Innehållsförteckning för 2024-02-27 från Cape Argus

THE SABC investigations into allegations of ghost workers that rocked the public broadcaster in December were concluded and the matter resolved. This was according to SABC spokesperson Mmoni Seapolelo, who said the corporation was not aware of any documentation pointing to a litigation process. Seapolelo was responding to questions from Cape Argus sister publication The Star after allegations that the public broadcaster’s former news producer and Expressions presenter, Jacqueline Maphala, was taking legal action against it. The publication was tipped off by an anonymous source that Maphala and some of the freelance producers of the Unfiltered current affairs show, airing on the SABC News channel, were fired recently after the SABC News division managers discovered the staff were claiming hours they didn’t work. The investigation into ghost workers was resolved…

DATA from the February 2024 Household Affordability Index showed that from January to February this year, the average cost of a household food basket dropped by R47.56. The drop was a welcome relief for consumers, following an increase in the same basket from December 2023 to January. The average cost of the household food basket for February 2024 was R5 277.30, compared to R5 324.86 in January. Year-on-year, the basket increased by R348.96, from R4 928.34 in February 2023. The affordability index by the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group (PMBEJD) tracked food price data from 47 supermarkets and 32 butcheries inCape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Pietermaritzburg and Springbok in the Northern Cape. The PMBEJD said food price fluctuations were unpredictable. Data from the index showed that for February 2024, foods…

I refer to the article, “College of Cape Town students protest over alleged shortage of lecturers” (Cape Argus, February 20) in which the acting campus manager of City Campus claimed there was no shortage of lecturers. The recent protest at College of Cape Town City Campus began on February 9 and was caused by an attempt to reduce the college’s wage bill. Lecturers who hold “governing body posts” (posts the college funds out of its own pocket) are frequently appointed in mid-February (sometimes later) instead of at the beginning of the semester. This saves the college money, but results in some classes not having lecturers for the first few weeks of the semester. Last year’s shortage of lecturers was reported on by the Cape Times in April last year.…

Let us celebrate the centenary celebration of Mangaliso Robert Sobukwe, a pivotal figure in the struggle not just against apartheid in South Africa, but colonialism in the world and Africa in particular. Sobukwe’s steadfast commitment to the fight against white supremacy and his influential role in the launch of the armed Struggle significantly shaped the trajectory of the liberation movements. Through his resolute actions and impassioned rhetoric, Sobukwe left an indelible mark on South African history and continues to inspire generations of activists. Sobukwe, born on December 5, 1924, in Graaff-Reinet in the Western Cape, emerged as a prominent leader and intellectual who fearlessly challenged apartheid and mobilised others to join the Struggle for liberation. From an early age, Sobukwe exhibited a deep sense of justice and an unwavering commitment…

Israeli warplanes struck Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley yesterday, killing at least two Hezbollah members in its deepest attack into Lebanese territory since hostilities erupted with the Iran-backed group last October, sources in Lebanon said. The Israeli army said its fighter jets had struck Hezbollah air defences in the Bekaa Valley in response to the downing of an Israeli drone, which the Lebanese group said it had shot down with a surface-to-air missile. The incidents marked an escalation of hostilities fought in parallel to the conflict in Gaza, heightening the risks of further escalation between heavily armed adversaries that last went to war in 2006. The Israeli strikes hit a region near the Syrian border which is a political stronghold of the Shia Islamist Hezbollah, some 18km from the city of Baalbek,…

EFFORTS to remove squatters in Wynberg have reached boiling point, with the Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) accused of illegally evicting them at the weekend and a petition from residents calling for their removal. The eviction of more than 100 people along Mosque and Broad Roads had been in the works for more than three years as discussions between land owner Prasa, the City and other stakeholders continued. Prasa did not respond to multiple requests for comment by deadline yesterday. It was believed that the illegal occupants erected the structures during the Covid-19 lockdown. On Thursday, four people were shot and on Friday someone was stabbed. On Sunday, Prasa, with private security, went into the area and broke down the makeshift homes. Yesterday morning, when the Cape Argus visited…

