Innehållsförteckning för 2024-05-14 från Cape Argus

Following a five-year hiatus and personal setbacks, Lady Zamar has relished the opportunity to reintroduce herself with Rainbow. The 12-track album, which was released last month, is her latest offering since 2019’s Monarch. “On a personal level, I have just become more myself and my music has also become more authentic and more honest,” the artist, whose real name is Yamikani Banda, said. The album, which exudes a delightful sense of playfulness and is infused with heartfelt lyrics and vibrant melodies, has the Gauteng-born artist feeling like an industry newcomer. “I really loved my albums, such as King Zamar and Monarch, but I do think there was a lot of pressure and there were a lot of things I did in the musical space that kind of made me feel…

AN serial rape suspect, who allegedly pretended to be a furniture salesman to lure one of his victims, is facing 17 charges relating to gender- based violence. Siphebawo Mgoqi is facing 17 charges of violence, kidnapping, murder, attempted murder, rape, robbery and fraud. Five of these charges are rape. National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila, said Mgoqi’s pre-trial proceedings is set to continue in the Western Cape High Court after he appeared in absentia on Friday. The State is set to prove that Mgoqi went on a spree of violent crime in 2016 in Philippi and Philippi-East. He is believed to be behind the rape, kidnapping and attempted murder of a woman on April 4, 2016, in the vicinity of Brown’s Farm, Philippi. Mgoqi allegedly kidnapped this victim from Heinz…

THE Freedom Front Plus (FF+) has disputed claims that prominent members are leaving the party, after at least five of its members, including advocate Lennit Max, recently tendered their resignations ahead of the May 29 national and provincial elections. Quinten Chordnum, who on May 10 resigned from the party, said he made a conscious decision guided by principles and values to resign. He said over time, he has become disheartened and concerned by the “methods employed by the party in public discourse”, particularly in its approach to appealing to different cultures. “While the party’s mission may ostensibly include certain minority groups, the overarching message conveyed by its constitution paints a different picture – one where the benefits of the party’s actions are ultimately geared towards the Afrikaner community alone,” said…

THE Health Department has confirmed a positive case of monkeypox in Gauteng. In a statement yesterday, the department said a 35-year-old man tested positive on May 9. The confirmation has prompted a warning for public vigilance from Health Minister, Joe Phaahla. "The case was first tested by Lancet Laboratory which was later confirmed by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), which immediately notified the department," the department said. Monkeypox is a rare viral infectious disease in humans caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV). Although, the virus is not highly transmissible from person-to-person, it has increased in global public health significance and can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes and fever. Most people fully recover, but some get very sick. "According to the preliminary investigation and case findings reports,…

YOUR edition Monday 13 May – “Developers not being forthcoming with details” refers. After a disaster like this, we start asking questions such as whether all the workers were registered with the Unemployment Insurance Fund and the Compensation Fund. We also ask whether the monies deducted from the workers have been paid to the respective entities under the Department of Employment and Labour. Unfortunately, many employers are not registered and many others are registered but don’t pay over the money. This…

Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. Zionism is not a religion but a cult based on a political theory that seeks to replace Judaism with a fake racist, nationalistic and militant anti-Jewish stereotype. For example, King David’s mother was a Moabite and not racially and ethnically a Jew as Zionists would want us to believe. The truth is that the ancestors of King David converted to the religion of Judaism. Historically, anyone who accepts the commandments that Moses brought from Mount Sinai is a Jew. Being a Jew is a job description as defined by God and is not linked to an ethnicity and race, etc. Ironically, many Zionists are assimilated Jews and looked at Jews in the way that anti-Semites viewed Jews. For example, Theodore Herzl, a…

International Nurses Day was observed on Sunday. The theme for this year was “Our Nurses,Our Future: The Economic Power of Care”. Nursing is the largest occupational group in the health sector, accounting for approximately 59% of all health-care professionals globally. In keeping populations healthy and productive, nurses contribute to workforce stability and economic growth of any country. Further, the role of nurses in innovation and research drives advancements in health-care technologies and patient care delivery and significantly contributes to economic development. At the heart of an efficient and well-functioning health system is a healthy workforce, which is a key driver for inclusive economic growth. However, a healthy workforce should include an optimum skills mix, distribution, competencies, standards, support, and motivation to deliver essential services and contribute to universal health cover.…

In A massive boost for the women’s game in South Africa, the Springboks have qualified for next year’s World Cup in England. This was secured by a 46-17 defeat of Madagascar in Antananarivo, a feat that should not be discounted because women’s rugby is popular in that country and the huge crowd at the Stade Makis is something the South African ladies can only dream of having in their country. Importantly, it is not just the qualification that is satisfying but the quality of rugby the Boks played. They have come a long way under coach Louis Koen – the former Springbok flyhalf – and the structure and balance in their game suggest they will make a decent fist of the World Cup after disappointing in the last tournament, held…

