Innholdsfortegnelse for 2023-09-28 i Cape Argus

From page 1 Unsurprisingly, the report reveals that South Africa has a high level of corruption in its public sector, with maladministration, procurement corruption, and abuse of authority being the most common forms. “The ruling party has used its majority in Parliament to block crucial legislative oversight investigations, protecting its representatives from corruption inquiries,” the report noted. On a positive note, the report found that South Africa’s judicial system was generally independent. However, it is plagued by shortages of judicial staff and lack of financial resources, undermining defendants’ due process rights. The country’s prisons are plagued by overcrowding and inhumane conditions, leading to an increase in gang violence and abuse. In addition, South Africa’s extensive coastline, multiple ports of entry, and several land border control points make it an attractive…

ALTHOUGH this Cape Town woman is 102-years-old, she is still as witty and filled with humour as in her earlier years. Agnes “Ma Agnes” Bezuidenhoudt celebrated her birthday last week, and said she was blessed. Ma Agnes, originally from Kimberley, lives in Kenilworth with her youngest of five children, Mercia Bezuidenhoudt, 67. Mercia said her mother, who is still as fit as a fiddle, remained the fashion icon of the family and, before speaking to IOL, had just blow-dried her hair. “I think my mother’s secret is that she was extremely active as a young girl. She played netball, hockey, tennis (when I was six-months-old), she did the long jump, high jump, hurdles, and more. I am the only child who did all she did,” Mercia said. And Ma Agnes…

This is part two of a series of columns on the latest developments at the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) which has been embroiled in a scandal involving the now-axed former chairperson of Productivity South Africa, Mthunzi Mdwaba. Mdwaba is also the chairperson of Thuja Capital Fund which entered into a controversial R5 billion job-creation scheme with the UIF, a scheme which was seemingly in direct competition with the work of Productivity South Africa. Mdwaba has denied any wrongdoing, but his removal from the board is a welcome development. It is important to send a clear message that those who abuse their positions of power for personal gain will be held accountable. The president regularly advises South Africa that when anything has gone wrong, he is shocked and will set up…

as our planet warms, we are experiencing more frequent and severe weather events, rising sea levels, prolonged droughts, and altered ecosystems. These environmental shifts directly affect people’s livelihoods by destroying crops and depleting water sources. They make once-inhabitable areas uninhabitable. In response to the challenges, many individuals and communities have no choice but to abandon their homes and seek safety elsewhere. Most will remain within their country borders – it is predicted that by 2050 up to 86 million Africans will migrate within their countries due to weather shocks, but some will cross borders, triggering the need for international protection. The challenge, however, is that people crossing borders due to weather don’t qualify as refugees under key laws and conventions. The displacement could be due to sudden-onset events, such as…

Rory McIlroy yesterday said European stalwarts absent from this week’s Ryder Cup in Rome after joining LIV Golf will be “missing being here more than we’re missing them”. McIlroy is the most experienced player on either team as he prepares for the start of his seventh Ryder Cup tomorrow. The event will be the first without any of Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia or Ian Poulter lining up for Europe since 1995 after the trio signed with Saudi-backed LIV and resigned from the European Tour. “It’s certainly a little strange not having them around,” McIlroy, who has been an ever-present at the Ryder Cup since making his debut in 2010, said. “But I think this week of all weeks, it’s going to hit home with them that, they are not here,…

The windswept nation of Mongolia has rarely been known for cricket but now has a place in the record books after suffering the biggest defeat in T20I through a 273-run hiding by Nepal at the Asian Games yesterday. Nepal is also some way off cricket’s elite tier but played like world-beaters at the Zhejiang University of Technology field as they raced to a record total of 314/3 on the opening day of the men’s tournament in Hangzhou. Nepal’s Kushal Malla also strode off unbeaten on 137 from 50 balls, having reached his hundred in a record 34 balls, eclipsing the previous mark of 35 balls jointly held by South Africa’s David Miller, India’s Rohit Sharma and Czech Republic’s Sudesh Wickramasekara. His batting partner Dipendra Singh Airee also came off with…

