Innehållsförteckning för 2024-10-03 från Mercury

A FEW weeks ago I heard a liquid bird call I’d never heard before. A few days later I found a flock around my bird feeder of birds I’d never seen before. They were making the same bird call I’d never heard before. They turned out to be the Southern boubou, a medium-sized bird, glossy black on top, white beneath, and hopping about the place on their sturdy little legs, not walking as other species do. They were eating the grain in the bird feeder. As they were also hopping about in the surrounding undergrowth, I presume they were were also eating the insects and worms. But suddenly they’ve departed as suddenly as they arrived. The mysterious Southern boubou. It’s back to the usual denizens – the sparrows, frets, golden…

“ANC has gone quiet on Gaza atrocities", The Mercury, October 1, refers. Mr Thyagaraj Markandan is right on all counts. Israel continues wagging its tail like a rabid dog gone berserk, in spite of being taken to task by the "previous" ANC. I voted for the ANC, like hundreds of thousands of others who threw in their lot with the Palestinians. Some for obvious religious reasons. This lot is probably ignorant of the historical fact that this has never been a war based on religion. There have been others like me who side with the charge of genocide against the illegal Zionist state of Israel for their blatant encroachment on basic human rights, land grabbing, illegal occupation, and wholesale murder of innocent women, youth, and children. Sharing the same religion…

THE eThekwini Municipality has introduced a new policy to tackle overtime abuse, boost worker productivity, and enhance service delivery. Council, which was briefed, approved the Shift Systems Development Policy this week. The policy aims to curtail errant behaviour, which has undermined service delivery and angered ratepayers. The Metro said the policy aimed to “address service delivery challenges brought about by poor levels of labour productivity and reduce the City’s overtime wage bill”. The municipality said this is a new policy, and the implementation of the policy will be fully unpacked to management and staff in the municipality after it has been approved by council. The Mercury understands that labour stakeholders have been briefed and work-shopped on the policy. A report on the policy detailed its development. The report stated that…

Entrepreneurship is not just a business venture for those living in South Africa’s townships; it is critical for survival. This reality was articulated by Bongani Chinkanda, executive director of HDI Youth Marketeers, during the Township Retail Investment Summit held yesterday in Alexandra Township. Chinkanda underscored the urgent need for entrepreneurial initiatives, stating bluntly, “Entrepreneurship is not an option, it’s about survival… there is no option to fail”. He added that, when it comes to investment, bankers should sit and listen to entrepreneurs’ stories because “in there are the nuances that will determine your return”. Stacy Saggers, commercial growth director at marketing data, insights and consultancy company Kantar South Africa, shared findings from the company’s latest research, which for the first time included insights derived from township demographics. The survey revealed…

The Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) has announced new flight routes and additional flights to several of its airports across the country. In KwaZulu-Natal, Air Botswana will launch an inaugural flight between Gaborone and Durban, with a direct flight to King Shaka International Airport on October 11. The airline will operate three times a week, on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. From November 1, British Airways will increase flight frequency between Cape Town and Heathrow for the summer season (November 2024 - March 2025). The airline, which currently offers a daily service from London’s Heathrow, will have an additional daily service from January 11, 2025, bringing the total up to 21 weekly flights. The British Airways Cape Town-Heathrow route will replace the carrier's three weekly seasonal service from London’s Gatwick airport,…

Taxes are important. They’re a primary way in which governments fund essential services like health care, education, infrastructure and social protection programmes. They are vital to the economic development of countries. In sub-Saharan African countries, the need for public services is great and fiscal resources are often scarce. Getting the public to pay their taxes is essential. However, structural and governance challenges have made it difficult to effectively mobilise revenue. Recent tax protests in Kenya illustrate the growing tension between taxpayers and the government. The protests underscore the importance of designing tax policies that not only raise revenue but also distribute the tax burden fairly across income groups. If governments don’t address the issues, they risk eroding public trust and increasing tax resistance. The logistical difficulties of tax collection are…

