Innehållsförteckning för 2024-01-17 från Cape Argus

RESIDENTS living in areas adjacent to the demolished Athlone cooling towers have called for the site to be used for housing and job creation. Decommissioning plans for the site are expected to be finalised soon, the City said, before re-purposing gets underway. Energy Mayco member Beverley van Reenen said the site had potential to boost the City’s energy footprint. Langa ward councillor, Lwazi Phakade, said residents wanted housing and a space that created jobs, like a mall. He said residents were worried that the City won’t provide this. “Residents have expressed concerns because when they came together, there was agreement that the site would take care of the housing shortage. “Now we are being driven towards an idea by the City about sustainable electricity.” Langa resident and activist since the…

The Western Cape’s quest for independence is doomed to failure. First, Section 235 of the Constitution does not state that the people of South Africa must recognise the right of self-determination. All it says is that the people of South Africa are not precluded from recognising the right of self-determination. The exact wording is: “The right of the South African people as a whole to self-determination, as manifested in this Constitution, does not preclude, within the framework of this right, recognition of the right of self-determination of any community sharing a common cultural and language heritage within a territorial entity in the Republic or in any other way, determined by national legislation.” In other words, the people of South Africa may give a greater degree of independence to areas like…

At a meeting with Chinese diplomatic envoys attending the Annual Work Conference for Overseas Envoys to Foreign Countries held at the Great Hall of the People on December 29, President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech resonating with China’s short- to medium-term responsibilities as a leading global power. Xi rallied leaders and experts in foreign policy to hold high the banner of building a community with a shared future for humanity, to keep opening new prospects for major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics, to tell China’s stories and the peaceful contribution of Chinese modernisation to humanity, and to promote understanding between China and the world. Xi also emphasised the importance of unity, stability, ideological clarity, and innovation at home in ensuring China continues to play an important role as a trusted…

Former US president Donald Trump has won nearly every voting bloc in the Iowa caucus, leaving his closest rivals Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley struggling for the second spot for the coveted Republican nomination to the White House race. NBC News entrance poll results revealed that Trump was romping home with a massive victory and a few key groups helped lift the former president to a massive victory on Monday night. Trump’s best showing came from caucus goers who did not have a college degree (67%), those who identified as very conservative (61%), voters over 65 years old (58%) and white Evangelicals (53%). Trump’s showing among those groups was up from 2016, when at that time only two in 10 voters in each group supported…

The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) said it was ready to welcome learners to its schools for the start of the 2024 academic year. Today, the province will see 93 000 Grade 1 and 98 000 Grade 8 learners step into its facilities. However, despite the R716 million blow to its budget, the WCED is working hard to place learners who applied for admission late. Western Cape MEC for Education, David Maynier, said his department was conducting its final finishing touches on the 10 new schools and three replacement schools as part of its Rapid School Build programme. “Some of the schools and additional classrooms are finished, and others will take a little time to be completed (we have made arrangements for the learners in the meantime). We’ve seen some…

A MAN who stole R50 000 from a woman he met online and was later accused of sexually assaulting her has been acquitted of rape. Michael Jantjies turned to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) after he was convicted on three counts of rape alleged to have taken place at the St Helena Bay Hotel in March 2015. He argued that the rape accusation was fabricated after he stole the money from the 48-year-old teacher and ended their relationship. The pair met via an online dating site in August 2014, and spent weekends at hotels along the West Coast. The woman reported on September 19, 2015, that Jantjies had raped her at the hotel on March 7, 2015 – an allegation Jantjies denied, saying he was never at the…

Many thanks to your wise Alex Tabisher (Cape Argus, January 10), warning us to look at reality; not the hype – the article about ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula admitting to lying for former president Jacob Zuma emphasised the need to view our “leaders” with suspicion. And the letters from councillor Mark Kleinschmidt and Ilan Preskovsky were brilliant examples of bringing reality and reason into our thinking, instead of following like sheep. Both were balanced and logical. But please don’t stop printing the letters from the ranters; we need to know what we’re up against.…

The letter from Ilan Preskovsky “Brutality is not resistance” was a breath of fresh air, a voice of fact and logic amid the ongoing rants vilifying Israel and ignoring the atrocities which Hamas perpetrate against their own citizens as well as the attack of October 7 on Israel. The comparison with Japan and how they turned the situation into a positive one of success compared to the dismal tactics of Hamas was a very refreshing take on the ongoing strife. Unfortunately Hamas’ charter calls for the destruction of Israel, so Palestinians are doomed to a continued life of misery. Unless top world powers can get together and remove the terrorists from the countries concerned, little is likely to change, as jihadists and those with their own selfish agendas…

