’s Garden in Cape Town from 10.30am for a “Performance Protest”. That includes a pram parade through the gardens (weather permitting) and speeches by women from various backgrounds as they reflect on what mothers “really want” on Mother’s Day. XR Cape Town said this includes standing in solidarity with activists across coastlines who are calling for an end to the…

The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has launched an ambitious R1.2 billion programme to see children get “back on track” following chaotic disruptions to the academic programme as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Education MEC David Maynier launched the #BackOnTrack programme at the Hazendal Primary School in Athlone yesterday. The programme was the largest to reverse Covid-19 learning losses undertaken in the Western Cape, the WCED said, and would see R1.2 billion invested over three years to improve learning outcomes for students in the province. “Earlier this year, we released our 2022 systemic test results for Mathematics and Reading, which confirmed that during the pandemic, learning outcomes fell off a cliff,” Maynier said. “We simply cannot say that a child is receiving quality education if more than half of…

WHEN pensioner Merlene Malan underwent heart surgery recently, she realised she needed to live closer to Groote Schuur Hospital as she still needed to see doctors regularly and the 18km trip via public transport from Belhar was too stressful. Yesterday Malan was beaming as she took possession of a brand new rental property in the Maitland Mews social housing project which is only 4.2km away from the hospital. “Public transport is at my doorstep and will help me commute with ease,” Malan said while speaking to reporters after she moved into her brand new flat at the 204-unit housing project. Another beneficiary, Nonqaba Bikauri, said she had relocated from Philippi East: “I am very happy to have been accommodated here as it is 10 minutes away from my work. “I…

IT is semi-final time in the United Rugby Championship at Cape Town Stadium tomorrow as the Stormers and Connacht lock horns for a place in the final on May 27. While the Stormers may be the favourites at their Cape Town Stadium fortress, Connacht proved that by beating Ulster away last weekend, they are capable of causing an upset tomorrow (4pm kick-off). Here are five factors that could decide the outcome… Goal-kicking in the wind Stormers flyhalf Manie Libbok experienced a bit of the “yips”, to use golfing parlance, when it came to taking shots at goal a few weeks ago, but appears to have sorted out any issue after slotting seven out of seven against the Bulls last weekend. His Connacht counterpart Jack Carty, though, is also on form…

Their job is just this weekend. Nothing lies beyond tomorrow afternoon. That is the mental approach the Stormers will take ahead of their URC semi-final against Connacht at Cape Town Stadium (4pm kick-off). Although there will be a chance to reach back-to-back URC finals, the defending champions are wary of looking too far ahead just to come unstuck against a tricky Connacht. “We got a ‘get out of jail’ card last week with that result,” coach John Dobson said, referring to his side’s home semi after Connacht dumped Ulster out of the competition. “In these very tough economic times and the area where we are, most of our fans are not very affluent, so the people coming out in their numbers – the over 44 000 of last week and…

Opposition to load shedding exemption President Cyril Ramaphosa warned that the power grid would collapse if the government fully implements the Gauteng High Court decision that schools, hospitals and police stations be exempted from load shedding. Ramaphosa said the appeal of the judgment was not based on arrogance, but on the advice of engineers who told him that load shedding was implemented to avoid the collapse of the grid. Ramaphosa, answering questions in Parliament yesterday, said while they noted the judgment they needed to deal with the reality of reducing the severity of load shedding. “The view we have taken in the government, we need to take the practicality of that decision. Engineers tell me that if you drive all units in one go it would lead to the grid…

The case against the Brackenfell man who allegedly murdered his neighbour, a special needs teacher, during an altercation, was postponed due to power cuts. Gareth Blight was arrested on April 29 over the stabbing of 33-year-old Shane Human. Human was with his family and friends when a fight with his Protea Village neighbour broke out. Human went to the accused’s home where he was stabbed once in the chest with a kitchen knife. The Bishop Lavis School of Skills teacher took a few steps to his house and collapsed. He was declared dead on the scene. Blight appeared at the Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court yesterday morning. His attorney dropped him and he opted for Legal Aid before the case was postponed to May 22 for a bail application. It was…