Israel declared UN chief Antonio Guterres “persona non grata” yesterday, accusing him of failing to specifically condemn Iran’s missile attack on Israel. “Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran’s heinous attack on Israel does not deserve to step foot on Israeli soil,” said Foreign Minister Israel Katz. “This is an anti-Israel secretary-general who lends support to terrorists, rapists, and murderers.” Katz added that Guterres, who he said supported the “murderers of Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and now Iran, the mother ship of global terror, will be remembered as a stain on the history of the UN for generations to come”. Following Iran’s missile attack on Israel late Tuesday, Guterres condemned the “broadening conflict in the Middle East”, slamming “escalation after escalation” in the region. “This must stop. We absolutely need a…

BEIJING: A record 2.5 million jobs were created in the renewable energy sector in 2023, primarily in China, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency and International Labour Organization. Nearly two-thirds of the world’s new solar and wind power capacity was installed in China, adding 1.84 million jobs. Global employment in the industry rose to 16.2 million, despite concerns about an “uneven global picture”, with China accounting for 7.4 million jobs, or 46% of the total. Employment figures include 1.8 million in the EU and nearly a million in the US and India, while Africa only created 324 000 jobs. The report highlights solar photovoltaics as the biggest employer globally, employing 7.2 million people. | AFP…

Pirates will face Stellenbosch FC in the MTN8 final at an already sold-out Moses Mabhida Stadium on Saturday (6pm kick-off). The 27-year-old keeper was the hero for Pirates in the last Wafa Wafa final at the same venue last season, saving three penalties in the 3-1 shoot-out win over Mamelodi Sundowns. All eyes will be on Chaine to see if he can produce further moments of brilliance on Saturday. Chaine’s exploits were so good in the tournament that he was voted as the MTN8 Last Man Standing at the PSL awards ceremony. He again took things up a notch in the Nedbank Cup final against Sundowns, saving Lucas Ribeiro’s penalty en route to a 2-1 Pirates win in regulation time. Now, having been a hero for his team last season,…

Old age is the age of serenity, tolerance, understanding, forgiveness, and wisdom. As we grow older, we change and give up old, nasty habits. We become more tolerant, compassionate, loving, and graceful. Like wine, we mellow with age. But there are some who don’t change in their old age. In fact, the converse is true. They become irritable, intractable, and given to bouts of rash behaviour. So it was with the 70-year-old farmer, Christoffel Johannes Stoman from Vredendal in the Western Cape, who, in a fit of rage, allegedly drove his vehicle into a 6-year-old boy, pinning him against the fence and breaking both his legs. His mother watched in horror and screamed for her little boy. Kwezi Beukes was badly injured and rushed to the hospital. According to the…

The DA will write to the Chairperson of the Correctional Services Portfolio Committee requesting an urgent special joint Portfolio Committee meeting comprising Correctional Services, Justice, and SAPS. This meeting will study the findings of the damning report released by the Public Protector of South Africa, which places significant blame on the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) for its handling of convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester's escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre. The report highlights serious lapses in the DCS’s conduct and response, exposing the department’s failures in addressing the incident promptly and adequately. The investigation uncovered a series of failures by DCS, citing months of inaction and delays in reporting Bester's escape to the SAPS. According to the Public Protector, despite early indications that Bester had escaped and the…

Trade and Investment KZN (TIKZN) has said the Ukhahlamba Drakensberg Cable Way project remains on track. It was commenting after it announced this week that it was cancelling the bids for project management solutions for key studies required to prove the initiative's viability. TIKZN CEO Sihle Ngcamu said the cancellation was motivated by budget constraints, and the organisation will have to prioritise studies that are precursors to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The cable car project was first announced more than a decade ago by then Economic Development and Tourism (Edtea) MEC Mike Mabuyakhulu, who said a 7 km cable car route would ferry passengers to the top of the Drakensberg mountain range. Mabuyakhulu had released an 80-page feasibility study on the project and stated he was convinced it would…

The Office of the Pension Fund Adjudicator (OPFA) is anticipating an influx of complaints as employees seek to withdraw from the savings component of the two-pot retirement system. In a report tabled to Parliament, pension fund adjudicator Muvhango Lukhaimane said her office received 9 177 new complaints in the past financial year. “The majority of complaints received, constituting an aggregate of 84%, relate to withdrawal benefits and non-compliance with section 13A of the act on non-payment of contributions by employers. “This is concerning as it not only affects the member’s retirement savings but other risk benefits that are dependent on settlement of premiums by funds to third parties such as death benefits, disability benefits and funeral benefits, leaving members further vulnerable at times of great need,” she said. Finance Minister…

