Innehållsförteckning för 2021-05-28 från Mercury

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za PEPKOR Holdings said yesterday that positive trading momentum had continued in all its business post the March 31 year-end and some 22 new stores would be added this year. The group, a value retailer of clothing, footwear and homeware (CFH), as well as furniture and consumer digital equipment and accessories, lifted headline earnings per share of continuing operations by a whopping 50.6 percent during the six months to March 31. Investors took heart at the good results, and the share price was up 4.55 percent to R18.60 yesterday morning, far outstripping the 0.39 percent rise in the JSE All Share Index at the same time. The share closed the day at R19.39 on the JSE. Revenue was up 8.1 percent to R36.5…

There is now a 40% chance that global temperatures will temporarily reach 1.5ºC above pre-industrial levels in the next five years – and these odds are rising, a UN report said this week. This does not yet mean that the world would already be crossing the long-term 1.5-degree threshold set by the Paris Climate Accord, which scientists warn is the ceiling to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change. The Paris Accord target looks at temperature over a 30-year average, rather than a single year. But it does underscore that “we are getting measurably and inexorably closer” to that threshold, said UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General Petteri Taalas. Taalas described the study as “yet another wake-up call” to slash greenhouse gas emissions. Every year from 2021 through 2025…

GLEN CHRISTIE | Durban North The latest revelations about the Health Minister and the company called Digital Vibes involving some R150 million allegedly turns out to involve his close friends and family. It was revealed that this company invoiced the Department of Health a couple of million rand to organise that the minister had a news conference with the SABC to update the country on the latest Covid-19 situation. It’s scandalous to say the least. This is his job anyway, and why should a third party be involved in arranging this and then charge the Department of Health a couple of million rand to do so? His own department should do this. This just reeks of another huge corruption scandal. The minister needs to be removed. Mr President,…

KEVIN GOVENDER | Shallcross It was the stuff movies are made of – an airliner plucked from the sky and diverted from its original destination. The command came from Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko, who received information of a bomb threat on board the Ryanair flight from Athens to Villous. He sent a jet to escort the diverted plane to Minsk. On arrival at Minsk, journalist and outspoken Lukashenko critic Roman Protasevich was singled out and detained. Lukashenko referred to him as a terrorist. Now there is an international chorus of condemnation. All of Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, France, Britain and the US are singing from the same hymn sheet of sanctions. Diplomats are being expelled and a $3 billion economic package has been put on hold. European carriers have…

Nonhlanhla Nozizwe Hlatshwayo nozizwe.hlatshwayo@inl.co.za What was meant to be one of the proudest moments of her life was instead a tearful occasion for a Vryheid mother when the University of KwaZulu-Natal posthumously awarded her daughter Charlotte Dube a Bachelor of Physiotherapy degree. Charlotte Dube was killed in a shooting incident in Pretoria just a month before her graduation. Dube was to receive her degree “first class” – with grades above 75%. Dube’s mother, Fikile Masondo, said her daughter was a bright young woman who was at the start of her career and had been doing her internship in Pretoria. “My daughter was on her way back home when she died. I was not there, so I do not know exactly what happened, but I was told that she became a…

Loyiso Sidimba loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za FORMER president Jacob Zuma’s bill owed to Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane for her office’s legal costs in the battle over her predecessor Thuli Madonsela’s state of capture report must still be determined. The Constitutional Court yesterday struck Zuma’s application off the roll with costs. Zuma had approached the court to appeal the North Gauteng High Court ruling which ordered him to personally pay the costs of his unsuccessful legal bid to challenge Madonsela’s report in December 2017. In October last year, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) dismissed Zuma's bid to overturn the high court order. Mkhwebane’s spokesperson, Oupa Segalwe, told Independent Media that the public protector was not in a position to state how much she was owed by Zuma. The ex-president’s bill needs to be…

The vaccination of South Africa’s Olympic and Paralympic teams and other elite athletes through the Sisonke study ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games, took place at various vaccination sites throughout the country this week. This followed a test phase at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, where 31 accredited Team SA members were vaccinated a week ago. The vaccinations went ahead after the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) gave their approval for the SA Medical Research Council (SAMRC) to make available a modest number of the remaining Covid-19 Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses, before they expired. In a statement, the SAMRC said that after concluding the phase 3B open-label component of the health-care worker study, the Sisonke investigators made an urgent application to Sahpra, requesting a waiver of the eligibility…