ONE person has died and four others were hospitalised following an explosion on a vessel docked in Table Bay Harbour yesterday. It is alleged that around 5pm, a nitrogen tank exploded while personnel were working on the Realeka, a fishing trawler believed to be owned by the Oceana Group. Oceana Group is one of Africa’s largest fishing companies with a history going back over 100 years. According to a statement from Oceana Group Limited’s communications manager, Tiana Fataar, the explosion took place while a manufacturing crew was working on the ship. “A manufacturing company was installing and testing new equipment on our vessel Realeka as part of a vessel upgrade, alongside Elbow Quay, when an explosion occurred on board,” she said. “We regret to confirm that there has been a…

THE Independent Policing Union of SA (Ipusa) has called the recent hikes in danger allowance, known as scarce skills allowance, reserved only for the special task force (STF), as “unfair” to lower-ranking officers. The union said the STF and national intervention unit (NIU) are again considered for another danger allowance hike from R4 000 to R21 000, and promotions from sergeant to warrant officer ranks. This while the entire police service has not seen a significant move when it comes to their danger allowances, which currently stands at R700. “SAPS housing, medical aid, pension, clothing credit, etc, still need to be better and to date, things still look the same. “These are some of the matters demoralising the service,” said Ipusa president Nkuna Bethuel Nephtal. “The SAPS is currently experiencing…

I have been trying since April 22 to get our ward councillor Anthony Moses to respond positively to my request for tidying up outside my property. A simple “yes, okay” or “sorry, no” is not forthcoming. What else has to be done to be communicated to admirably by councillor Moses? He just accepted my request and passed it on to whoever. My request is languishing somewhere in someone’s “waiting list” bin. Am I going to be successful here? I certainly don’t think so. Not with councillor Moses handling my request. It’s election time and the DA is certainly not getting my vote.…

The illegal immoral and unjustified invasion and destruction of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin while the West, including the US pontificates, tut tuts, yaps and throws pennies at Ukraine in an effort to appease the Western world, leaves a sour taste. The truth is that until the US and the Western allies put troops on the ground the defence of Ukraine is unsustainable. Those world leaders who cry from the rooftops that another Vietnam can never ever happen again are missing the point ... this isn’t a civil war; it’s a heinous attack on a UN recognised country with internationally recognised borders. The only Western leader with his thinking cap on is President Macron of France who has suggested sending troops to Ukraine. History will show that he was correct. Troops…

The ANC has conned the country to stay in power by ensuring there was no load shedding the month before the election. I will bet my bottom dime that after the election, load shedding will resume again, and all the people who voted for them will feel aggrieved by this con. They are so desperate to cling to power that Eskom has resorted to burning millions of rand in diesel to keep the lights on at the taxpayers’ expense. The ANC will be judged by their acts of indecisiveness and will pay the price in the end, as we are all not as stupid as they think we are. If we don’t get change now, SA will be doomed forever.…

The ANC is facing a pivotal moment as the May 29 general elections loom, with its historical dominance under threat from both external and internal challenges. Since its formation, the ANC has weathered numerous storms, often emerging stronger. The rise of splinter parties like the Congress of the People (Cope) and EFF in the past had pundits predicting its demise, only for the ANC to prove them wrong. The latest twist in the ANC saga comes from within the uMkhonto weSizwe Party, which has purged a slate of leaders, including founder Bongani Khumalo. This move appears to align with former president Jacob Zuma’s efforts to consolidate power and support ahead of the elections. It’s a sign of the factional battles within the ANC, reminiscent of previous power struggles that have…

The demise of Cape Town Spurs as a Premiership club will be a body blow to football development in the Mother City since the club’s youth programme has seen the careers of many players flourish over the years. Today, there are previous Cape Town-based players in almost every club around the country and many have come through the ranks of this club. After the merger of Cape Town Spurs and Seven Stars in January 1999, the club partnered with Dutch giants AFC Ajax and the association lasted two decades, under the banner of Ajax Cape Town. Ajax CT adopted the Dutch club’s famous player development model and their state-of-the-art training facility in Parow, Ikamva, attracted some of the country’s finest talents. In the years that followed, the club produced star…

For just the second time in Premier League history all three promoted sides are heading back down to the Championship after a season that has exposed the growing gulf between English football’s top two tiers. Burnley and Sheffield United’s relegation has been confirmed with one game to go, while Luton’s mathematical chance of survival means little given the 12-goal swing in goal difference they would need to overtake Nottingham Forest on the final day. Not since 1997/98 have all three promoted sides been relegated. Crystal Palace, Barnsley and Bolton perished that season but they combined for a total of 108 points. Burnley, Luton and Sheffield United have picked up just 66 points between them this season, 17 of which came against each other, smashing the previous lowest tally for three…