The 33rd president of the US, Harry Truman, said: “It’s a recession when your neighbour loses his job; it’s a depression when you lose your own.” It is safe to say that it is mere statistics and a social media puppet show when your neighbour loses his loved ones in a road accident; it is a depression when you lose your own. The Magoebaskloof bus accident claimed the lives of the ANC members who were on their way to Mbombela Stadium to celebrate 112 years of Africa’s oldest liberation movement. Their immediate family members are now depressed and in deep mourning. Most road traffic challenges that the country faced in 1945 remain today. Road tragedies should teach us valuable lessons; however, history finds few students. The problem with government policy…

The Chennai Super Kings have always prided themselves on being able to lean on experienced players to get them through the tough situations. It’s the reason their illustrious captain MS Dhoni is contemplating yet another IPL season, even though he is fast approaching his 43rd birthday. It’s been hard to fault this strategy with CSK being the joint most successful IPL team with five championship titles alongside the Mumbai Indians. Coach Stephen Fleming has been a great part of building this strategy and has since transferred it to CSK’s satellite teams, including the Joburg Super Kings. Hence the Wanderers-based team is easily the most experienced team in the Betway SA20 with new season 2 signings such as Moeen Ali (36), David Wiese (38) and, of course, the evergreen Imran…

Supporters of slain Lukhololwam Mkontwana were shocked to learn that the man charged with the boy’s murder and kidnapping was his neighbour. Aphiwe Vakele, 31, was arrested on January 4 for the murder, committed in September 2022. It was also revealed that the accused works for the City of Cape Town as a plumber. Lukhololwam, 8, was snatched while playing with his friends near his Nyanga home when a black car arrived and lured the boy into it before driving off. His mom, Noxol, found out her son was snatched when she received a message demanding a ransom of R100 000 or the boy would be killed the following day. The family ended up sending R1 000 to the suspects. Noxolo never heard from the kidnappers again. Three…

The Department of Health has called on parents to follow through with immunisation for their little ones. Childhood immunisation services form an integral part of primary health care in the Western Cape, and can be accessed for free at all primary health-care facilities. However, the department says it has seen a concerning decline in the number of immunisations over the past two years. These vaccinations are described as one of the world’s most successful health interventions. Sonia Botha, the Western Cape’s co-ordinator of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation, said there have been reductions in the hexavalent vaccine, a six-in-one vaccine protecting babies against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), poliomyelitis, haemophilus flu type B and hepatitis B, as well as the routine diphtheria and tetanus (Td) vaccines administered as part of…

AS THE elites of the World Economic Forum gather in Davos for their annual junket at which they ratchet up their falsehood about fossil fuels causing global warming, and stoke alarmism about the fate of the planet, the quiet part of their agenda, once again, will go unreported. Successful propaganda requires relentless repetition based on a smidgen of truth. Yes, climate change is a reality attested to over the past 2 000 years. Yes, it may involve warmer temperatures and floods. It may also mean colder times and drought. These vagaries are natural and have nothing to do with human exploitation of fossil fuels or bovine digestive emissions. The records of history prove that. But while claiming climate-related risk remains a dominant theme, the WEF has identified a “short-term threat”…

The most basic definition of the concept of “irony” is: The use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning. It is marked by a deliberate contrast between apparent and intended meaning, employing such contrast for humorous or rhetorical effect. Finally, it can be illustrated by the incongruity between what might be expected and what actually occurs, for example, being knocked down on the street by an ambulance. This introduction serves to underline my refusal to accept the evidence of near-total societal disintegration in our country. There is much that can still be saved. The tools required for this mammoth undertaking are a sense of humour, the protection of human integrity and the indisputable truth that there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Tom Robbins…

AS POLITICAL parties gear up in the trenches to battle it out ahead of the 2024 general elections taking place in South Africa later this year, it is expected that there will be mud slinging and startling revelations – but does casting doubt on crucial institutions such as the Electoral Commission (IEC) not work against efforts to encourage full citizen participation? Recently concerns have again been raised regarding the credibility of state institutions all in the name of “campaigning” for the upcoming elections. This came after key political leaders such as former secretary-general of the ANC Ace Magashule hinting at “vote rigging” while campaigning for his new party, the African Congress for Transformation, in Pietermaritzburg. Political analyst Levi Ndou commented it was very dangerous for the country’s democracy, when you…

Lionel Messi may have left the limelight of European football behind, but he remains a magnet to the game’s biggest awards after being crowned Fifa’s best men’s player for 2023 on Monday. The selection of the 36-year-old over pretenders to his crown Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe was a controversial one in the year Messi took what many see as a step down in standards to join Inter Miami in Major League Soccer. Yet, Messi’s pulling power was still in evidence last year as he quickly conquered the US. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner dragged a hitherto struggling squad to the first trophy won by the franchise that is co-owned by David Beckham, by lifting the Leagues Cup in August. He also racked up another league title at Paris Saint-Germain…