Sakhiseni Nxumalo sakhiseni.nxumalo@inl.co.za THE Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) has confirmed the approval of salary increases for its staff. The university confirmed that it will be paying its staff salary increases today. It further said this was an amount of money that staff should have received as part of the salaries from January. In a university communication, MUT acting vice-chancellor and principal Professor Marcus Ramogale said: “I am also pleased to inform you that the chief financial officer has confirmed that the salary increase will be paid on 28 May 2021. For some staff members, the amount paid may reflect a day after May 28, depending on the bank they use.” The decision to pay out the increases comes after the university council sat for its special meeting last Thursday.…

ZELDA VENTER zelda.venter@inl.co.za SHORTLY after a 14-year-old was brutally raped by Nellmapius resident Sello Abram Mapunya, she said “my soul is crippled for life”. Yesterday, as Mapunya was sent to jail for the rest of his life, with tears streaming down her face, the victim called on all men to protect women. “I ask myself every day why men have to rape. But I want to ask the men out there to protect us instead of hurting us,” the teen said. In one of the longest sentences ever handed down in South African criminal justice history, serial rapist Mapunya has been sentenced to five life sentences and an additional 988 years in prison. The Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, sentenced him yesterday on 71 counts, including 31 charges of rape. The…

WHEN coach Pitso Mosimane left Sundowns to join Egyptian giants Al Ahly at the end of last season, many pundits, not to mention fans, felt it would be very difficult for them to retain their Premiership title. As it was, they were pushed all the way by Kaizer Chiefs last season, only for Amakhosi to implode in the final stretch. The astute tactical brain of Mosimane was tick-tick-ticking away smoothly and expertly all the time as he guided Sundowns to five titles in seven years. And yet, here we are, acknowledging Sundowns as the champions once again. And they did so in fine style, sweeping SuperSport United aside with ease on Wednesday night to claim their fourth successive PSL title. This is a tremendous achievement for co-coaches Rhulani Mokwena, Manqoba…

A few years ago, I was at my local Spar in Vredehoek, a suburb just off Cape Town’s city centre. The bloke in front of me was being rude to the teller. He was insulting her in every way. He swore at her, called her incompetent, argued the price of something and then took a call on his mobile while she waited to process his purchase. All the while, the queue built behind me. I called out to him to please get off his phone, pay and move along. He glared at me. The teller eyed me with suspicion. He paid, gave me the stare and left. I got to the till and she asked me why I yelled at him. She wanted to know if it was because he…

PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron has acknowledged his country’s complicity in the Rwanda genocide, which claimed around 800 000 lives from April-June 1994. “France played its part and bears the political responsibility for the events in Rwanda. “France is obligated to admit that it caused suffering to the Rwandan people by allowing itself lengthy silences at the truth exam,” he said yesterday. France did not understand that seeking to prevent a regional conflict or a civil war it actually sided with the genocide regime, Macron said in his address at the Kigali Genocide Memorial in Rwanda’s Gisozi.…

PERCY Tau remains content with his behind-the-scenes leadership and supportive role in the Bafana Bafana set-up, saying he’s never thought about the national team captaincy - and might only consider that if the coach asks him. Being a colossal figure for Bafana, there are expectations from some quarters for Tau to step up to leadership roles, especially after the arrival of new coach Hugo Broos. The 69-year-old Broos takes over from Molefi Ntseki. With little knowledge of the team he’s hell-bent on working with younger players instead of veterans to bring change. As a result, he selected a youthful squad for Bafana's international friendly against Uganda next month. Tau, Ronwen Williams, Keagan Dolly, Mosa Lebusa and Innocent Maela are few of the experienced players who made…

32.37% of shareholders vote against re-election of Thulani Gcabashe at AGMb Dineo Faku dineo.faku@inl.co.za IN a show of low confidence, 32.37 percent of Standard Bank shareholders voted against the re-election of group chairperson, Thulani Gcabashe, during the company’s 52nd annual general meeting (AGM) held virtually yesterday. Gcabashe and Standard Bank have faced pressure from shareholder activism and environmental rights groups who want the group to abandon the funding of projects that are detrimental to the environment in Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda. One of the groups, Just Share, believed that reasons for the votes against the Gcabashe were likely to emerge in the coming months when asset managers released their voting rationales and records. “It will be interesting to see whether this unusually high level of votes against the re-election…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za Diversified investment group African Equity Empowerment Investments (AEEI) achieved stable results through the six months to February 28, underpinned by resilient balance sheet strength. AEEI’s revenue, headline earnings and net assets decreased slightly by 9 percent despite the tough economic environment and the Covid-19 pandemic directly overlapping the reporting period, Strong cash balances resulted in the declaration of a dividend of 30 cents a share, well up from 10c the prior year. CE Valentine Dzvova said: “While businesses are firmly hitting back at the impact of the coronavirus, operating any business in this climate is not without considerable challenges. AEEI’s response necessitated a focus on protecting its core investments through strategic cost efficiencies, while also investing for future growth, and optimally managing the working capital, something…

