Innehållsförteckning för 2025-01-22 från Mercury

In a previous exchange with Dr Mahmoud Baker in August 2023, I remarked that his embrace of the man-made climate change narrative was a tribute to the efficacy of the globalists’ control of the mass media. Unfortunately, his letter of January 17 shows that he remains in thrall to that narrative. Although current weather extremes are being demonised as the fault of fossil fuels, there have been weather extremes in every century long before widespread consumption of fossil fuels. Fluctuations in the Earth’s elliptical orbit around the sun cause marked irradiance differences in temperature variations. As history shows, the result is cooling and warming periods. The three-and-a-half degree variation in the tilt of the Earth is another climate change factor. Citing scientific “consensus” as being “overwhelming” in blaming fossil fuels…

THIS week we gathered in impressive numbers at St Clement’s Restaurant for the first Arts Soirée of 2025. The guest speaker was retired judge, Chris Nicholson, a prolific writer in retirement on a range of philosophical issues. What would it be this time? More on the suspected shenanigans of obscure and secret international organisations interrupting the legitimate flow of events? No, this time Chris has directed his attention to such vital issues such as the difference in cricket between a leg-break and a googly. Both are bowled out of the back of the hand. One breaks in on the batsman from the leg side; the other from the off-side. Chris was launching his latest book, Double Your Sport Skill, in which he explores the medically established fact that the human…

A call has been made for the re-prioritisation of the eThekwini Municipality’s budget to allocate funds to address the water challenges that have crippled parts of the Metro over recent weeks. The DA in eThekwini, in a statement released yesterday, announced that it has filed a motion in council to request that the chief financial officer (CFO) investigate the feasibility of re-prioritising the budget to ensure that funds are allocated to the eThekwini Water and Sanitation (EWS) and electricity clusters. However, the IFP has accused the DA of using the crisis for political grandstanding. IFP councillor Mdu Nkosi, who chairs the Trading Services cluster overseeing water and electricity services, said the DA’s actions were inappropriate given the seriousness of the water issue. Parts of the eThekwini Municipality, particularly northern areas,…

The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) official who was captured on camera shouting at clients has been placed on leave while an investigation takes place. The incident was recorded by a client who visited the local office. KwaZulu-Natal Department of Social Development MEC Mbali Shinga visited the Sassa Dundee office on a fact-finding mission on Monday. Shinga said any form of misconduct or abuse of power by officials would not be tolerated. “We are here to assure people that we are not taking this matter lightly. We will ensure that the investigation that has been initiated does get to the bottom of the matter. We are pleased to see that today, offices are operating as normal,” Shinga said. The department said the official in the video was placed on…

Two suspects have been arrested and cannabis plants and products seized at an alleged drug laboratory in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal. Hawks’ spokesperson Warrant Officer Sibu Ncane said based on information acquired in November 2023, the Hawks determined that the facilities were being used as a dagga laboratory, where the dagga was processed, blended with other substances, and marketed as consumable items to customers. During the search police found edibles (dagga sweets), dagga, a scale, oil and pots with cooked dagga in the kitchen, Ncane said. They also found dagga cigars, bottled dagga, a drug presser, a pricing list for consumable items, dagga plants, a heat lamp and a plastic shower structure. Cash from sales was also found. The total street value of the confiscated dagga and related paraphernalia is estimated at…

Deputy President Paul Mashatile has acknowledged that the country’s efforts to promote economic growth through investments and infrastructure development have yet to yield satisfactory results. This comes as organised labour called yesterday for unified efforts in developing solutions for ailing state-owned enterprises (SOEs), among other economic challenges. Speaking at the Nedlac 2025 Organised Labour School, Mashatile said there had been substantial improvements in labour conditions – including introducing the minimum wage, the two-pot retirement system, and other policies that cushioned workers and the poor – however challenges such as high unemployment, poverty, inequality, crime and gender-based violence persist. “The current mooted closures and scaling down of production in the steel industry and some of the companies in the mining sector have resulted in massive job losses,” Mashatile added. The Nedlac…

THE DA needs to seriously rethink its role in the Government of National Unity (GNU). Currently, the DA comes across as a party that is just a powerless bystander who complains and condemns almost every government decision that is made as if it has no other way to air its views through whatever channels that exist in this coalition government. It needs a reminder that it is no longer an opposition party. What the government decides becomes part of its problems. It therefore cannot be that week in and week out, the DA complains about the government’s policy position, unless it confirms the criticism that it only participated in the GNU to protect President Cyril Ramaphosa from being ousted over the Phala Phala scandal, which would have opened…

