Innehållsförteckning för 2021-07-28 från Mercury

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za S&P GLOBAL Ratings has warned that the recent civil unrest could slightly dent the expected rebound in gross domestic product (GDP) for 2021. In a report yesterday, S&P said the civil unrest was a clear example of wide income inequality, increasing poverty levels and poor access to health services. South Africa experienced widespread looting of retail outlets and manufacturing facilities in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng following the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma. The unrest is estimated to have cost the country R50 billion in lost output and placed at least 150 000 jobs at risk. S&P’s corporate ratings director, Omega Collocott, said the unrest had also severely hampered supply chains because of blocked road and rail transportation corridors. Collocott said the damage to elements of the country’s…

Capital & Counties resumes its interim dividend distribution Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za UK-BASED Capital & Counties (Capco) has recommenced dividend distributions with a 0.5 pence per share distribution for the six months to June 30 after UK Covid-19 government restrictions were lifted and retail and hospitality customers fully reopened. Rent collection improved in the first half for the group that holds most of its assets in Covent Garden in London, and 65 percent of June quarter had been collected adjusted for payment plans. Customer support was being provided on a case-by-case basis and was expected to reduce with easing of restrictions. The total property value of £1.8 billion (about R37bn) represented a 5.1 percent decrease (like-for-like) from the value at the end of December 2020. Net rental…

EDWARD WEST edward.west@inl.co.za AVI, WHICH owns more than 50 consumer brands from frozen convenience foods to fashion accessories, said yesterday that it anticipated headline earnings a share to rise by between 5 and 7 percent for the year to June 30, from last year’s 470.8 cents a share. The group said the net effect of the recent looting and violence in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng on the 2022 financial year was not expected to be significant, because strong replenishment demand suggested that retail densities would improve in unaffected stores. Direct damage was limited to four Spitz stores where all of the stock was stolen and the fixtures were damaged. The stores were expected to resume trading in three to six weeks. None of the group’s other sites suffered damage. Snackworks lost…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za ETHEKWINI Municipality has tabled plans that it hopes will help the city recover from the economic and social devastation brought on by the violence, unrest and looting two weeks ago. Part of the plan could include declaring the riots a disaster to get assistance from the provincial and national government, which would allow it to re-purpose its grants for the recovery process. The plans include finding ways to assist SMMEs to rebuild, improving safety and preparedness for such events and reviewing the use of private security guards to protect municipal property. Opposition parties said the municipality should do everything it could to save businesses and give incentives to business people to stay in the city and rebuild. The municipality said the damage was extensive and the recovery…

EBRAHIM ESSA | Durban As the Tiger Brands’ Koo saga unfolds and grips South African consumers with doubts that time-travel backwards to early 2019 – the year of the first doubtful batch – our heads are filled with Whitney Houston’s: How will I know? It’s perhaps seemingly noble of the company to divulge the potential hazard of possibly contaminated contents of the can. Perhaps it’s to avoid unnecessary investigations and litigation, too. Whatever the reason, it’s a bold step. Or else “How would I know?” Most famous branded food items produced in this country elicit confidence in consumers. Smaller producers need to take heed of this. There are hundreds of smaller stores that argue and bicker when customers complain about quantity accuracy or quality standards. Examples abound: I…

JOHN GARDENER | Howick I LIKE President Cyril Ramaphosa. He strikes me as a thoroughly decent, honest and caring man who has the country’s best interests at heart and who proceeds, to coin a phrase, “with measured tread”. Not for him the ludicrous spectacle of three finance ministers holding office in the space of a week! Aside from other burdens, Ramaphosa is apparently under pressure to issue a presidential pardon to former president Jacob Zuma in regard to the contempt of court matter, for which the Constitutional Court imposed a well deserved 15-month term of imprisonment. However, the word is that Zuma may qualify for parole after serving only about three months. I watched a recent eNCA interview with former minister of intelligence Ronnie Kasrils, a man who…

