Innehållsförteckning för 2024-01-24 från Cape Argus

An investigation is under way into the death of a mugger who fell to his death on Table Mountain on Sunday. Two hikers were accosted by two unknown suspects on the Slangolie hiking trail. The pair robbed the hikers of their valuables, including cellphones and jewellery. Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith said that a group of hikers were being led along the pipe track when the mugging took place. “The tour guide defended the group by spraying both assailants with pepper spray, and they both ran off. “In trying to locate one of the stolen mobile phones, which was still showing up close to where the robbery took place, SAPS returned on Monday, along with members of SANParks. “Attempting to locate the device and using the last…

A LEGAL agreement over the damages and loss of earnings that should be paid to a man who suffers imminent amputation of his right leg after being pushed out of a moving train has been made in an order by the Western Cape High Court. This comes after the court found that lawyers for Masibulele Rautini, 34, and the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa), respectively acted in his best interests by negotiating the settlements, saving the court and counsel a lot of time and money. Rautini worked as a gardener at Spier Wine Estate earning R1 500 a month when was pushed out of the train between Du Toit and Lynedoch stations in Stellenbosch in 2011, leading him to sue Prasa for damages, loss of earnings and future medical…

The Machiavellian views presented by DA activist Thulani Dasa from Khayelitsha (“ANC must get its facts straight on Western Cape’s Powers Bill”, Cape Argus, January 22) is proof that the DA’s own members do not understand the bill. It shows that there is little, if any, understanding among DA members of the legal frameworks governing the country. The facts, not only of the ANC but of legal experts and members of the general public, included but is not limited to the following: Fact 1: Although described as “devolution”, it is a bill designed to “usurp” national government’s role in the domain of the Western Cape, which is the only province it leads. If the DA believes it can serve and improve service delivery in national government, then why has…

Well done to Morton van Staden of the Free Market Foundation with regard to his article (“199 the magic number in 2024 elections”, January 19) and predictions for the elections this year. I want to go one step further to state that the engine room of the political system in Parliament is the portfolio committee system. These committees have oversight over the departments and ministerial teams. Portfolio committees also debate and structure new suggestions for legislation and changes of legislation. Notoriously, up until now the ANC has controlled these committees with an iron fist. It is debilitating to hear cogent arguments coming from those outside the ANC which would enhance the country but are doomed to failure because of the ANC’s tendency to destroy anything which does not come out…

Since the dawn of democracy in South Africa, writers have always inappropriately used the label to characterise a South African black business hero. Too often, they tag it on to a young Icarus who later comes crushing down to Earth after some ephemeral success, or to a so-called Master of the Universe with the ability to descend from a corporate perch by way of a golden parachute. The tangled skeins of BEE are difficult to unravel; however, political economist Moeletsi Mbeki was determined to make sense of it in an interview. Mbeki argued that the BEE concept was conceived by the big white corporations to dull the effects of political radicalism on South Africans. The corporates assimilated power- ful black leaders and bore them up in their corporate arms by…

PARIS: One person died and two others were injured after a car collided with farmers’ barricades blocking highways in France’s south during a protest against government agricultural policies, the president of the National Federation of Agricultural Holders’ Unions said yesterday. Doctors said the injured activists were in critical condition. The three people who were in the car that rammed the barricades were detained. Since last week farmers in the Occitania region have been blocking highways with tractors, haystacks and manure. Farmers’ unions said they would continue the protests for as long as necessary. | Sputnik…

Peshawar: A father killed his son after the pair disagreed about which political party flag to display in the lead-up to Pakistan’s general election. Police said the argument broke out when the son, who had returned from working in Qatar, hoisted the flag of former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party at the family home on the outskirts of Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Police are searching for the father, who is affiliated with the nationalist Awami National Party. Elections, set for February 8, are often marred with violence in Pakistan, with candidates targeted by Islamist attacks. | AFP…

Three men from the Western Cape are the latest suspects to be arrested for child pornography, bringing the total to seven since November 2023. Garth van West, 53, Corné Van Rooyen, 40, and Shannon Manuel, 32, were arrested in a space of three days following a joint operation by the SAPS and the US Department of Homeland Security. One of the men posed as a teenager to allegedly lure underage girls to a chat group where child pornography was distributed and shared among the three. National Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said the three suspects were arrested in Worcester, Kraaifontein and Mitchells Plain respectively. “A 53-year-old man from Worcester was the first to be arrested on Wednesday, January 17. He has so far been found with 95 000 images and 6…

I celebrate with the rest of the world the action of our beloved country at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). They score full marks for calling the atrocity by its name. Genocide. We must bear in mind that in the international family, our country resorts among the bottom feeders, the failures, the junk status in the world of economics and most assuredly is a woeful example of the dehumanisation of its people. But none of this reduces the fearless speaking of truth to power. During my stint as principal of a high school in Manenberg at the height of the Struggle (1983 to 1993), I experienced the agony of this dire abuse inflicted on the Palestinians. Our children were shot at from armoured military vehicles. That experience alone made…

SOUTH Africa went to the International Court of Justice at the Hague to present its genocide case against Israel. Apparently the legal team walked out of the court building elated with its presentation. It felt it had made a watertight case against the Jewish nation. For a country with no claim to fame other than Mandela, it was a big, bold step. What was the real reason for South Africa’s legal action? Was it only to help Palestine or was it a twin-prong attack to call for a ceasefire and at the same time enhance its tattered image? Does South Africa care about Palestinians, or did it see this as an opportunity to shine on the world stage and put other nations to shame? And why not Sudan? It’s Palestine…