A mosque and military headquarters once teeming with fighters loyal to the Islamic State group lay empty in a field near the Democratic Republic of Congo’s border with Uganda. The two abandoned buildings are a distant reminder of the presence of the ADF, an armed militia with Ugandan origins that for years has plagued the DRC’s east with its bloody attacks. Over the last year the surrounding area in North Kivu province has become safer in the wake of a joint military offensive, dubbed operation “Shujaa”, launched by Kinshasa and Kampala in late 2021. Herds of cattle and lorries can now travel peacefully along the key commercial axis to Uganda, guarded by trucks from both countries’ armies. But that peace has not come without a cost – and the fear…

Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa congratulated US President Donald Trump on his inauguration, saying the American would “bring peace to the Middle East”. “We are confident that he is the leader to bring peace to the Middle East and restore stability to the region,” Sharaa’s administration said. “We look forward to improving the relations between our two countries based on dialogue and understanding.” Sharaa’s Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham led the rebel offensive that ousted Bashar al-Assad last year. | AFP…

DODOMA: Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan confirmed the country’s second outbreak of Marburg virus disease (MVD) in two years. Speaking at a joint news conference with World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Hassan said that laboratory tests conducted at the Kabaile mobile laboratory in the north-western Kagera region and later confirmed in Dar es Salaam identified one person in Biharamulo District as infected with MVD. Hassan said that health authorities worked closely with local community leaders to enhance surveillance, establish emergency response teams and implement additional safety measures. “Fortunately, the remaining suspected patients tested negative for other illnesses,” she said. | Xinhua…

Forgiveness – not necessarily “forgetting” although forgetting is a bonus, but fully forgiving everyone, everything, and all the time. I am not suggesting you stand in line to be repeatedly hurt. Generosity – offering your resources, gifts, and skills to others for a fee, or no fee. Both can be expressions of generosity. Just because you pay for something does not mean the source is not generous. Remember, and I’d give credit if I knew where I heard it, “If you get something for nothing, someone is getting nothing for something!” Hospitality – offering your home, car, and your resources (wisely) to others empowers everyone in the equation. It is a bonus if you can do it for an enemy or an estranged family member. This is radical hospitality. Humour…

Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni should be removed from Cabinet immediately, after the revelation that a Hawks investigation into her conduct as municipal manager of Ba-Phalaborwa Local Municipality, involving R2.5 million in tender corruption, is ready for prosecution. She cannot serve as minister in this portfolio (or any), while under such a serious criminal investigation. We call on her to step down immediately. Failing which, the president must relieve her of her duties. This is yet another example of an ANC minister in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Cabinet who he needs to remove for allegations of corruption. Either he was not aware of these allegations, which would be an indictment in itself, or he was aware, which would raise damning questions as to his duty of care as head of…

In a remarkable stride forward for astrophysics, researchers from the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the powerful MeerKAT radio telescope have unveiled the existence of a rare giant radio galaxy. This discovery, published on Monday in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, not only sheds light on these vast cosmic structures but also poses intriguing challenges for astronomers as they work to comprehend their unique characteristics. According to the researchers, giant radio galaxies (GRGs) represent some of the most expansive structures in the universe. These colossal entities are made up of massive galaxies that emit plasma jets stretching millions of light-years through intergalactic space, all powered by massive black holes at their cores. “The number of GRG discoveries has exploded in the past five years thanks to…

The actions of a man who was married to two women at the same time and took this secret to the grave has led to a legal tussle between the wives as to who stands to benefit from his estate. The secret came out when the second wife applied to receive benefits from the deceased’s pension fund, but her request was turned down as the first wife was the beneficiary. The second wife, who entered into a civil union with the man and had the marriage certificate issued by Home Affairs to prove it, turned to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, for an order declaring this marriage valid. The validity of the civil marriage to the second wife was challenged by the first wife, the respondent, who claims that she…

Postbank has been granted a month-long extension for its annual general meeting (AGM) which was scheduled for next week. The state-owned Postbank, whose operations were formally separated from the SA Post Office (Sapo) a few years ago, is unable to hold the meeting because its annual financial statements are incomplete. This comes as the SA Post Office, Postbank’s former parent company, is struggling to recover after it was placed under business rescue. According to Postbank, to prepare the financial statements needed to convene the AGM for its shareholders, it needed to obtain a system capable of producing data that could not be manipulated. “The data reconciliation process was time-consuming and extensive. This step had to be completed prior to finalising the annual financial statements. (These) were submitted for audit,…