THABILE MANGE | Krugersdorp LAST week, the former deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke delivered the much awaited report about the feasibility of the country holding local government elections, amid the Covid-19 challenge. Moseneke said the environment is not conducive for the country to hold the municipal elections in October this year. He recommended that they be postponed. But he also emphasised that they should be held within 90 days. After Moseneke delivered his report, the IEC deliberated on it. A few days later, the electoral body reported that it has accepted the former deputy chief justice’s recommendation. So, it is taking the matter to court to apply for the postponement of elections. The recommendation of Moseneke, regarding the feasibility of holding elections, is not binding on the IEC.…

Lisa Isaacs lisa.isaacs@inl.co.za IN the first successful class action certification brought by a South African university law clinic, the Western Cape High Court has ruled that Stellenbosch University’s (SU) Law Clinic can proceed with its case against a local loan-application operation, after they received hundreds of consumer complaints. In his judgment recently, Judge Patrick Gamble approved the clinic’s bid, in which it and eight clients seek permission to institute a class action on behalf of thousands of allegedly defrauded consumers countrywide. It is only the tenth South African class action to be successfully certified, and the first consumer law class action in which the court was required to deliver a certification judgment. The SU Law Clinic filed the certification application in September 2019, after being alerted to complaints from consumers…

Shaun Smillie MILLIONS of South Africans are joining the queues to get vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus, but high levels of vaccine hesitancy persist and threaten the lives of many. Across the globe there are warnings of future pandemics of the unvaccinated but scientists believe a multi- pronged approach could get more people to opt for a Covid-19 vaccine. In a paper that appeared recently in the journal Expert Review of Vaccines, South African researchers examined the issue of vaccine hesitancy and what could be done to combat it. They did this by examining surveys conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic. They found the results of these studies varied, which they put down to small sample sizes and the changing dynamic of the pandemic. “We looked at some of these surveys…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za EThekwini Municipality has proposed a discount to African-owned businesses that operate stalls at the Durban Fresh Produce Market. A report on the matter tabled before the executive committee proposed that monthly rental be discounted for all existing and new African traders allocated trading and storage space for a period of three consecutive years. The proposal, however, came under fire from the DA, which said it bordered on exclusion based on race. It said the proposal, like many other similar proposals the city had put forward, appeared to be motivated by the municipality wanting to be viewed favourably before the local government elections. The DA added that the move would undermine businesses that would not benefit from the scheme. The municipality has recently put forward numerous proposals it…

THE latest case of power outage in parts of Tshwane, which has left residents in the dark in the middle of winter, is a sign of poor service delivery and bad planning by the city. For more than 10 days running, areas such as Koedoeberg, Faerie Glen, Lombardy, and Cura, Furrow, Vergelegen, Meerlust and Stellenberg Streets in Equestria in Pretoria East, have been plagued by electricity outages due to maintenance problems at the overloaded Wapadrand electricity substation. It is common knowledge that the substation has had problems for the past three years, and no long-term solution seems to have been found. Frustrated residents have spoken about the impact of the outages on their lives. “I understand that you are working very hard to fix the problem, but remember when did…

Electronic cigarettes and similar devices are dangerous to health and must be regulated to curb the tobacco industry’s tactics to get young people hooked on nicotine, the World Health Organization warned yesterday. “Nicotine is highly addictive. Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) are harmful, and must be better regulated,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic 2021, which focused on new and emerging products, was published yesterday and said ENDS should be tightly regulated for maximum public health protection. “Where they are not banned, governments should adopt appropriate policies to protect their populations from the harms of ENDS, and to prevent their uptake by children, adolescents and other vulnerable groups,” Tedros said. The UN health agency’s eighth annual report said ENDS manufacturers often target…

SAO PAULO: Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen, known for her environmental activism, has become a shareholder of Ambipar, a Brazilian environmental services firm that went public last year, the company announced yesterday. The Brazilian model was also tapped as Ambipar’s brand ambassador. Bündchen, who has been a critic of environmental policies of right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, embraced Ambipar’s mandate. “For 25 years it has been reusing and valuing waste that would turn into garbage and end up in landfills, rivers and oceans, giving them a new use,” said Bündchen. | Reuters…