A 35-year-old man has been arrested after he allegedly stabbed his colleague to death during an argument in Tongaat (oThongathi) this week. Reaction Unit SA (Rusa) spokesperson, Prem Balram, said the man was arrested after an anonymous tip-off. “Rusa officers at the Tongaat Operations Centre received a tip-off about a man sought for the murder of his Zimbabwean colleague,” Balram said. He added that the caller gave officers a description of the suspect. “Rusa officers converged at the given location and rapidly apprehended the wanted man. A shortened spear, believed to be the murder weapon, was also seized,” Balram said. The accused allegedly confessed to stabbing the deceased during a verbal altercation at a tyre shop in the Tongaat central business district. He claimed the deceased often ridiculed him at…

THE South African National Taxi Alliance (NTA) has snubbed the EFF’s planned shutdown even though the party has included the release of the impounded taxis among its reasons for the protest. A march organised by the EFF is scheduled to take place on Monday. One of the EFF’s demands is the release of the impounded taxis in Ndabeni, Maitland. Other concerns include the high unemployment rate, racism and crime. It will be supported by the ANC, Sanco, Saftu, the PAC and other organisations. The party tweeted: “Be on the right side of history and join the EFF Western Cape provincial shutdown scheduled to take place on October 2. We say no more unjust taxi impoundments, no to gangsterism, no to collapsed service delivery, no to unemployment, no to unlawful evictions,…

The Department of Agriculture said an initial estimate of agricultural damages as a result of the floods in the Western Cape stands at R1.4 billion. The Cape Winelands suffered R800 million damage, the Garden Route R82 million and the Overberg R520 million. Infrastructure damage assessments across the province are still being calculated. In Camps Bay, a huge sinkhole developed because water streamed from the mountainside on to the street, adjacent to the Theatre on the Bay. Emergency services have been deployed extensively across the province, through the Road Incident Management System, to assist road users affected by the closures. The South African National Roads Agency reported that the N2 section 2 remained closed in Bot River. Elevated water levels continue to impact this section of the road, posing a…

President Ramaphosa’s recent address to the UN General Assembly reinforced our government’s perverse foreign policy agenda to defend despots and decry democracies. Ramaphosa’s speech was replete with statements and omissions that placed South Africa at odds with most democratic nations. The president called for a “peaceful resolution of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine”, without recognising it as a war instigated by Russia against Ukraine that has caused thousands of civilian deaths and injuries since last year. Rampahosa also omitted to mention Russia’s well-documented role in supporting armed conflict on the African continent. President Ramaphosa called for the lifting of economic sanctions against Cuba, but failed to mention the country’s shameful human rights record and absence of democracy. More concerningly, Ramaphosa called for sanctions to be lifted against Zimbabwe, without…

The past weekend’s storms made me ponder Helen Zille’s words: “Every successful democracy is built on a functional social contract between citizens and the state. The Foundational Contract is a country’s Constitution spelling out the rules of the game, with which everyone must comply. Where there is a difference of interpretation, the courts adjudicate. “But the Foundational Contract cannot work without itself being built on the strong foundations of a society’s culture – which include such crucial elements as respect for the law, and equality before the law. Absent these aspects, a Constitution is meaningless on its own. These are not big, abstract ideas. They have very practical consequences.” It was pouring, in the biggest storm this year. And my inbox was metaphorically flooded with pictures of real flooding, as…

Masabata Klaas has taken over the baton from Shabnim Ismail and is hoping to drive the Proteas Women’s team to an ODI series victory over New Zealand in Pietermaritzburg today. Laura Wolvaardt’s team pulled off a brilliant chase to take a 1-0 lead in the first match in Potchefstroom last weekend and now they have the opportunity to not only claim a successive ODI series victory – they also beat Pakistan last month – but to also pick up valuable ICC Women’s Championship points. Masabata Klaas claims the Proteas will not be resting on their laurels after the opening victory and will be hoping to be even better at Maritzburg Oval. “We went back to the drawing board to see where we can improve,” Klaas said. “It’s about adapting to…

Antoine Dupont’s recovery from surgery on a broken cheekbone is going very well and it may not be too long before the France scrumhalf is back on the pitch, assistant coach William Servat said, raising hopes he could return in time for the quarter-finals. The captain will return to the squad on Sunday, though he will not take part in their last Pool A game against Italy next week. But there is growing optimism in the French camp that he could return for the quarter-finals, which will be played from October 14-15. “Antoine is doing very well, the surgery went very well,” Servat said. “He’s obviously resting at home. He will be back for Sunday’s training. Friday and Saturday being days off, he will be able to come back within…