Let me start by congratulating the matric class of 2024. Well done; the nation is proud of you. As this is the time for reflection, let me not waste a minute of your time and get straight to it. Our education system is in shambles – it is fragmented, unequal and unjust. Our education system needs a lot of interventions away from politics as politics in public schools is toxic and regressive. Over the years, matric results have been used as a political weapon to score political points. This trend seems to be continuing unabated even in the era of the so-called Government of National Unity (GNU). In order to truly fix the education system, South Africans must divorce education completely from the political realm. After all, politicians know very…

The Israel-Hamas ceasefire entered a third day yesterday, while US President Donald Trump said he doubted that the fragile deal would hold. Desperately needed humanitarian aid has begun to flow into war-battered Gaza after Israel and Hamas conducted the first exchange of hostages for prisoners agreed under the terms of the ceasefire. Gazans displaced by more than 15 months of war have been walking through an apocalyptic landscape to return to whatever remains of their homes, while rescuers trawl the rubble for bodies. “Gaza is like a massive demolition site,” Trump said as he signed a flurry of executive orders following his inauguration. Asked whether he believed the two sides would maintain the truce, Trump said: “That’s not our war; it’s their war. But I’m not confident.” Trump had claimed…

Asian markets saw big fluctuations yesterday as US President Donald Trump took office, warning that he could impose stiff tariffs on Canada and Mexico next month but appeared to delay any action against China. His announcement that the country’s closest neighbours could be hit with 25% levies as soon as February 1 also jolted currency markets, with the Mexican peso and Canadian dollar tumbling. Trump’s comments came as he signed a slew of executive orders that indicated he could resume his hardball approach to global diplomacy and trade, including pulling out of the Paris climate accord and the World Health Organization. He also gave social media app TikTok 75 days to find a buyer for its US business, after it missed a deadline on Saturday ordering its Chinese owners,…

BRUSSELS: An investigating magistrate has been appointed in Belgium after Democratic Republic of the Congo in December filed criminal complaints accusing Apple subsidiaries of using so-called conflict minerals in their supply chain, a lawyer for Congo said. Leo Fastenakel, one of the lawyers representing the Congolese government in Belgium, said: “We believe he is a serious and rigorous judge.” Any decision on whether offences have been committed will be based on an investigation carried out by the investigating magistrate, another lawyer on the case said in December. Congo is a major source of tin, tantalum and tungsten, used in computers and mobile phones. But some artisanal mines are run by armed groups involved in massacres of civilians, mass rapes, looting and other crimes, said UN experts and human rights groups,…

The National Treasury of Kenya said yesterday that the recent downgrade of the country’s credit rating had significantly impacted its ability to borrow commercial loans from various credit sources. In August last year, global credit ratings agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded Kenya’s long-term sovereign credit rating to B- from B due to weaker fiscal consolidation and increasing public debt. The Treasury said that Kenya’s public debt remained sustainable but with a high risk of debt distress, as the nation’s present value of public debt was 63% of the gross domestic product (GDP), against the benchmark debt threshold of 55%. It said that it had to bring the present value of the public debt within the threshold until November 1, 2028. It intends to borrow 25% from external sources and 75%…

In his letter, “US, UK are the new Sodom and Gomorrah” (The Mercury January 14, L Oosthuizen writes about the “shocking sexual crimes against white teenage girls”. I take issue with the term “white teenage girls”. Yes, the overwhelming majority of the victims were white girls in this mass rape horror and shameless cover-up by police, politicians, social workers and the supposed liberal press. Firstly they were not all teenagers, some were pre-teens. Secondly, not only white girls were subjected to this barbarism. This crime, the conspiracy of whispers and political correctness, and the cover-up have been going on for about 50 years, according to some sources. Initially Sikh, Hindu and Pakistani Christian girls were targeted. About 25 years ago, the leaders of these communities failed in their attempt…

It was December 16,1990, when the longest-serving ANC president, Tata Oliver Tambo, handing over the leadership of the ANC after leading its mission for 30 years, said: “I devotedly watched over the organisation all these years. I now hand it back over to you bigger, stronger, and intact. Guard your precious movement. As in the past, our comrades should be the first to rally to the defence of the people and the last to seek rewards.” Tambo’s words are worth reflecting on today to raise important questions about the current challenges facing the ANC. One of the questions we need to ask ourselves is: Have the ANC leaders and members guarded their precious organisation? Second question: Have the ANC leaders and members rallied to the defence of the people…