Benghazi: A Libyan militia leader accused of human rights violations has been shot dead in the eastern city of Benghazi, a military source said yesterday. Mohammed al-Kani was killed after resisting members of the military who had an arrest warrant for him. He led the Kaniyat, a gang of six brothers who traumatised the town of Tarhuna by executing not only their opponents but slaughtering entire families. Human Rights Watch said at least 338 people were abducted or reported missing in Tarhuna. So far, 150 bodies have been exhumed in a process that began in June last year after the town was captured from Haftar’s forces. | AFP…

Wynona Louw wynona.louw@inl.co.za Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber says his front-row – with two new props – will have to lay a solid foundation in their second Test against the British & Irish Lions at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday. Nienaber made three changes to the starting XV for their must-win encounter. Two of those changes are in the front row, where Steven Kitshoff has been given the nod along with tighthead Frans Malherbe, replacing Ox Nche and Trevor Nyakane on either side of Bongi Mbonambi. During the team announcement, Nienaber explained that Nche – who was a standout in the series-opener last weekend – was ruled out due to the neck injury that led to his half-time substitution, along with the entire front row. Nienaber added that the hamstring niggle…

The whole build-up to the first Test was worrisome. Covid-19 wrecked havoc with the Springboks’ preparations, but that is something beyond the control of coach Jacques Nienaber and SA director of rugby Rassie Erasmus. But there were a number of situations and decisions that could’ve been avoided. Having followed the Boks’ unforgettable run to the 2019 World Cup title all around Japan, the South Africans were always clear in their planning, ideas in terms of selection and tactics, and the fitness of players. Just one example – Cheslin Kolbe could’ve been risked for the semi-final against Wales, but Erasmus opted for Sbu Nkosi at right wing, and it paid off as the Sharks star was excellent on the day. For the first Lions Test this past weekend, captain Siya Kolisi…

Transnet is getting ready to lift force majeure in staggered way Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za TRANSNET said yesterday that it was considering lifting a force majeure after five days of downtime that involved only using systems that could be operated manually to cope with a backlog of trucks, ships and empty dockyards. In a statement yesterday, Transnet said it expected that some applications may continue to run slowly over the next few days, while monitoring systems were brought back in a staggered manner, to minimise further risks and interruptions. “It is expected that some applications may continue to run slowly over the next few days, while monitoring continues. All operating systems will be brought back in a staggered manner, to minimise further risks and interruptions,” the group said. Logistics groups, including…

Tarryn-Leigh Solomons tarryn-leigh.solomons@inl.co.za KwaZulu-Natal is likely to see a short-term increase in food prices after the looting and unrest two weeks ago because of supply and demand issues. This is according to FNB agricultural economist Dawie Maree. He, however, said there would not be a long-term effect on the food hike. Now that the dust has settled in Gauteng and KZN, concerns have been raised about food supply and whether food price hikes can be expected. Maree said this economic sector was not affected that much in terms of a direct impact of the looting. “The indirect impact is much bigger. We deal with biological assets, for example, with the dairy industry one cannot close the tap of a cow and say it must stop producing milk. “Those productions continue…

Vernon Mchunu vernon.mchunu@inl.co.za WHILE the full impact of last week’s cyberattack on Transnet remained unknown yesterday, experts have warned that the consequences of the growing new crime trend could be severe. It could result in financial losses, reputational damage or the complete loss of systems, said Junaid Amra, PwC forensics technology solutions leader. Transnet said last week that it had “identified and isolated” the source of disruptions to its IT systems, adding that technical teams continued to minimise the impact. The company said it was prioritising the export of reefer containers (cold storage), primarily through the Durban port, given the citrus season. After the attack, loading and unloading operations had to be handled manually at the ports in Durban, Richards Bay, Eastern Cape and the Western Cape. Malcolm Hartwell, master…