Country seventh highest in the world South Africa is at the coalface of a relentless battle against a myriad quasi-criminal networks and syndicates, operating with transnational connections and engaging in a spectrum of criminal activities, from drug trafficking to armed robberies to fraud. This is according to the 2023 Global Organised Crime Index, released on Tuesday, which showed that South Africa scored a 7.18 criminality score (out of 10) – the seventh highest in the world (out of 193 countries) and the third in Africa. South Africa’s score was 6.63 in 2021 – the last time the index was published. Myanmar has the highest criminality score (8.15), followed by Colombia (7.75), then Mexico (7.57). In Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo (7.35) and Nigeria (7.28) were ahead of South Africa.…

IN its Summer Outlook, Eskom is hoping to contain load shedding to Stage 4, stating that lower levels of load shedding should be expected towards the end of the year and early next year. Eskom management was present for a media briefing on the State of the System and Summer Outlook, yesterday. While acknowledging the impact of load shedding on livelihoods and the economy, Eskom reiterated that this was necessary to maintain the stability of the national power system to avoid a blackout. Based on the immediate Summer Outlook, load shedding can be contained within Stage 4, if unplanned load losses are managed within 14 500 megawatts. The addition of 2 880MW from the Kusile Power Station will be critical towards closing the gap between supply and demand,…

As we continue to promote energy conservation and efficiency across South Africa, it becomes increasingly important to consider ways in which we can recognise and reward the regions, provinces and communities that make an exceptional effort to reduce their energy consumption. By introducing a system of rewards tailored to regional energy efficiency targets, we can foster a sense of collective responsibility and motivate South Africans to embrace these new sustainable practices. These rewards may take the form of reduced load shedding levels or lower electricity tariffs for areas that consistently demonstrate lower energy consumption rates. This groundbreaking approach not only encourages healthy competition among regions, but also empowers communities to actively participate in South Africa’s broader efforts to secure a more stable and sustainable energy future. It is a step…

Whenever one reads about natural disasters and disasters caused by human bad planning and wars, one is amazed by the efforts of people affected to cope with the education of young people. Imagine if the same effort was put into education during times of calm weather and political peace. Floods, fires, droughts and wars have hit the world recently. What catches my attention is how people involved in education roll up their sleeves and try very hard to restart schooling when faced with children getting back to school. Now, if this happens in countries facing natural disasters and political conflict, why can those of us living in societies at peace with themselves not sustain their education and improve on their education systems? In South Africa, we applaud the educational authorities…

The recent revelation by Police Minister Bheki Cele that about 7 000 police officers were arrested for crimes, including murder and rape, has sent shock waves throughout the country. The figures raise concern for the public’s safety and seeming hopelessness in winning the fight against crime. They also paint a grim picture of how deeply rooted criminality is in the police force. According to Cele, 6 843 police officers and 323 administrative staff were criminally charged over the past five years. Among the crimes for which they were arrested are murder, robbery, rape, livestock theft, kidnapping and cash-in-transit heists. The biggest question is what are the police top brass doing to turn around the situation? For the longest time, opposition parties and civil rights organisations have called for Cele’s removal.…

Parachuting Handre Pollard straight back into the Springbok side to face Tonga on Sunday is a big risk but one that can bear fruit in the long run ahead of the Rugby World Cup play-offs for the defending world champions. Pollard replaces Manie Libbok at flyhalf with the latter being named on the bench for the crunch Pool B match in Marseille (kick-off 9pm). The Boks must win and score a bonus point to secure their place in the quarter-finals of the France tournament. Head coach Jacques Nienaber chucked Pollard straight into the deep end after he recovered from a calf injury, and with only about 40 minutes of club rugby in his legs, it’s a brave call by the Bok management to start him in a crucial game. But…

New Zealand see Italy as a genuine threat in tomorrow’s key World Cup Pool A clash and will wait until after the match to celebrate Sam Whitelock becoming the most-capped All Black, coach Ian Foster said yesterday. The All Blacks have never lost to Italy, often running up big scores in their previous meetings, but Foster said his team were extremely wary of the new-look Italian side. “History means nothing really,” he said. “If you look at their recent form, they’re playing well. And that’s the Italy we expect to turn up and we’ve got to make sure that we’re really clear on that. They’ve clearly decided to take risks a little bit and it’s worked for them.” Foster was able to name Sam Cane, Shannon Frizell, Tyrel Lomax and…