While the ANC’s alliance partners in KwaZulu-Natal have welcomed the move to reconfigure the party’s provincial leadership, ordinary members questioned what the decision would entail saying it was “confusing”. The SACP expressed its eagerness to work with the “new structure” to implement strategies for the development of the province, while Cosatu said that it had long called for the national structure to intervene. However, some members of the party feel that the announcement fell short of their expectations. The ANC and its alliance partners have had a fraught relationship in recent months, with alliance partners publicly accusing the ANC of failing to meet with them, thereby undermining the alliance. An ANC national spokesperson told a television news channel that the reconfiguration will alter the current status quo in terms of…

A former police captain and investigator at the West Rand Serious Organised Crime Investigation unit in Gauteng, Susanna Jacoba Muller, appeared before the Randburg Magistrate’s Court yesterday on charges including corruption. The court postponed the case to January 28 and Muller was ordered to return to court with legal representation. Earlier, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), also known as the Hawks, said a court summons was served on the former captain on December 24. “The summons pertains to two criminal cases registered at the Honeydew and Krugersdorp police stations in May 2023 and October 2024, respectively. The cases involve charges of corruption, theft and defeating or obstructing the administration of justice,” said Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale. The Hawks said while Muller was an investigator at the National…

KwaZulu-Natal Public Works and Infrastructure MEC Martin Meyer’s cost-cutting measures have yielded good results, including slashing his staff travel and cellphone costs significantly. In a briefing in Durban yesterday, the MEC said the department had successfully revised its policy on cellphone and data usage, saying previously monthly expenditures exceeded R670 000, of which R192 000 constituted irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure. This included multiple contracts allocated to one person, contracts exceeding policy limits, and extended contracts for 36 or 48 months instead of the standard 24 months. He said previously cellphone contracts had been held in the department’s name, which created several issues. The department was often left with unused or damaged devices, many of which were untraceable or unsuitable for reassignment. This resulted in significant fruitless and wasteful expenditure…

In an industry which can reach, and positively impact, large numbers of people through its engagement with direct employees, contractors, stakeholders and community members, mining companies have a unique ability to drive positive change in the fight against gender-based violence, femicide and broader safety and security challenges experienced by women, both in and outside of the workplace. In August 2024, the South African Mine Health and Safety Inspectorate published its Guideline on the management of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), safety and security challenges for women in the South African mining industry. This Guideline came into effect on November 1, 2024. The Guideline requires all mines to implement a mandatory code of practice as per the South African Mine Health and Safety Act, to address the risks associated with…

South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared at the Constitutional Court for the first time yesterday, and vowed to co-operate with the judges who will decide whether to remove him from office. The country was plunged into political chaos by Yoon’s December 3 martial law declaration, which lasted just six hours before MPs voted it down. They later impeached him, stripping him of his duties. He also became the first sitting South Korean president to be arrested in a criminal probe on insurrection grounds. Thousands of protesters, both for and against Yoon, flocked to the Constitutional Court, which is holding hearings to decide whether to uphold his impeachment. “I will respond to any questions or provide further remarks if necessary,” Yoon told the judge. Yoon, who remains South Korea’s…

TOKYO: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba yesterday congratulated Donald Trump on his return to the White House and said he wanted to build a “relationship of trust”. Japan and the US are key defence allies and each other’s top foreign investors, but businesses and diplomats are bracing themselves for changes under Trump, who has threatened US allies with trade tariffs. Ishiba said it appeared that Trump “prefers bilateral frameworks over multilateral frameworks” for dealmaking. | AFP…

DAKAR: Separatist rebels in northern Mali have said that a Spanish national kidnapped days earlier between Algeria and Mali has been freed thanks to their “intervention” and is in good health under their “protection”. There has been no confirmation from Spanish or Algerian authorities. The Spaniard was released on Monday afternoon “thanks to the intervention of the forces of the Azawad Liberation Front”, an official from the separatist coalition, Attaye Ag Mohamed, wrote on X. The Azawad Liberation Front (FLA) is a grouping of predominantly Tuareg rebel groups battling the Malian state. The Spanish national is “in good health under the protection of the FLA forces”, Mohamed said, adding that he was spending Monday night in northern Mali “while awaiting his transfer to the Algerian authorities”. | AFP…