MISSING Joshlin Smith’s grandmother has expressed disappointment at the two-month postponement of the court case involving the 6-year-old’s mother along with three others, who are expected to go on trial. A visibly pregnant Racquel “Kelly Smith” appeared in the Vredenburg Magistrate’s Court yesterday morning alongside her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis and their friends Steveno van Rhyn and Lourentia Lombaard, who have been charged with kidnapping and human trafficking. Yesterday morning, Saldanha Bay residents showed up in numbers outside the court, in hopes they would finally hear the location of the missing girl. Dressed in Patriotic Alliance T-shirts, the crowd got out of a chartered bus and sang Struggle songs and chanted: “Where is Joshlin?” Inside court, State advocate Aradhana Heeramun said they were in the process of finalising the case. “All…

CAPE Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has called on Capetonians to sign a petition to support the City’s takeover of Eskom-supplied areas. This after the power utility rejected the metro’s proposal for the transfer of several suburbs to the City’s supply network. In a letter to Hill-Lewis last week, Eskom general manager Mbulelo Yedwa said the request for the transfer of supply areas to the City “was discussed and unfortunately, it was not supported” by Eskom’s executive. “It was concluded that it is in Eskom’s best interests not to transfer or sell any assets due to the operational requirements of the Eskom business,” the letter stated. Speaking to residents at the Elsies River civic centre yesterday, Hill-Lewis said the City would not give up on bringing more suburbs on to the…

On MONDAY, a 5-storey building collapsed in George. As a structural engineer with more than 10 000 structural design studies under my belt, the question arises whether computer programs can replace experience in structural engineering. Most advances in earthquake design have been the results of observations of buildings that have been subjected to severe earthquake conditions. Analytical and computer modelling play an important role in structural engineering analysis, but its limitations should always be borne in mind. On the other hand, experience is a very expensive teacher and fortunately, we do not have to relive all the experiences of those who went before us, especially the failures. It is therefore important for engineers to study structural failures in as much as they study structural successes. No matter how tragic a…

This is the second part of my in-depth analysis of the City’s draft strategy to reduce rough sleeping. As I mentioned last week, something just doesn’t add up and so, I continue my page-by-page analysis of this draft strategy. As if forgetting what they have admitted, the City switches gears and suggests that the shelters and safe spaces play a significant role in terms of seeking to unlock the individual’s innate abilities through training or employment opportunities that tap into community resources (eg through a partnership with local skills NGOs and business chambers). This is a blatant lie. With the exception of a handful of independently run shelters that do go the extra mile, most are nothing more than a place to take refuge for the night and no such…

IN the race to swing popular opinion before an election, it’s only reasonable for the populace to expect that any written arguments presented are factually correct. And if you’re making televised points on a public stage then it’s even more important not to cherrypick data that suits your agenda. And if you’re flighting a controversial TV ad that involves burning the national flag, and then claim innocence by saying oh, it’s not real, it’s paper – and look, it is restored again, then you are toying with people’s strongly held principles and beliefs. And if you pop up with a petulant tirade that calls other perfectly legitimate parties, that are conducting business soberly, “mercenaries” then you’re kicking nasty mud around the basics of democracy. And if you do all three…

Israeli forces pushed deep into the ruins of Gaza’s northern edge yesterday to recapture an area where they claimed to have dismantled Hamas months ago, while in the south tanks and troops pushed across a highway into Rafah. Some of the most intense fighting for weeks is raging in both the north and south. Israeli operations in Rafah, which borders Egypt, have closed a main crossing point for aid, which humanitarian groups say is worsening an already dire situation. Hundreds of thousands of people are being forced to flee again after around half of Gaza’s population took sanctuary there after being pushed south by fighting elsewhere. Gaza’s health authority yesterday appealed for international pressure to reopen access via the southern border to allow in aid and medical supplies. “The wounded…

Kaizer Chiefs interim head coach Cavin Johnson believes his team will have to treat their remaining league games like cup finals with their top-eight ambitions hanging by a thread. Amakhosi are currently eighth in the DStv Premiership with a match against Polokwane City to come on Saturday before they close out the season away against already-relegated Cape Town Spurs. The Glamour Boys are realistically the only side still in danger of dropping out of the top eight with seventh-placed Cape Town City four points ahead of them. The Naturena-based outfit, on 35 points, leads a group of six teams still in with a chance of making next season’s MTN8 competition with 13th-placed Moroka Swallows still in with a shout on 32 points with two games remaining. Johnson, who is to…