Dr Nandipha Magudumana is expected to re-appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court again on May 16. It’s believed that more crucial evidence has come to light. Magudumana appeared alongside her five co-accused implicated in helping convicted killer and rapist Thabo Bester to escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in May last year. Magudumana’s legal representative clarified that she was not abandoning her bail application but requested a postponement. The court ruled that she be remanded in custody pending her next appearance. Bester is also due back in court on May 16. The remaining accused – Zolile Sekeleni, Buti Masukela, Senohe Matsoara and Teboho Lipholo – have remained behind and the proceedings are being held in-camera. Moments before the accused appeared, media houses were issued with an addendum stating that on…

A brutal winter is on the horizon as 2023 becomes the worst year of load shedding. Numerous stakeholders predicted load shedding this year will far surpass the record-breaking levels experienced last year, but in just more than four months the country has already had more power cuts than last year. South Africans are being warned to prepare as the country continues to reach record-breaking levels of load shedding, with a probability of continual Stage 6 from May to July, and an even more strained system that could force Eskom to announce Stage 8 soon, according to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. (CSIR) A senior energy researcher at the CSIR, Monique le Roux, said: “On a number of occasions this year Eskom has already technically gone beyond Stage 6.…

South African tourism organisations described Africa’s Travel Indaba (ATI) 2023 as a success and disclosed that Durban was pitched to be a permanent home for hosting it. The Indaba was held at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Convention Centre (ICC). SA Tourism acting chief convention bureau officer, Zinhle Nzama, said the ATI was the third biggest trade show in the world and returning to pre-Covid visitor numbers. Nzama said delegates and the Africa industry at large were shown that there were a lot of opportunities in the region and that there was a need to come together to overcome any external factors. “We need to mitigate the connectivity issues that we have as a continent and find ways of making it easy to move around Africa,” said Nzama. She said it…

Millennials comprise up to 42% of all property purchasers, especially in the main urban areas, according to Lightstone, which provides information, valuations and market intelligence on properties across South Africa. Lightstone data shows that while Cape Town is more expensive, millennials are nonetheless investing, making up over a third of all sales in the last year. Seeff Property Group estate agent Ross Levin said the millennial buyer’s market was predominantly below R1.5 million and they were usually the under-35-year age bracket. Levin, who is Seeff’s Atlantic Seaboard licensee, said: “You can even find the odd apartment in the sought-after CBD area for between R1.2m and R1.5m.” Deeds Office data showed that 39% of sales over the last year in the Cape Town CBD were to millennials. He said other popular…

Pep Guardiola faces a meticulous balancing act in Manchester City’s quest for a treble, having to fend off Arsenal in their chase for a third consecutive Premier League title, while keeping one eye on their bid for a first Champions League trophy. City play desperate Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday in what could be a pivotal Premier League game for both teams. Guardiola’s side are just a point clear of Arsenal, albeit with a game in hand, with four matches remaining, and with the Gunners refusing to go away, the Spanish manager has little luxury to rest players. Everton are two points and one place above the relegation zone. City are on course to match their local rivals Manchester United, who achieved the feat in 1999, by capturing the…

KAIZER Chiefs striker Ashley du Preez has sent a strong warning to their next two opponents amid Amakhosi’s bid to finish third in the Premiership. After a roller-coaster start at Chiefs, Du Preez has become one of the key figures in coach Arthur Zwane’s team, thanks to his nine goals and five assists in all competitions. Overall, it will turn out to be an impressive debut season for Du Preez that will see him miss out on being one of the Cape-born players who have failed to live up to their lofty billing in Gauteng. While Du Preez has his teammates to thank for his eventual adaptation at Chiefs, there are people who have played a starring role in ensuring he is still part of the team next season. “The…

More than 100 disgruntled Langa residents marched to a police station to demand better services. They accused the officers of relying on other safety structures to fight crime. Community leader Siya Nojekwa said that gender-based violence cases generally ended up being withdrawn. “The victims don’t get proper feedback, and then some weeks later the case will be withdrawn because of a lack of evidence. “We are tired of having police who are ineffective, especially in such cases.” Nojekwa said the crime statistics for Langa didn’t reflect the real numbers. “There are many more murders, assaults and rapes in the community, but the police cover up everything and they don’t report everything. The cases go away before they even reach court.” The Langa resident added that police extort goods from foreign…

