Innehållsförteckning för 2024-01-30 från Cape Argus

When it comes to music, the African continent is enjoying its moment in the sun. From the exponential growth of amapiano to the rise of African musicians such as Tyla, Black Coffee and Wizkid, music from the continent is being blasted and enjoyed across the globe. Spotify is thrilled by the rise of African music. “From soulful singers to trailblazing artists, these emerging talents are going to be the ones to watch this year as they put in work to captivate audiences and redefine the pulse of Africa’s music scene,” the digital music service noted. “Their fresh perspectives promise to rethink popular music, not just on the continent, but globally, and captivate listeners worldwide.” And with the new year about to enter its second month, Spotify has revealed the list…

INCIDENTS of alleged “chain snatching” by children in Sea Point and surrounding areas have prompted ward councillor Nicola Jowell to caution residents against falling victim. In a social media post, Jowell said she was in the process of engaging with provincial social services about the children in the area, and the need to have them off the streets and in places of safety. Jowell did not provide case numbers upon request yesterday for the alleged incidents. “The street children in the area have been a continue(d) issue, with numbers increasing over the school holidays. “Law enforcement engaged with various informants in the area to identify the culprits who are alleged to have been involved in two chain-snatching incidents. “The group were located and taken to the SAPS where two were…

It must surely be obvious to all but the brain-dead that inevitably there must be a Third World War. It’s illogical to come to any other conclusion as various countries form alliances with big brothers Russia and America. The craftier superpower is notably Russia, as Putin woos despotic African countries with offers of financial and undoubtedly military aid. Burkina Faso, Chad and Niger are prime examples. Aligning with North Korea, Iran and other so-called radical countries boost Putin’s popularity as the ringmaster . America on the other hand is ripped down the middle politically, with divisions having never been so deep. One is reminded of Nero fiddling while Rome was burning. There are more than 30 countries at war right now, with no end in sight. All this, while the…

This week, I sent a letter to our Provincial Traffic officers following our release of the festive season road safety stats for 2023/24. I expressed my sincere gratitude for their tireless efforts to ensure our communities’ safety during the festive season. Their commitment to maintaining order on the roads did not go unnoticed. I accompanied many of the teams and saw for myself how hard they worked. During hot days and late nights, they stood and stopped motorists with a smile. As I always say, our Provincial Traffic officers are the face of our business, welcoming visitors and caring for our residents. As we prepare for Easter, I wish them ongoing success.…

Despite all the negativity that prevails in our country, such as load shedding, corruption in most of our state-owned entities, dysfunctional hospitals and municipalities, there was a glimmer of hope for our country, with the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) last Friday. I was extremely proud to be a South African when the highest court in the world ruled in favour of the provisional measures requested by our country against Israel for its alleged genocidal approach to the Palestinians in Gaza. South Africa, out of all 195 countries in the world, was the only one that took a bold step to stop the massacre of more than 26 000 innocent Palestinians, 70% of the deaths being of children and women. The news by the ICJ was refreshing.…

THE DA’s proposed Western Cape Provincial Powers Bill (B5–2023), a violation of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act 108 of 1996, will have serious negative impacts on especially the poor black and coloured communities in the province. These are the communities that bear the brunt of the DA’s preference for pandering to the needs of and increasing the privileges of the white elite minority, at the expense of the poor. The DA’s desire for additional powers to be granted to the Western Cape will undeniably lead to a fragmentation and potentially exacerbate inequalities between racial and ethnic groups, which is in effect the last bastion of apartheid. A report by Sabinet African Journals indicates that while the Western Cape is the third-richest province in South Africa, it…

Durban’s Super Giants may not be everyone’s favourite team, but they are fast developing into the leading contenders for the SA20 season 2 title. Many of the fans’ top choices are MI Cape Town and Joburg Super Kings due to their respective Indian Premier League connections, but DSG are showing they are more than able to go toe-to-toe with the heavyweights. In fact, DSG have been handing out the knockout punches as they became the first team to qualify for the play-offs after their resounding 125-run bonus-point victory over second-placed Paarl Royals at Kingsmead on Sunday. The DSG line-up is packed with X-factor players. Even the loss of overseas stars Nicholas Pooran and Richard Gleeson has been absorbed with the recruitment of Marcus Stoinis, Naveen-ul-Haq and Noor Ahmad. Stoinis’…

Pro-Palestine woman reports rape, murder post A woman has laid a charge of intimidation against Freedom Front Plus (VF+) City councillor Paul Jacobson’s brother Martin after he threatened to rape and murder her and her family. Martin was responding to a comment Cassia Souza had made on a post by Paul on Facebook regarding South Africa’s genocide case at the International Court of Justice. Souza commented that she was nauseated by Paul and said: “This man (the councillor) is nauseating, just like all of them spewing lies around, trying their best to justify indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians, pregnant mothers run over with bulldozers, graveyards turned upside down, actual babies left to rot on hospital beds, sick. It can’t get worse than what we’re seeing.” To which Martin responded: “Maybe…

My letter has reference to Lorenzo A Davids’s column, #AnotherVoice, “We have had enough of lingering black poverty,” (Cape Argus, January 29). What has the ANC led government achieved after 30 years of democracy? The DA-led Western Cape province, has achieved much to “alleviate lingering black poverty” in the Cape. A brief preamble of the strategy: “One of the biggest and most intractable problems faced by cities is growing intra-urban inequality. By most metrics, South African cities are among the most unequal in the world.” The City’s Integrated Development Planning strategy for the next five years is based on five interrelated pillars, namely, the opportunity city, the safe city, the caring city, the inclusive city and the well -run city. The ANC has failed dismally in its original strategies, namely,…

