Innehållsförteckning för 2023-09-06 från Cape Argus

The theatre industry suffered a huge blow when news broke of the death of Cape Philharmonic Orchestra (CPO) double bassist Kyle Smith. The 25-year-old from Retreat died of natural causes in hospital at the weekend. Smith was a soloist in last year’s Classical Music Concert, presented by the CPO and Artscape Theatre, when he performed the Burlesque for Double Bass and Orchestra by Allan Stephenson. He was a student of CPO principal double bassist Roxane Steffen and was doing his post-graduate performance diploma at UCT, where he graduated with a Diploma in Music Performance. He was also selected to play as a member of the German Youth Orchestra. The much-loved musician began his musical journey when he was 6-years-old at the New Apostolic church, where he first played the…

The Cape Peninsula Baboon Management Joint Task Team’s announcement that it is close to finalising its proposed draft Baboon Strategic Management Plan has been met with a lacklustre response from some of its intended stakeholders. On Monday, the team announced that the draft plan would be finalised by the end of this month, and released some of its focus areas and intended responses. Once finalised, the team said it would start engaging communities in baboon-affected areas, and make a call for nominations for representatives from recognised community organisations from affected areas. The team said it was targeting civil society organisations and other stakeholders to serve on the Baboon Advisory Group, which would bring it a step closer to implementing identified solutions. However, anti-cruelty organisation Beauty Without Cruelty South Africa said…

On September 3, 77 years ago, the first “non-white” medical doctor, Muhammed Shukri Effendi, died. The University of Cape Town, a bastion of learning, research and innovation, holds within its history a remarkable story of progress and perseverance. Dr Muhammed Shukri Effendi, the first non-white medical doctor to graduate from the institution, emerged as a beacon of change and a symbol of breaking down barriers. Born in 1915 in Pepper Street (Bo-Kaap), Muhammed Shukri demonstrated an early aptitude for education. After receiving his foundational education at Trafalgar High School, he earned a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBChB) degree from the medical school at the University of Cape Town. Oddly enough, when he was studying at Trafalgar High School, another student of Turkish origin, Reginald Remzi-Bey, was also studying at…

A closely concealed report by the Reserve Bank, concerning undeclared cash in foreign currency for the payment of livestock at Phala Phala farm and which is littered with probable contraventions of the exchange control regulations, deserves condemnation of the highest order. For the justification lacks a modicum of common sense. Even the clergy broke its silence to show that the central bank dealt perversely with the matter. In the same way, a finding of the SA Revenue Service is a monument of tedium, a year-long report of acting Public Protector advocate Kholeka Gcaleka rang hollow. Gcaleka exonerated President Cyril Ramaphosa of having a case to answer, overlooking a finding of an independent panel to shield him. Worse, Gcaleka neglected to: Appreciate the overwhelming irregularities and impeachable violations faced by Ramaphosa,…

BERLIN: More than half of Germans believe work is not worthwhile after the government’s planned increase in welfare payments and child benefits, a survey showed yesterday. The government said it was raising benefits first introduced in 2005. Welfare payments for more than 5.5 million jobless in Germany will rise to €563 from €502 per month for single people from next year. With a minimum wage of €1 450 net income per month, 52% of Germans feel that those in full-time employment on a minimum wage don’t earn significantly more than those on welfare. | Reuters…

Former New Zealand captain Wayne ‘Buck’ Shelford, often dubbed ‘the hardest man to play rugby’, knows better than most the highs and lows of playing Les Bleus. In 1986 during a brutal Test in Nantes – a rare defeat for the All Blacks – he lost three teeth and tore his scrotum ... A year later, he was instrumental in delivering the first World Cup with a 29-9 win over France in the final. And he has also witnessed some memorable French performances which have emerged less from the formbook and more from pure collective inspiration. “The French are able to turn it on at anytime ... they can just counter-attack from everywhere,” Shelford said. “Sometimes they know what they are doing, and when they don’t, they just ad lib…