THERE are no tricks to effective leadership. Leadership will always be strongest, most effective when the leader sees and regards herself or himself as a servant to those in her or his care. This is not for effect or for greater impact, it is simply how authentic leadership works. If you are the leader, then you will be a servant who seeks to serve those whom you lead. You will do so with all your heart, mind and soul. You will love those in your care. You will love them to such a degree that they will end up even unknowingly tapping into the very best of who they are, because that’s how people behave when they are loved. If you think of yourself as elevated, deserving of being served…

BEVERLEY TSITSI MUTANDIRO | Zimbabwean Human Rights Activist MEMORIES of the exodus of Zimbabweans to South Africa in search of better economic conditions are still fresh, even though the great escape to South Africa took place some years ago. It is pathetic and hard to digest that Zimbabwe is facing high youth unemployment after the exit of Mugabe four years ago. This unemployment will force many Zimbabwean youths to cross the Limpopo River, infested with crocodiles, to South Africa in search of employment. The careless, clueless and corrupt Zimbabwean government is not paying attention to this potential crisis. They are focusing on attracting youth to vote for the ruling Zanu-PF party in the 2023 elections as the youth in Zimbabwe now dominate a large section of the electorate.…

| African News Agency (ANA) The date for the first International Day for Countering Hate Speech has been set by the UN for June 18, 2022. Alice Wairimu Nderitu, the UN’s Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, welcomed the adoption of a resolution at the General Assembly on July 21 for “promoting inter- religious and intercultural dialogue and tolerance in countering hate speech” . The UN believes the exponential spread of hate speech around the world, specifically online, has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, the resolution has called on UN member states to prioritise addressing the issue within their borders and requests that the president of the General Assembly co-ordinate a high-level meeting on the matter to mark the milestone next year. “The rise…

| Mercury Correspondent A highly specialised procedure was used to help save the sight of 9-month-old Anthony Croxford, who suffered from a rare condition. Hearing that your baby boy needs to undergo sight-saving surgery at the age of just nine months is difficult news for any parent to receive. However, this was the experience of mom Erica Croxford, whose son Anthony – known as AJ to his family – was diagnosed with a rare skin condition, juvenile xanthogranuloma, which resulted in a growth inside his left eye. According to Dr Hamzah Mustak, an ocular oncology and oculoplastics specialist practising at UCT Private Academic Hospital, the condition most often presents as a benign lump or bump on the skin and is not usually cause for concern. However, more than one…

Bongani Nkosi bongani.nkosi@inl.co.za COURT woes have continued to pile up for the Home Affairs senior official accused of aiding controversial pastor turned fugitive Shepherd Bushiri to irregularly obtain permanent residency. The Labour Court in Johannesburg has dismissed Ronney Marhule’s application for leave to appeal its earlier judgment that went against him. Judge Edwin Tlhotlhalemaje dismissed Marhule’s application in May that sought to bar his employer from using legal representation in the internal disciplinary proceedings against him. Marhule, the suspended chief director of permits, maintained that the department had no legal standing to use a lawyer in the disciplinary hearing. His reasons included that the senior management service handbook did not allow for the use of lawyers in internal disciplinary hearings. Home Affairs favoured fielding lawyers in the case, given the…

Inequality and government lethargy and self-enrichment have been building frustration Khumbulani Mngadi THE unfortunate events of the recent looting and destruction of property were a classical ticking time bomb. In the last 26 years, ironically South Africa has become the most unequal society on earth. This phenomenon has played itself out in more than one way where various sectors of society have vented their anger and frustrations with sporadic unrest throughout the country. The government has been lethargic with its responses; often it would deploy public order police and quell the tensions temporarily and pretend to have dealt with the problems that had caused the chaos. This has gone on for far too long unabated and it has now come back to bite us. Again, in this instance, the…

Tokyo’s 2 848 Covid-19 infections yesterday were the Olympic host city’s highest since the pandemic began, officials said, as media reported that authorities had asked hospitals to prepare more beds for patients as the Delta variant drives the surge. The rise in cases threatens to further erode support for Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, whose ratings have slid to their lowest level since he took office last September, in large part because of his haphazard handling of the pandemic. It also spells trouble for the Olympics, as many Japanese fear the influx of athletes and officials for the event could add to the surge. About 31% in a survey by the Nikkei daily on Monday said the Games should be cancelled or postponed again. “Refrain from going out unnecessarily and watch…