“CITY’S problem building shock” (January 26) refers. The issue of problem buildings cannot be a shock, particularly as the City of Cape Town’s by-law to deal with such properties dates back 13 years. The by-law, and the work done by the Law Enforcement Problem Building Unit has been highlighted on numerous occasions over this period, including the amendments to the legislation three years ago. The issue of hijacked buildings has been in the spotlight for months. A problem building is not necessarily a hijacked or illegally occupied building. Problem buildings are also structures that are abandoned or derelict, or are illegally connected to municipal services, are used for criminal activities, structurally unsound or posing a danger to life or property, have an accumulation of waste, or where construction is incomplete…

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) recently issued a ruling in favour of South Africa in its case against Israel. While the court did not definitively determine whether Israel was committing genocide against the Palestinian people, it did find that “at least some of the acts and omissions alleged by South Africa to have been committed by Israel in Gaza appear to be capable of falling within the provisions of the (Genocide) Convention”. This ruling carries significant implications. First, it sets a precedent for holding states accountable for potential genocidal acts. Historically, few cases have resulted in genocide convictions or punishments. This ruling serves as a warning to states, highlighting potential legal consequences for such actions. Second, the ruling may influence how wars are conducted. The ICJ found that Israeli…

The White House yesterday vowed a “very consequential response” to a drone attack on a base in Jordan that killed three American troops, with President Joe Biden blaming Iran-backed militants. They were the first US military deaths in an attack in the region since the Israel-Hamas war began. Though the casualties raised fears of an escalating conflict, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said Washington is not seeking a wider Middle East war. Iran said it had nothing to do with the attack and denied US and British accusations that it supported militant groups responsible for the strike on the remote frontier base in Jordan’s north-east, near the borders with Iraq and Syria. While the US is still gathering the facts, “we know it was carried out by radical Iran-backed…

A slew of allegations, including that international banks had a close relationship with the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and Prudential Authority (PA), which are accused of flagging the accounts of the Sekunjalo Group, came under the spotlight in the Western Cape High Court under the Equality Court yesterday. This comes as the SARB and PA argued for an interlocutory (interim) application for the dismissal of a complaint brought against them by Sekunjalo and its chairman, Dr Iqbal Survé, alleging that the statutory bodies contravened sections 24(1) and 25(1)(c)(i) of the Equality Act. The matter involves allegations of unfair discrimination by banks in South Africa, including Standard Bank, Absa Bank, FNB and Nedbank, which have embarked on a process to close the bank accounts of the Sekunjalo Group and related…

After damning allegations were made against singer Kelly Khumalo regarding her involvement in the murder of former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper, Senzo Meyiwa, the slain soccer star’s brother has come out guns blazing and accused the lead investigator of being a liar and corrupt. Investigating Officer Brigadier Bongani Gininda had testified that two of the accused – Muzikawukhulelwa Sibiya and Bongani Ntanzi – implicated Khumalo as the one who ordered them to kill Meyiwa. Gininda was testifying in the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, during a trial-within-a-trial to determine the admissibility of alleged confessions made by Sibiya and Ntanzi. In an exclusive interview with eNCA, Sifiso Meyiwa dismissed the alleged confessions and accused Gininda of fabricating everything to protect his own interests. “ Gininda is lying, this is how he operates. I…

There is so much going on inside of me as I write this column, that it almost didn’t get sent to my editors. It’s a combination of despair, sadness, anger, gratitude and relief. I have spent most of the past three weeks trying to find a way of helping those who made the three Anchor Bay Tennis Academy their home for more than three and a half years. Tomorrow they are expected to be off the grounds of the tennis club. The City finally got it right to have evictions notices issued. And this only happened because those who promised to stand by the individuals were not there to help them over this final hurdle. Most of the guys at the encampment were with me in Strandfontein and also at…

When Jesus Christ the Messiah was oppressed and attempts were made to murder him by the Jewish Pharisees, there was no internet or global or social media to detail his extreme suffering. Millions of people continued with their lives and it took centuries for the message of Christ to fill the world. We do not have that problem today as social media allows instant access to endless evidence. For example, the genocide of the Palestinian people by global Zionists is captured as it happens. There is no excuse for anyone to say they do not know, as the information flows freely. This allows a greater sense of honesty as three basic choices exist: support the Palestinian people, support global Zionism, or do not give a damn. Those who say they…

When people are treated monstrously, we say they are “treated like animals”. This is because we treat animals monstrously. We mistreat and abuse them on farms, transport them in cramped and stressful conditions, torture them in laboratories, hunt them for sport and use them for our entertainment in circuses and zoos. You know that, I know that, everyone knows that. And yet, the horror continues, and it continues on a scale that is mind-boggling. Most animals used by humans are used for food. According to the latest data available from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, 332 million cows, 501 million goats, 604 million turkeys, 617 million sheep, 1.4 billion pigs, 4.3 billion ducks, and 73.8 billion chicken are killed for meat every year. The list does not…

SOUTH Africa Women’s historic victory over their Australian counterparts in Canberra at the weekend is an achievement that the visitors will be looking to draw inspiration from today as the two sides meet again in the series-deciding third T20I in Hobart. Despite having proved that they can beat Australia, the South Africans will still need to put all the excitement aside and focus on the task at hand this morning – and potentially become the first Proteas team to return home with a series victory against the most successful team in women’s cricket. As a result, captain Laura Wolvaardt wants her team to refocus their attention on the basics of the game to stand a chance of beating their hosts at the Bellerive Oval from 10am. “We’ve still got to…