Jean Michel Bouvier | Bryanston TWO years ago, President Cyril Ramaphosa talked about bullet trains, mega cities and pies in the sky. Now we have the court jester, who announced that he will make sure that he will turn Johannesburg/Ekurhuleni into another Dubai, so we can “shop till we drop” the same way here, without leaving our country. His comments indicate a profound naïveté and a lack of leadership. Has he taken a trip through central Johannesburg lately? If he did, without an entourage of security personnel to protect him, he would have seen the following. Johannesburg has turned into a cesspool and not “an African world-class city” that his ANC government keeps on repeating. Criminals will rob you in a blink of an eye and, if you…

WE CAN be thankful that the suffix “-gate” has not attached itself to any number of controversies in this country. Eskomgate, Guptagate, Protectorgate, Prasagate, Nkandlagate, Lootgate … the potential list runs on almost endlessly. Perhaps all instances of dodginess and suspicion could be captured under Zondogate. These musings are prompted by fellow-columnist Wordsworth, who used to write in this newspaper on the vagaries of the English language. He is now located in Bulgaria, where he has fruit orchards which he distils into raki, the Bulgarian equivalent of mampoer. But he still puts out on the internet an entertaining column on the vagaries of the language. Wordsworth says this “gate” business has been overdone. Almost half a century has passed since “Watergate” first entered public consciousness. This was when Republican agents…

A backbone is one of those “use it or lose it” things. Find it, use it, love it. Some people have been filleted. This can be done swiftly, or painstakingly slowly by life, “love”, family, or church. If it was done a long time ago, it may be hard for you to locate. But, complete filleting is possible with fish, not humans. It’s in there. You just have to want to find it and resurrect it. You have to acknowledge its necessity and see its purpose, its role in propelling you to face yourself, then the world. Then, practise. You have to show up, stand up and speak up, even if it is in small ways about insignificant matters. Start with non-threatening situations, where you have been a pushover. Once…

THE Department of Basic Education (DBE) is embarking on a nationwide interdepartmental anti-bullying intervention drive in schools to raise awareness on the impact of bullying and violence in schools. Education Department spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said the campaign, themed “School Safety – Violence and Bullying Prevention Initiatives” aims to mobilise pupils, parents, teachers and key stakeholders in promoting a safe learning environment and to galvanise community involvement to curb incidents of bullying and violence. | Mercury Correspondent…

BONGANI NKOSI bongani.nkosi@inl.co.za IN a DRAMATIC shift, the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (Casac) has joined forces with the government to challenge the high court ruling that declared the lockdown regulations invalid and unconstitutional. Casac, as amicus curiae (friend of the court), and Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma’s counsels took aim at Judge Norman Davis’s judgment in their arguments before the Supreme Court of Appeal. Casac is one of the civil society organisations which often finds itself squaring off with the government in court. In his judgment delivered at the Pretoria High Court in June last year, Judge Davis ruled that most of the regulations implemented to curb the spread of Covid-19 were irrational. Scathing of Cogta, and labelling its approach…

Sibusiso Mboto sibusiso.mboto@inl.co.za STABLE rainfall during the summer months has ensured that KwaZulu-Natal’s dams are well filled, water authorities said yesterday. According to Umgeni Water, assessments done by the water authority show that the uMgeni, South Coast, North Coast, Upper Thukela and Ixopo systems have adequate water resources to meet full demand, during the winter months and beyond. “This means there is no risk of water shortages occurring in this period,” Umgeni Water spokesperson Shami Harichunder said yesterday. He added that the six dams in the uMgeni System – Spring Grove, Mearns, Midmar, Albert Falls, Nagle and Inanda –have water levels ranging from 56% to 100%, which is quite an improvement compared to last year. “There is adequate water resources to meet the full needs of the supply areas of…