The Directorate of Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) has said it did not confirm that it was investigating a case against Minister of Justice, Thembi Simelane. The specialised investigating unit slammed media reports claiming that it was now looking into allegations around the minister, following a criminal case against her, lodged by ActionSA. “We wish to refute this statement as incorrect and misleading as it is not within the policy of the Hawks to confirm (which) individuals are subject to any investigation so as to protect the integrity of our investigation,” said Hawks spokesperson, Nomthandazo Mbambo. “What we can confirm at this stage is that ActionSA has registered a case relating to the VBS matter and that great strides have already been made by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation in…

THE Department of Employment and Labour’s commitment to increase the number of labour inspectors bodes well for the Constitution’s provision that everyone has the right to fair labour practices. On Tuesday, Employment and Labour Minister Nomakhosazana Meth announced that her department would increase the number of labour inspectors from 2 000 to 20 000 over the next three years to enhance their ability to conduct thorough audits and inspections across the country. The announcement was made after weeks of compliance enforcement raids in restaurants across the country. The inspections, the department said, revealed instances of non-compliance, including underpayment of wages, unlawful deductions and inadequate health and safety measures. A staggering R10 million in monetary corrections were enforced on non-compliant employers and compliance orders and prohibition notices were also issued. Now,…

The two candidates for US president offer starkly different visions of the world, with November’s election carrying the potential to dramatically change policy towards Ukraine and other partners. Vice-President Kamala Harris largely offers continuity with President Joe Biden, though she has sought more nuance on the Middle East in particular, while a return of Donald Trump would likely mean a sharp rupture from current US foreign policy. Few issues divide the two candidates as much as Ukraine. Trump has scoffed at the billions of dollars in US aid to Ukraine, saying that Russia, which invaded its smaller neighbour in February 2022, is destined to win. The Republican has in the past voiced admiration for Russian strongman Vladimir Putin, comments seized upon by Harris, who in their September debate said, “If…

Brimstone Investment Corporation yesterday announced the disposal of its shareholding in Stadio Holdings, a South African higher education group listed on the JSE, for R257 million cash, equivalent to R5.90 per share. The share sale was met with optimism by both Brimstone and Stadio’s investors. Stadio’s share price increased 5.22% to R6.25. Brimstone Investment Corporation’s share price increased 3.7% to R5.60. Brimstone has undertaken a strategic review of its investment portfolio to dispose of certain of its assets at acceptable valuations. The investment company said in a statement yesterday that proceeds of the Stadio disposal would be used to partially settle debt in the near to medium-term. Brimstone had acquired 78% of the sale shares as part of STADIO's broad-based black economic empowerment private placement in 2017, with a…

When you and I write, paint, sculpt, love and rear (raise) our children, adore our grandchildren, and enjoy great-grandchildren; when we arrange flowers, build skyscrapers, plant vegetables, light birthday candles for 3-year-olds, leave fortunes to find cancer’s cure, we are gathering the best of our pasts and "throwing" our souls into the future. Generations yet unborn will know our departed souls: They will know who we are from the stories told by those whom we have loved. They will know who we are from what we have written. They will see what we have painted, sculpted. Our handiwork and heartfelt work, our generous love and nurturing gentleness will live on, revealing the power of our souls long after the fuel of our inner-being has escaped our ageing, dust-to-dust, ashes-to-ashes bodies,…

The DA should not have entered the government of national unity (GNU); the ANC is not used to sharing power and has irreconcilable ideological differences with its new liberal partner. The inevitable internal power plays, disrespect, pettiness, and dogmatic ideological forcefulness is highlighted best in how the ANC has run roughshod over its partners in the DA and Freedom Front Plus (FF+), to force through the Basic Education Laws Amendment (BELA) Act. The BELA Act was signed into law on September 13, 2024, by President Cyril Ramaphosa. But as a result of protests by the DA and FF+, the two most controversial clauses will not be implemented – yet. Ramaphosa stated that he will give lawmakers and officials three additional months to formulate a solution to the controversial clauses. If…