THE Oudtshoorn Municipality has welcomed the sentencing of its former deputy mayor for sexual assault, saying it served as a reminder to people in power not to abuse their positions. The Oudtshoorn Magistrate’s Court yesterday sentenced Mlandeli Nyuka to five years’ direct imprisonment for sexually assaulting an employee in his office. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said it was Nyuka’s second conviction and sentence for the same crime using the same modus operandi. State prosecutor Mervan Saaiman told the court that on the day in question in 2022, Nyuka called the woman into his office and locked the door. At first, he tried to manipulate her, saying he would see to it that she is promoted at work. He then proceeded to lift her dress and touch her private…

THE inaugural Africa Consultative Meeting (ACM) is expected to start in Cape Town today. The two-day meeting, convened by the Inclusive Society Institute, will be held at the Rockefeller Hotel and Residence on the Foreshore. The ACM had four key objectives: to serve as an embryo for the establishment of an annual consultative meeting among like-minded African think tanks for the purpose of dialogue over political and socio-economic issues confronting the African continent and to prepare these think tanks for engaging in international conferences; to prepare on an annual basis a synthesised African position on China-Africa relations intended as a contribution to the China Africa Think Tanks Forum; to seek co-operation among the participants for the development of an Africa Fragility Index as a contribution to the Istanbul Security…

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s denial that the death of Alexei Navalny is on him, with his henchmen describing the accusation as obnoxious, is straight out of Noddyland. Who gave the nod for Navalny to be sent to a Siberian prison in sub-zero temperatures after Navalny had lost a third of his bodyweight? Was it the man in the moon? Navalny was skin and bone when he arrived in Siberia, his fate sealed. His crime was that he was the political leader of the opposition. For that, he was given 28 years in prison? Allexei was described by the authorities as a “troublemaker” . So was Nelson Mandela, Joe Mathews, Ronnie Kasrils and hundreds of others. All were “troublemakers” in the eyes of the apartheid government but where would South…

At the dawn of democracy during the first administration, a shocking remark was made that anybody from the street could be hired as a nurse. When some nursing training colleges were closed, it was easy to associate their closure with the assumption that training was not important. Some hospitals were also closed without studying the health needs of communities or gathering any information regarding the running of the healthcare system. That was the beginning of the downward spiral of our health system. What was to be a great loss to South Africa was a welcome boost to foreign countries that happened to be aware of the many multi-skilled South African nurses trained to carry out their functions competently. Those trained in midwifery and advanced midwifery were a valuable asset in…

I would like to identify three critical lessons that social justice activists can learn from the bourgeoning Palestine solidarity movement in South Africa. The first lesson is that people, especially in the Global South, were inspired by the South African government’s courageous stance in taking the State of Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for accountability. The bold and courageous move by the South African government was, however, not prompted by a Cabinet decision on its own. Rather, the government’s intervention at the ICJ was largely in response to the unprecedented South African Palestine Solidarity movement that has emerged at the grass-roots and civil society level. Inspirational was the mass support and passion, the South African solidarity movement for Palestine elicited for the liberation of Palestinians from…

Desiree Ellis has urged her team to be professional when they meet Tanzania in the second leg of the Olympic qualifiers tonight, despite leading 3-0 in the tie. Ellis’s Banyana Banyana have one foot in the last and final round of the Olympic qualifiers, having trounced Tanzania 3-0 in Dar es Salaam in the first leg. But such has been Banyana’s heartbreak in the last qualifiers and high expectations, they do not have room to leave anything to chance. The South Africans missed out on the Tokyo finals four years ago after losing to neighbours Botswana in the qualifiers on home soil. And having done well recently, winning the African crown and qualifying for back-to-back World Cups, Banyana are compelled to win at all times. So, it is for those…