Vernon Mchunu vernon.mchunu@inl.co.za THE South African Municipal Workers’ Union (Samwu) in KwaZulu-Natal has slammed the sacking of nine Ugu district employees, describing the move as an attempt to silence whistle-blowers against corruption. The union has called on Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) MEC Sipho Hlomuka to intervene against the “unfair dismissals” which the municipality, on the other hand, defended as a move aimed at “maintaining law and order in the workplace”. While the municipality did not divulge the nature of the charges, referring only to “various acts of gross misconduct”, Samwu provincial secretary Nokubonga Shinga said the district had charged its members, who were shop stewards, in connection with what it described as “an illegal strike”. About 136 other workers were earlier dismissed in relation to the 2019 strike,…

If you thought that Israel’s recent bombardment of civilian homes and apartment buildings in Gaza was unforgivable, consider the fact that six years ago it destroyed many times more civilian housing units in its 2014 war on Gaza. The only difference was that then US president Barack Obama had not restrained Israel’s total onslaught on Gaza for seven weeks, turning a blind eye while it destroyed 50 000 civilian housing units in one of the most densely populated places on the planet – where 2 million people live in an area of 362km². Had US president Joe Biden not thrown down the gauntlet this time, albeit way too late, Israel would have destroyed a lot more than the 17 000 residential and commercial units which the UN Office…

Goma: Tens of thousands of people fled the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo city of Goma yesterday, choking highways, after the local governor warned in a dawn broadcast of a possible new eruption of the volcano Mount Nyiragongo. In a technical note seen by AFP, the volcano’s monitors pointed to a potentially catastrophic scenario – a “limnic eruption” that could smother the area with suffocating carbon dioxide. The city, on the shore of Lake Kivu, has been on edge since Africa’s most active volcano erupted on Saturday, leaving 32 people dead. “Right now we can’t rule out an eruption on land or under the lake, which could happen very soon and without warning,” said General Constant Ndima, military governor of North Kivu province. He said an evacuation of part of…

THE offshore fishing is going extremely well. The geelbek are here and the big couta are feeding so you can choose your poison. The North Coast has seen most of the couta action, or at least the bigger couta. Tinley Manor has been an excellent spot for the fishing ski anglers as well as the boat guys. Bigger baits have produced most of the bigger fish. Fishing your baits at different depths is essential to find where the fish are feeding. The backline zone along most of the North Coast has produced a lot of snoek so make sure you put a fillet out for the first hour of the day. Throwing a spoon in this zone is also extremely effective. The Durban coastline has seen a big mixed bag…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za The rand yesterday continued its impressive rally, rising to an over 2-year high to touch R13.68 in intraday trade against the dollar before moderating 0.02 percent to R13.77 by 5pm. This was the rand’s highest level since February 2019, aided by the dollar languishing near four-month lows despite its steady gains against the major currencies. The rand has been supported by the Fed’s dovish stance, rising commodity prices, the positive outlook delivered by the SA Reserve Bank last week and after credit rating agencies affirmed South Africa’s sovereign rating and outlook. TreasuryONE’s Andre Cilliers said conflicting views on whether the rise in inflation in the US was transitory or not, as well as comments from senior Fed officials that the discussion around tapering needed to begin,…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za THE eThekwini Municipality has once again come to the rescue of the cash-strapped uShaka Marine World Theme Park as it announced a R160-million bailout as part of efforts to save the entity from total collapse. Durban mayor Mxolisi Kaunda revealed yesterday that uShaka would receive R160m this financial year, adding that an amount of R6m would be used by the entity to research how it can reinvent itself and attract new visitors. Kaunda announced the funding of the tourist attraction while tabling his budget for the 2021/22 financial year. In his speech, Kaunda said he had engaged with the management of the entity and was confident it would be turned around. “We are confident in the leadership of uShaka. The one thing we have insisted upon is…

JOHN GARDENER | Howick So, the first flush of youth has left me bobbing in its wake and I detect, on life’s most far distant horizon, just the first hint of early middle age. Well, that’s how I should like it to be, and doubtless how it once was in decades gone by. Gazing into my bathroom mirror the other day, however (I was in a reflective mood) I was shocked when the steam cleared and I found myself confronted by a gaunt old man. “Who are you, and what are you doing in my bathroom?” I demanded, to the resigned amusement of Roxy the Foxy, my faithful friend and companion who has seen it all a hundred times before. “Never mind, Dad,” she seemed to say, “we’ve…

DUNCAN DU BOIS | Bluff THE ANC’s firearms legislation which denies citizens the right to own a firearm for self-defence needs to be seen in the context of communist ideology (The Mercury, May 27). In 1971, Saul Alinsky published Rules for Radicals in which he spelled out the eight steps by which a country is subverted into a communist state. Gun control is one of those eight steps because in communist ideology, the state is the custodian, controller and arbiter of all aspects of life. Fear of opposition to its dictatorship necessitates disarming the population. Under the ANC, the Alinsky plan is quite advanced. They are succeeding in keeping people in poverty through B-BBEE, stringent labour laws and affirmative action which has increased unemployment three fold since 1994…