PARLIAMENT’S Portfolio Committee on Tourism is ‘’concerned’’ that two of the three recently appointed interim board members of SA Tourism (SAT) chose to skip a meeting despite the committee shifting to Durban to accommodate them. The interim board members are in Durban for the Africa Travel Indaba. Interim board member Kholeka Zama was the only member of the board at the meeting, which had been called to examine SA Tourism’s 2023/24 Annual Performance Plan. Committee chairperson Thandi Mahambehlala was especially upset when she was informed that interim board chairperson Tim Harris and colleague Zwelibanzi Mntambo said they would meet the committee at another time, one that suited them. Mahambehlala said all three should have been present at the meeting. She said as board members they had an oversight role…

THE BLEAK, ominous and pessimistic language and imagery around diabetes and people living with the condition affects whether or not people choose to get tested, and a global movement that South Africa has joined hopes to change this. Local non-profit organisation Sweetlife Diabetes Community joined the global #LanguageMatters movement, calling for a “new language for diabetes”. A simple example of this would be replacing the term diabetic, sufferer, patient, or consumer with person, person with diabetes, or person living with diabetes and disease. Sweetlife co-founder Bridget McNulty was first diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes 15 years ago and had little knowledge of the condition at the time. “Everything I read said you’re now at greater risk of blindness, amputation, heart disease, kidney failure, and nowhere in anything I read did…

The Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) has decided to shut down all its campuses and has told students to vacate residences after an escalation in violence as a result of student protests there this week. The university said the measure was taken to quell student protests yesterday and that all operations, including academic activities, would cease with immediate effect. All residences must be vacated by 4pm today. CPUT students could be seen hauling their suitcases as they vacated on-campus residences in the presence of armed police. On Monday students protested and later the same evening caused a fire at a cleaning supply room at the Bellville campus, while a recreational space called the SS Hall CPUT was torched at the Wellington campus. The protest was over a number of…

Having enjoyed his best ever season, Leolin Zas was robbed of the biggest moment of his career when he was ruled out of the 2022 URC final. The Stormers left wing had become the leading try-scorer in the competition with 11 touchdowns, and was set to play a major role in trying to help the Cape side win their first major piece of silverware in the title decider against the Bulls last season. Instead, he picked up an ankle injury in the first half of the dramatic 17-15 semi-final victory over Ulster at Cape Town Stadium and the speedster from Hermanus had to watch the rest of the Ulster game on crutches on the sidelines, although there was some joy for Zas as John Dobson’s team held off the Bulls…

Bafana Bafana’s all-time top goal-scorer Benni McCarthy continues to make waves in England with yet another legend singing his praises. The 45-year-old Capetonian secured a dream move to his beloved Manchester United at the beginning of the season, joining the club’s coaching staff as an attacking coach. McCarthy, who scored over 50 goals in the colours of Blackburn Rovers during his time in the Premier League, has made an immediate impact at the Red Devils. One of McCarthy’s biggest fans both as a player and now as a coach is Arsenal’s second highest all-time goalscorer Ian Wright, who has urged fans of the beautiful game to not ignore the work McCarthy has done at United. Wright, who scored 185 goals for the Gunners, believes McCarthy’s arrival can be closely linked…

World number seven Ons Jabeur said women players should not have to wait to receive the same prize money as their men counterparts at the Italian Open after tournament organisers announced plans to achieve pay parity by 2025. Tennis has sought to be a leader in the battle for equality in the last couple of decades, with equal prize money offered to men and women at the four Grand Slam tournaments. WTA Tour events, however, still often offer less prize money than those on the separate men’s circuit. In the Rome tournament, the total “financial commitment” for the men is $9.51-million, while for the women it is $3.5m. Italian tennis federation chief Angelo Binaghi said last month the event had started a process that would lead to equal prize money…