We are sad to announce the death of former Argus staffer Michael Smuts. Smuts died in Hospicare, Stellenbosch, on August 29, aged 93. He was married for 61 years to the late Edna Smuts. Smuts, who was born on March 28, 1930, joined Argus Newspapers in 1952, and retired in 1991. He was was first employed in the Syndication and Circulations Departments after knocking on the door of Argus Newspapers. He worked for the company for three years, before he was transferred to Harare, Zimbabwe, (then Salisbury, Rhodesia) in November 1955. In January 1964, Smuts was transferred to Bulawayo, as manager of the Chronicle newspaper. He returned to Salisbury in April 1973 as manager of the Herald newspaper and Sunday Mail. In 1982, Smuts returned to South Africa and worked…

With more than 100 hijacked buildings, most of which have turned into slums, the City of Joburg deserves the Worst City of the Year award. How does a city that fashions itself as world-class claim to be unaware of what is happening before its eyes? This week, the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure said that, out of the 29 000 government buildings in its asset register, 1 260 were identified as being illegally occupied. According to the Joburg Property Owners and Managers Association, more than 57 of its buildings in the City of Joburg have been hijacked or taken over by syndicates. Is the department aware of who is occupying the buildings? It seems not. What makes matters worse is that some of the buildings have been linked to…

The phenomenon of de-banking – the freezing or closure of personal or business accounts based on “reputational risks”, including views that may conflict with those of the government – has been gaining steam in many Western countries once touted as bastions of free speech and liberal democracy. Now, Australia’s second-largest bank is taking a headlong jump toward a social credit-style nightmare once thought to be limited to the realm of gritty, fictional cyberpunk dystopias, arming itself with the authority to de-bank clients for a broad range of reasons associated with speech. The National Australia Bank’s (NAB’s) terms and conditions, set to come into effect on November 1, feature a new “unacceptable account conduct” addendum enabling the banking behemoth to “investigate instances where it identifies or is made aware that an…

STOCKHOLM: The former CEO and the former chairperson of a Swedish oil firm went on trial in Sweden yesterday, accused of complicity in war crimes in Sudan between 1999 and 2003, charges that they both flatly deny. Prosecutors say the former Lundin Oil, which has changed its name several times and in 2022 sold most of its business, asked Khartoum to secure a potential oilfield in what is now South Sudan, knowing this would mean seizing the area by force. This made the executives complicit in war crimes then carried out by the Sudanese army and allied militia against civilians. | Reuters…

England midfielder Jordan Henderson has responded to criticism by defending his decision to join a Saudi Arabian club in an interview published by The Athletic yesterday. The 33-year-old moved to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq from Liverpool on a three-year deal in July. The switch to Saudi Arabia, where homosexuality is illegal, made headlines as Henderson has long been a supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. “I can understand the frustration. I can understand the anger. I get it. All I can say around that is that I’m sorry that they feel like that. My intention was never, ever to hurt anyone,” Henderson told The Athletic. “Now when I was making the decision, the way that I tried to look at it was I felt as though, by myself not going,…

Rape survivor Reverend June Dolley-Major is to embark on her third and final annual walk. Dolley-Major said that three years ago, she had a vision to walk to her crime scene, Makhanda, in the Eastern Cape. Now she will make her way to Cairo, via train and plane and stopping at other countries along the way. She will end up in the UK with Celesthea Pierang and André Schaffers. Two years ago, Dolley-Major walked more than 900km to complete her mission. “I am a rape survivor, though I prefer to be called a wounded healer. Three years ago, God gave me a vision, a three-year vision that said that in 2021, I needed to walk from Sir Lowry’s Pass in the Western Cape to Makhanda (Grahamstown), where I was raped,…