Kailene Pillay kailene.pillay@inl.co.za Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has called out former Transnet chief financial officer Anoj Singh on how the Guptas were able to pocket billions of rand under his watch at the parastatal, saying Singh was either party to their agenda or simply incompetent. Singh returned to the Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture yesterday. He is facing questions around a number of transactions that led to the alleged massive looting of the state-owned enterprise. The Zondo Commission heard how the Gupta enterprise pocketed about 85% of the total estimated R49 billion of state funds via dodgy deals at Transnet. Singh was CFO of Transnet at the time, but told Zondo that he had no knowledge about the Guptas’ looting of the state. He denied…

Free State police have opened inquest dockets following the discovery of the decomposed bodies of a family of six in Thaba Nchu. The bodies of the family, who are believed to be from the Democratic Republic of Congo, were found in various rooms. It is not known what led to their deaths. Police say there were no visible physical injuries. Police spokesperson Colonel Thandi Mbambo said an employee of a hardware store went to Thaba Nchu police station on Wednesday to report that he had not seen his employer, who is the owner of the store, for 10 days. Mbambo said officers then went to the address the man gave them and were met with a foul smell and flies inside the house. They gained entry through the window as…

Sakhiseni Nxumalo sakhiseni.nxumalo@inl.co.za POLICE Minister Bheki Cele says “a war” is being waged against the police. Cele was speaking to media yesterday, in Ndwedwe, north of Durban, after he visited the family of slain police officer Lieutenant-Colonel Jabulani Ndawonde. Ndawonde, the acting station commander of Ndwedwe police station, was shot dead in a drive-by shooting, on Monday night. Cele said, judging by how the shooting took place, it was clear that Ndawonde had been targeted in an orchestrated attack. He said many cartridges from different weapons, including rifles and a pistol, were found at the scene. “More than 15 rounds managed to hit his body, and it’s clear that this was an ambush and he was being followed. “There is a serious war against the police. KZN and the Western…

Zintle Mahlati zintle.mahlati@inl.co.za THE Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) says represented political parties have so far complied with registering in line with the Political Funding Act which came into effect in April. The act is set to shift what voters know ahead of the local government elections in October. The first report on political funding disclosures is expected before this year’s elections. The act says the IEC is mandated to report on political party disclosures quarterly, with the first report required (by law) to be published within the first six months of implementation of the act. The act will require the disclosure of donors by political parties and those who make donations. The IEC said it could not confirm when the first public disclosure report will be published. ANC…

Helmo Preuss Tibet came under the rule of the Yuan Dynasty of China in the 13th century. During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the central government implemented a policy of multiple enfeoffment over it. And by the time of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the central government had exercised sound governance over Tibet until the dynasty was overthrown in 1911. The succeeding Republic of China claimed inheritance of all territories held by the Yuan dynasty, including Tibet, but internal strife prevented the central government from imposing its will, so the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) became a de facto autonomous region. It was only after the ending of the Chinese Civil War in October 1949 that the central government was able to re-assert its historic control. This was then formalised in the…

Police and federal investigators sought yesterday to determine why a Northern California transit employee opened fire on his co-workers, killing nine people, in the latest mass shooting to haunt the US. The gunman shot himself as police closed in on him, minutes after gunfire erupted at about 6:30am at a light rail yard in the heart of Silicon Valley, according to Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith. The San Jose Mercury News and other news media identified the gunman as Samuel Cassidy, 57, a maintenance worker at the yard. Firefighters responded to a fire at a home where the suspect lived at about the same time that the shooting was reported. A police bomb squad searched the rail yard and adjacent buildings after an explosive device was found. Police declined…

SOUTH Africa’s top women athletes have something to celebrate – the SPAR Grand Prix will be back this year. There was no Grand Prix in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Coronavirus protocols mean that the SPAR Grand Prix will be much smaller this year, but the top runners will receive generous cash prizes. It will take place over six races in six cities, with prize money of R100 000 for each race. The ultimate winner will receive R185 000. The runner who comes second will win R75 000 and the third-placed runner will receive R45 000. After consultations with ASA and the government, it was decided to limit each race to 250 runners, with no spectators allowed. Entry is strictly by invitation, and the six races…