As the matric results frenzy dies down, those who have completed school are confronted with the mounting pressure of making critical decisions about their future. Whether one has made the cut or not, everything starts to revolve around the next move. This involves the additional stress of deciding on a university to attend or career path to follow. Numerous organisations have entered the field to help students navigate their lives and make better decisions. Non-governmental organisations such as Sadag (South African Depression and Anxiety Group) have offered mental health assistance. President Cyril Ramaphosa has encouraged companies to open windows of opportunity for young people. “As government we have made the call for businesses to invest in our nation’s future by employing more young people, and, where possible, to do away…

Belgrade: Serbian rights watchdogs yesterday urged authorities to allow chaperones to attend births in hospital, after a newborn died last week during an alleged case of violence by a doctor. The country has been rattled since reports surfaced last week of a Roma woman accusing her gynaecologist of “jumping on her stomach” and insulting her ethnicity while she was in labour. Her newborn later died. The doctor in the north-western town of Sremska Mitrovica has since been arrested on accusations of jeopardising a person’s health, police confirmed, and is in custody. | AFP…

WITH a decline in land transportation income for the agriculture sector towards the end of last year, farmers in the province were still monitoring the impact from the nearly R4 million dip in income. Stats SA this week released the findings of its land transport survey, which showed that the freight transportation income for agriculture and forestry primary products dropped by 6% to R3.8m in September-November 2023. The manufactured food, beverages and tobacco products, along with chemicals, petroleum, rubber, plastic and other mineral products also declined to R6.7m and R2.7m respectively. This, while generally the volume of goods transported increased by 1.6% in November 2023 compared with the previous year, and income from freight transportation increased by 4.6% in the three months. The survey results coincided with the period of…

HEARTFELT tributes have been paid to veterinary technician and snake catcher Rico Pentz, who died after he was bitten by a Cape Cobra. The 39-year-old from Stellenbosch, who was the founder of Helderberg Wildlife Rescue and Anti-Animal Cruelty, is believed to have passed away in Tygerberg Hospital on Sunday after he was bitten by the venomous snake last Wednesday. His partner, Eva Nelipot Freedom, paid tribute to her late partner, who died by her side. “Today we said goodbye to a human who was nothing less than a legend. The earth was blessed to have you around. “My beautiful thing with the most gorgeous eyelashes, most beautiful heart, who fiercely defended everything he loved so bitterly and stood for.” She wrote: “A father to so many little children – our…

Street scrap metal collectors are purging what is left of a recycling business property that burnt down on Christmas Day as a result of a fire that broke out in a problematic Prasa building nearby, leaving more than 40 people unemployed. The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) said it had employed security guards to monitor and prevent criminal activities in its unoccupied building situated in Tide Street, Woodstock. However, the two guards stationed at the building cannot cope as criminals continue to vandalise the premises and smoke drugs right in front of the guards. When the Cape Argus visited the premises yesterday, right after Prasa said it had implemented security measures for the facility since December 13, a number of scrap metal collectors, drug addicts and established companies,…

Your article of January 22 (“ANC calls for investigation into W Cape Powers Bill”, Cape Argus) refers. It is profoundly distressing to see career politicians of the ANC seeking to muzzle the public. Weaponising the national Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs to halt the public participation process not only undermines democratic values, but also profoundly insults the public. By threatening to stop public hearings, the ANC has essentially declared its own opinion to be more important than that of the people of the Western Cape – a situation which obviously cannot be allowed to stand. Despite what an ANC-sponsored smear campaign has claimed, the Western Cape Provincial Powers Bill seeks to do one thing only – to transform what a government can do for its people. If passed,…

The US and Britain launched a second round of joint military strikes on Yemen’s Houthis yesterday over their attacks on Red Sea shipping, as the Iran-backed rebels vowed to hit back. The latest raids, heard by residents of the rebel-held capital Sana’a at around midnight (local time), hit eight Houthi targets, a joint US-UK statement said, while the Houthis listed 18 strikes across their territory. US and British forces carried out a first wave of strikes against the rebel group earlier this month, and the US launched further air raids against missiles that Washington said posed imminent threats to both civilian and military vessels. But the Houthis have continued their attacks on shipping – just one part of a growing crisis in the Middle East linked to the Israel-Hamas war,…

GENEVA: Europe saw 30 000 measles cases last year, 30 times higher than for 2022, the World Health Organization said yesterday, calling for an “urgent” vaccination campaign. “We have seen … nearly 21 000 hospitalisations and five measles-related deaths,” it said. The WHO Europe region covers 53 countries, including Russia and Central Asia. Russia and Kazakhstan fared the worst, with 10 000 cases each. In Western Europe, Britain had the most cases with 183. About 1.8 million infants in Europe were not vaccinated against measles between 2020 and 2022. Vaccination rates against measles have dropped across the globe. | AFP…

Eben Etzebeth is the big Springbok enforcer. He is big, strong and powerful. In cricket terms, Duanne Olivier was meant to fulfil the same role for the Proteas. Big, fast and dangerous. But then something happened. Olivier went to England where he signed a Kolpak deal before returning home a few years later softer than a Yorkshire pudding. More importantly, he was also much slower. There were plenty of reasons Olivier lost his most prized asset: pace. Some argued that he had refined his softer skills and was now a much more rounded bowler than simply one that had looked to bounce batters out. But that was not what the Proteas needed and Olivier lost his place in the national team. Something needed to be done and Olivier sought…