A Chinese national has been sentenced in the Atlantis Regional Court after he was convicted of smuggling abalone. Qiang Chen, 29, entered into a plea and sentencing agreement with the State. In 2021, Chen was busted for allegedly running an abalone facility in Melkbosstrand. He was sentenced to a fine of R1 million or five years direct imprisonment which was wholly suspended for five years, for contravening Section 18 (1) of the Marine Living Resources Act. For contravening Regulation 36 (1) of the Marine Living Resources Act he was sentenced to a fine of R250 000 or three years imprisonment which was wholly suspended for a period of five years. In terms of Section 18 of the Prevention of Organised Crime…

The Department of Infrastructure in the Western Cape has spent more than R100 million on upgrading health facilities in the Western Cape. DA Western Cape spokesperson on Infrastructure Matlhodi Maseko said R118 595 104 had been spent on upgrades from April 1 to July 31. These included refurbishment, and maintenance and repairs at health facilities across the province. R63 738 820 was spent on maintenance and repairs, R24 062 880 was spent on upgrades and additions, and R30 793 404 was spent on refurbishment and rehabilitation. Sixty health facilities in Macassar, Dunoon, Philippi, Worcester, Caledon, Mitchells Plain, Hanover Park, Khayelitsha, and other areas, underwent maintenance and repairs. They come on top of the almost R50 million renewable energy programme by the Department of Health in which it aims to install…

In South Africa, September is Heritage Month and Arbor Week. September 1 has become synonymous with Arbor Day, where several “greening” events are promoted by different organisations and institutions such as schools. Arbor Day, a day for planting trees, serves as a reminder of the importance of trees and to take action to protect and preserve the environment and natural resources. The value of trees cannot be over emphasised as they are needed for humanity’s survival. Trees, like human beings, need water to survive. Consequently, it is important to protect all our natural resources, especially water. The health of the environment, forests, rivers, marine ecosystems and oceans are threatened, with potentially disturbing effects for human beings, animals, climate and the planet. South Africa is blessed to have rich supplies of…

The recent announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa, on the report on the alleged loading of weapons on to Lady R raises some concerns. Russia and South Africa are members of BRICS. Russia’s neighbour, Ukraine, actively seeking to join Nato places Russia’s security at great risk. The Rome Statute is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). Although it was adopted in Rome in 1998, it started operating in 2002. Its aim was “to bring to justice the perpetrators of the worst crimes to humankind”. The US, Russia and Israel are not members of the ICC. Interestingly, the US and Israel stated that they would not co-operate with an investigation by the ICC into possible war crimes by Israel against the Palestinians. Both countries say the ICC had…

ABUJA: Nigerian workers striked yesterday to demand a reversal of President Bola Tinubu’s reforms aimed at reviving growth which have compounded a cost of living crisis. The Nigerian Labour Congress, called for a two-day strike ahead of an indefinite one on September 21. Police in Lagos said they were investigating the death of one person, after protesters blocked a major road and burned tyres. Tinubu scrapped a petrol subsidy that caused pump prices to triple, and lifted currency restrictions, causing the naira to weaken. Most banks in Abuja shut, while unions locked electricity workers out of their premises, causing power cuts. | Reuters…

Hong Kong: Hong Kong’s top court ruled in favour of recognising same-sex partnerships yesterday and gave the government two years to come up with a legal framework, but stopped short of granting full marriage rights to the city’s LGBTQ community. The court ruled that the Hong Kong government violated its “obligation ... to establish an alternative framework for legal recognition of same-sex partnerships”. But the court said that, under Hong Kong’s Basic Law, “the constitutional freedom of marriage ... is confined to opposite-sex marriage”. | AFP…

Bafana Bafana defender Siyanda Xulu has embraced his leadership role in the national team, vowing to help the youngsters to settle in. Since Hugo Broos’ appointment as Bafana coach two years ago, winds of change have blown in the national team set-up, with players largely selected on form instead of popularity. Amid that transition, there have been a number of youngsters drafted in – some have stepped up, while others struggled. Bongokuhle Hlongwane and Cassius Mailula made their Bafana debuts under Broos at 21 and have since gone on to ply their trades in the US top-flight. But while it’s good to nurture young talent, Broos knows that there are players who are valuable assets for the national team at their peak. One of the players the Belgian values with…