ANC governance of eThekwini Municipality continues to be a series of own goals, the latest being its measures to reduce water consumption (The Mercury, October 1). Its recent lament over the shoddy state of the Metro is entirely its own fault for failing to ensure that basic cleansing, sweeping, verge, open space, and infrastructure maintenance are enforced. For twenty years, water losses have increased and now exceed 55%. The measures mayor Xaba intends imposing are ones we have heard before and would not be necessary if they had been applied and adhered to long ago. The most laughable of Xaba’s measures is the installation of restrictors on water meters for all consumers. This is the tallest of tall orders because his staff can’t read all the water meters on…

CONTRACTORS that fail to deliver on government contracts they have been awarded, may soon find themselves unable to do business with the government in KwaZulu-Natal. The KZN Department of Public Works is developing a policy that aims to blacklist these companies, the directors or owners and prevent them from re-emerging with new names. MEC for Public Works Martin Meyer said: “We have only now started the process, so it means putting things in place. We also want to ensure an integrated process between all three spheres of government.” The MEC’s spokesperson Steve Bhengu expanded on the policy, saying it was at a developmental phase and the department was still engaging with other relevant government stakeholders. “Currently, the department is working on a policy that will help it tackle these problematic…

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport and Human Settlements, Siboniso Duma, has said tackling criminal incidents, such as rock throwing on the province’s key routes, including the N2 and N3 highways was a top priority. He was commenting yesterday after the tragic death of Pietermaritzburg businesswoman Madhumathie Bunwarie. She died after a car battery that was thrown from a bridge along the N3 in Durban struck the car she was travelling in on Sunday night. Duma affirmed the joint efforts of the Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI) and the South African Police Service (SAPS) to find those responsible for the incident. “Our Road Traffic Inspectorate is working with the police to ensure that those who threw a car battery that smashed the windscreen of her car are brought to book,” he said.…

Media organisations must use their voice instead of mimicking practices of the West Quick question: what do these titles have in common? A Dark Continent Seeking Light; Sure, Ebola is Bad. Africa has Worse, or; Magic and Cannibalism in the African Jungle. You guessed it – they’re all about Africa. But the most relevant answer is they’re all headlines that have appeared in the New York Times. They’re just some examples of the ways that many traditional news outlets in the West have historically reported about Africa. Today news reporting that reinforces negative perceptions, stereotyping and racial misrepresentation is declining. But the harms inflicted on the continent and its communities remain unresolved. US media scholar Meredith Clark predicted that 2021 would be the “year journalism starts paying reparations”. She coined…

Claudia Sheinbaum was sworn in this week as Mexico’s first woman president, inheriting a country beset by gang violence and economic uncertainty over controversial reforms passed by her powerful ruling party. To cries of “Long live Claudia! Long live Mexico!”, the 62-year-old former Mexico City mayor took the oath of office and received the presidential sash in Congress, with foreign dignitaries looking on – including US First Lady Jill Biden. Sheinbaum told cheering lawmakers that, for the first time, “women have arrived to shape the destiny of our beautiful nation”, where around 10 women or girls are murdered every day. Supporters began gathering at dawn to celebrate the inauguration of the new leader of the world’s most populous Spanish-speaking country, home to 129 million people, which has had 65 male…

Kenyan MPs this week initiated a motion to impeach Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua in an unprecedented political move portending an acrimonious fallout within the ruling party. The east African country’s politics has been in turmoil since March, following deadly protests over a spiralling cost-of-living crisis and deeply unpopular tax hikes. Gachagua is accused of undermining the government, being involved in corruption, insubordination, and practising ethnically divisive politics, among a slew of other charges. About 291 MPs appended their signatures to support the motion, well beyond the 117 minimum. National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula said the motion – filed by Mutuse Eckomas Mwengi, a legislator from the ruling coalition – met the requisite constitutional threshold. It lists 11 grounds for impeachment, including accusing Gachagua of amassing wealth estimated at 5.2 billion…

Group B kicks off the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 tomorrow as Scotland become the 12th team to play in the tournament. They face a burgeoning Bangladesh in Sharjah (2pm start) before stern tests come against the only two teams other than Australia to have lifted the trophy in this format. Bangladesh The original hosts of the 2024 edition, Bangladesh arrive in the UAE on the back of a sprinkling of fine results. The Tigers recorded only their third-ever T20I series win against Pakistan last year, with their spinners earning them two victories in the three-match series. Spin is expected to be key in this World Cup, with captain Nigar Sultana Joty able to call on five spinners, including all-rounder Shorna Akter, who at 17 is a star for…