Cuba has denounced the targeting of its Paris embassy this week as a “terrorist attack” encouraged by the US after the building was bombarded with Molotov cocktails. Firefighters in the French capital said two incendiary devices were thrown at the delegation, in the city’s 15th arrondissement, on Monday night, causing minor damage. Fire department officials said they were alerted to the attack after midnight. Three Molotov cocktails struck the building and started a fire that was put out by the mission’s employees. Demonstrators marching in favour of and against the Cuban government took to the streets in cities all over the world this weekend and on Monday, coinciding with the July 26 Day of the National Rebellion commemorations and just two weeks after anti-government protests erupted throughout Cuba. About two…

London: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called for caution yesterday after Britain registered nearly a week of lower Covid-19 case numbers, a decline that has surprised officials and experts. Recorded infection rates across the UK have dropped for six consecutive days, with 24 950 new cases announced on Monday compared with 46 558 last Tuesday – a fall of 46%. The reversal after weeks of rising rates has coincided with the removal on July 19 of nearly all pandemic rules in England. But ministers are warning the long-term situation remains uncertain. “People have got to remain very cautious and that remains the approach of the government,” Johnson said. He ended 10 days in isolation late Monday after being in close contact with Health Secretary Sajid Javid, who tested positive for…

LONDON: Scotch whisky maker Glenfiddich has begun converting its delivery trucks to run on low-emission biogas made from waste products from its own whisky distilling process as part of a “closed loop” sustainability initiative. The distiller, which sells more than 14 million bottles of single malt whisky a year, said its whisky waste-based biogas was already powering three specially-converted trucks that transport Glenfiddich spirit from production at Dufftown through to bottling and packaging in central and western Scotland. The biogas cuts CO2 emissions by over 95% compared with diesel and other fossil fuels. | Reuters…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za STATE-OWNED low-cost carrier Mango Airlines yesterday temporarily suspended all flights because of outstanding payments of more than R57 million to another state-owned company, Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS). ATNS provides air traffic, navigation, training and associated services within a large part of the Southern Indian and Atlantic Ocean, comprising at least 10 percent of the world’s airspace. Mango’s grounding of its flights left hundreds of customers stranded at airports across the country, because it happened without warning. Mango said it would offer customers vouchers to help with alternative travel arrangements on other airlines. In a statement, Mango’s acting chief executive, William Ndlovu, apolo- gised for the inconvenience. “We plan to resume normal operations as soon as possible,” Ndlovu said. “We ask for calm and patience as…

Thami Magubane thami.magubane@inl.co.za THE security management unit at eThekwini Municipality has requested an additional R60 million for overtime pay to cover its ever-increasing overtime bill for security officials, including those protecting councillors The VIP protection unit, which provides security for councillors, the land unit and escort and rapid response unit, are among the units requesting more pay. The request shocked some opposition councillors yesterday, who rejected it and questioned why there should be a need to pay the overtime to employees at City Hall. The request was approved after a majority ANC vote. A report states that for the security management unit to achieve its IDP objectives, and to ensure the unit does not incur unauthorised expenditure, it required additional funding of R59.4 million. It states that for the…

“Robot, stand up” – Oscar Constanza, 16, gives the order and slowly but surely a large frame strapped to his body lifts him up and he starts walking. Fastened to his shoulders, chest, waist, knees and feet, the exoskeleton allows Oscar – who has a genetic neurological condition that means his nerves do not send enough signals to his legs – to walk across the room and turn around. “Before, I needed someone to help me walk … this makes me feel independent,” said Oscar, as his father Jean-Louis Constanza, one of the co-founders of the company that makes the exoskeleton, looks on. “One day Oscar said to me: ‘dad, you’re a robotic engineer, why don’t you make a robot that would allow us to walk?’” his father recalls, speaking…