MURDER accused Leeroy Rose turned against his friend in the Western Cape High Court yesterday when he claimed he saw Allester Abrahams attack slain teen Janika Mello with a “big stone”. The statement came amid a special application by Abrahams to be acquitted of the rape and murder of the Heinz Park girl. Mello, who was a Grade 6 pupil at Northwood Primary School in Woodlands, went to a karaoke event at Portlands High School to support a local soccer club on August 31, 2019. She was later dropped off by a taxi close to her home and her half-naked body was found in her backyard the following morning. Used condoms were found around her and the left side of her face was smashed with a concrete block. Abrahams’ lawyer,…

IN WHAT seemed to be a widespread jobs crisis, mining giant Sibanye Stillwater has become yet another mining firm set to retrench thousands of employees following the conclusion of a section 189 process that would result in the closure of certain shafts and restructuring at its SA Platinum Group Metals (PGM) operations. It comes as Cosatu confirmed yesterday that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) was in negotiations with Harmony Gold Mine who were in a caucus meeting in preparation for the fourth round of wage negotiations scheduled for today. NUM said it demanded a 15% three-year wage increase for members. News of the impending job losses at Sibanye Stillwater was confirmed in a media statement on Sunday, indicating that the process would impact on its operations at the Simunye…

THE PUBLIC spat between the NGO, South African Roadies Association, and the National Arts Council (NAC) is escalating, as the matter is set to be brought before the court. The disagreement stems from the arts funding body’s refusal to fully comply with the remedial actions recommended by former public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane regarding expired projects and the surplus funds policy. The court last week communicated to both parties that the date set for their arguments to be heard was April 29. SARA hauled the NAC to court because they believe the funding body did not fully implement what Mkhwebane had ordered in 2020. After SARA lodged a complaint with the public protector’s office, Mkhwebane gave them 60 days to implement her order in 2020. Mkhwebane’s report read in part:…

This is the second part of a two-part column about how homeless people have been criminalised by the City and the local media. City politicians have realised that it benefits their chances at the polls if the homeless are portrayed as “violent drug addicts with criminal intent and dangerous”, because the public is then supportive of the City’s criminalisation of those living on the streets. City politicians and the media tend to use footage and picture content out of context. Examples of this can be found in the ever-rolling online footage of a drug bust and arrest at the notorious encampment at the Castle in the CBD. The footage is often shown when news people speak about the homeless crisis. The reason this is misleading is that while some homeless…

The sudden death of Russian lawyer and activist Alexei Navalny reminds me of Russian and American foreign policy, ”one death is a tragedy, 30 000 deaths are statistics”. Russia is a land of intrigue and has been for centuries, From The House Of Romanov, The Czars, The Bolshevicks and today’s elitists. The Kremlin is a dangerous and foreboding place. Leaders vanish mysteriously, journalists are killed under the cloak of secrecy, businessmen fall off buildings in controlled suicides and enemies perish in mysterious air crashes. The head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was eliminated in a well-planned and co-ordinated air crash. Boris Nemtsov, the deputy prime minister under Boris Yeltsin, was assassinated within the eyesight of The Kremlin, by trained killers of The FSB (Russian Secret Service). It was…

WITH May 29 confirmed as the date for this year’s general elections, expect a lot of experts to rightfully ponder the past 30 years of our democracy, the ANC’s role in government and the goodwill it squandered through corruption, mismanagement and rank incompetence – particularly at state-owned entities. What should, however, never be questioned is the evil nature of the previous regime which reluctantly handed over the reins of power, under pressure from the international community, internal revolt, financial pressure, and South Africa’s influential capitalist class. Thirty years later, social media, some activists and newly-emerged politicians want to downplay the impact of 48 years of apartheid and 342 years of grand-scale theft and subjugation. There was a time, not too long ago, that the official opposition would rather have us…