WHOOPS! I’m being hissed at by the herpetologists. Last week, we discussed a lady in Georgia, in the US, who freaked out when she discovered 18 snakes under her bed – a mama snake and 17 babies to which she had just given birth. I ventured (ignoramus that I am) that this is impossible. Snakes don’t give live birth, they lay eggs. Hence, although the 18 snakes were removed by an expert, the real mama could be slithering about in the lady’s house. I am immediately corrected by my old mate Philip Rodwell, with whom I have done a fair amount of tramping about snaky wilderness territory. Some 30% of snake species give live birth, he says. (Why did he never tell me this before? It’s the kind of thing…

Naushad Omar | Zeekoevlei, Cape Town I FIND it ridiculous that the private sector is going to rebuild. It’s not the first time that trucks or shops have been looted and burnt. And it will not be the last time. Rebuilding with no guarantees is handing the ANC government a blank cheque. We have them over a barrel. They are under tremendous pressure because of rising debt and a shortage of funds to pay for increasing demands like the Basic Income Grant (Big). It will be equivalent to extending Sassa to all unemployed people – another 12 million men and women. It will have to find another R12 billion a month. One cannot borrow this money, so it will either come from other budgets, increasing taxes…

Police in Cape Town have arrested a man for possession of expensive watches, gemstones and what are presumed to be uncut diamonds with an estimated value of R8 million. In a statement, provincial police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk said the suspect was arrested on Monday by members of the Maitland Flying Squad. He said officers followed up on information about a stolen watch at a pawn shop in Cape Town. They recovered the watch and while searching the premises officers found a further 51 expensive watches. “The members continued to search the premises and found a lot of presumed uncut diamonds and different coloured gemstones. A total of 544 gemstones were seized,” Van Wyk said, adding that the estimated value of all the items that were confiscated is R8m.…

AS I pen this column my mind wanders through a mine, full of contradictory thoughts arising from experiences that I have had throughout the week. South Africa is a living laboratory of human relationships from the sublime to the bizarre. At one moment one has hope, at another one is in a state of despair. The recent attempts to unseat the present government by anarchic forces hell-bent on destroying property and causing havoc to citizens has had the reverse effect of bringing loyal South Africans of all hues together. But red herrings were tossed to divert attention from the real issues by inciting racial tensions of long standing. My 105-year-old mother born in South Africa hears Malema raving and ranting on TV. What’s all this noise she asks? “Oh,”…

The January 6 US Capitol attack by a mob of then-US president Donald Trump’s supporters trying to overturn his election loss featured violence resembling a medieval battlefield, a police officer hurt in the melee told a congressional panel yesterday. At the Democratic-led House of Representatives investigatory committee’s first hearing, the officer, Aquilino Gonell, testified of being pummelled by rioters fired up by Trump’s false claims that the election was stolen from him via widespread voting fraud. “What we were subjected to that day was like something from a medieval battlefield. We fought hand-to-hand and inch-by-inch to prevent an invasion of the Capitol by a violent mob intent on subverting our democratic process,” said Gonell, one of four police officers called to testify. “The physical violence was horrific.” The nine-member panel…

ABOUT 24 000 Eritrean refugees are trapped in two camps in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, cut off from humanitarian aid, and their food rations may have run out, the UN said yesterday. Appealing for access to the camps, the UN refugee agency said there was “a real danger of hunger”. Fighting between the Ethiopian central government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has escalated in and around the camps, and two refugees have been killed this month. “The last food distribution to the two refugee camps was done during June, the ration supplies then were only enough for 30 days,” said the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The World Food Programme said the UN agency would run out of food in Tigray on Friday and 170 trucks…

DHAKA: At least six Rohingya Muslims, including children, were killed and several injured yesterday after heavy monsoon rains triggered a landslide in refugee camps in southern Bangladesh, officials said. Heavy monsoon rains over the last two days flooded most of the refugee camps. Nearly one million Rohingya are living in squalid camps in the border district of Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, the world’s largest refugee settlement, since fleeing a military crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine State nearly four years ago. Bangladesh weather office said it expected heavy rains to continue for the next few days. | Reuters…