Innholdsfortegnelse for 2022-04-14 i Star

THE Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa currently has 2 006 unverified employees, known as “ghost” workers. This was revealed by Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula yesterday during his train ride from Saulsville to Pretoria. “Initially, Prasa identified 3 100 employees who were not physically verified. Further investigations revealed that some of these workers were on sick leave, annual leave, suspensions and maternity leave,” said Mbalula. “Prasa currently stands at 2 006 unverified employees. The exercise has also uncovered 50 foreign nationals with fraudulent or expired documents.” Mbalula said the efforts to strengthen governance and build requisite capacity for Prasa to deliver on its mandate were gaining traction. Last year, Prasa initiated a project, Operation Ziveze aimed at validating employees and unearthing “ghost” workers. Mbalula said Phase 2 of the project,…

A CAPE Town woman celebrated her 102nd birthday with family and friends on Sunday. Mina September, from Bellville, was born on a farm in 1920. She said her secret to life had always been a passage from the Bible: “Honour your father and your mother so you may have a long life.” September is still very vocal and as fit as a fiddle, and her family describes her health as being in “tip-top shape”. Last year, September contracted Covid-19 after five people in her household tested positive. Her family said she had not had any health issues or been reinfected with the virus. September contracted the Spanish flu that devastated the world from February 1918 to April 1920. The Spanish flu was an influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza…

The City of Joburg is urging residents to use electricity sparingly following power outages. Environment and infrastructure services acting MMC Leah Knott said she was “closely monitoring outage backlogs as they are being cleared by City Power following an uptick in outages this past weekend”. “City Power is dealing with an abnormal number of breakdowns as Johannesburg residents consumed more power to deal with the cold and wet weather.” Since last Friday when severe downpours began in the city, City Power has been dealing with 1 944 outages across Johannesburg, with 260 related to the Hurst Hill substation. More technicians and contractors have been deployed to deal with this crisis as quickly as possible. City Power has indicated the outages have mainly been caused by the surge in demand, which…

STORM TIDE Wilbur Smith, Tom Harper Loot.co.za (R225) Bonnier Zaffre MULTIMILLION copy and best-selling author Wilbur Smith, who died in November, 2021 has a new historical epic on the shelves, set against the backdrop of the American revolution. The Courtney family is torn apart as three generations fight on opposing sides of a terrible war that will change the face of the world forever. 1774. Rob Courtney has spent his whole life in a quiet trading outpost on the east coast of Africa, dreaming of a life of adventure at sea. When his grandfather Jim Courtney dies, and the mysterious Captain Cornish calls into the fort, Rob takes his chance and stows away on Marston’s ship as it sails to England. Arriving in London, Rob is seduced by the charms…

Hammerman: A Walking Shadow Mike Nicol Loot.co.za (R209) Umuzi MIKE Nicol’s new book in the series featuring surfer/PI Fish Pescado and Vicki Kahn, lawyer and former spy. The action starts with a simple discussion about what to have for dinner between the couple. After years they are seriously considering Vicki moving from her apartment into Fish’s house in Muizenburg. The introduction is mild; the couple is debating on the phone what to have for dinner. Then Fish gets a call from Professor Summers, who he provides with cannabis oil and products; the professor has got himself into the middle of a shooting incident in Manenberg. Fish goes off to save the professor. In Manenberg, Colonel Andre Jacobs is managing an active shooting scene. A little girl has been shot and…

With Easter treats on supermarket shelves, we know that the Easter long weekend is in the air and on the skyline. For the first time after many years, different religious groups will celebrate or observe their religious traditions at the same time. While the protection of citizens, rule of law and the prevention of war and crimes and atrocities against humanity is primarily the responsibility of governmental law enforcement structures and international bodies such as the UN, it requires a multidimensional effort by different societal leaders and institutions to play a part to prevent criminal behaviour and lawlessness. Religious leaders have a fundamental role to play to counter incitement to violence, hatred, hostility and human rights abuses against human beings, especially minorities, that could lead to atrocities and crimes. Religious…

While the world is in turmoil, this weekend will give the faithful of all three Abrahamic religions the time to reflect and look to those values that bind our humanity. Tomorrow Christians celebrate Good Friday, which marks the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at the Calvary. Also, tomorrow Jews start celebrating Passover, which marks the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. In Cape Town, not so much a religious holy day, the halfway mark of the month of Ramadaan, city’s Muslims families will break their fast with boeber – a rich, creamy and milky drink made with vermicelli, sago, cardamon and cinnamon. These holy days some of us would prefer to spend with our families and loved ones, and that means many of us will have to travel…

A wind-driven wildfire has destroyed dozens of homes in the New Mexico mountain town Ruidoso and continued to burn through residential areas yesterday, officials said. The fire has burned over 150 structures, most of them houses, as gusting winds and dry conditions send flames through forested canyons. Like other western states, New Mexico is suffering an early start to its fire season as blazes spread through grassland and forests amid extreme drought. The fire burned 1 672ha by yesterday. | Reuters…

HE came, he saw and he conquered. That was African sprint king Ferdinand Omanyala’s night at the Athletics SA Grand Prix 4 meeting at the Germiston Stadium yesterday. Kenyan star Omanyala is the African record holder in the 100m with a time of 9.77 seconds, which was set in Nairobi last September. On that occasion, the 26-year-old broke the previous mark of 9.84sec, which belonged to South Africa’s Akani Simbine. That set the tone for the Germiston duel when the duo went head-to-head in the 100m. Omanyala has been in Mzansi for a while and won his 100m race in Potchefstroom last week easily in 10.11, but he saved his best for last. Simbine had the better start in Germiston, taking the lead out of the blocks. But the powerfully-built…

EOH IS “back in the black” and had completed its turnaround strategy, “an important milestone”, the technology firm said as it posted its results for the six months to end-January. In 2019, EOH embarked on a turnaround strategy after it was hit by a corruption scandal the previous year involving its senior directors. Headline earnings per share grew by 214 percent to 41 cents. The group’s operating profit, which includes continued and discontinued operations, amounted to R167 million, compared to the previous year’s R76m. EOH chief executive Stephen van Coller said: “We embarked on a challenging turnaround strategy for the EOH Group, and it has been a tough but truly rewarding journey. “Today we stand together as an agile and focused organisation proudly cele- brating the fact…

The saying “the internet never forgets” may actually be true, for radio and television presenter Pabi Moloi. The Power Weekend Breakfast host recently denied ever being married to Ruan Adams but the internet, however, proved otherwise, when Pabi’s old social media post revealed that she is indeed married. In the since-deleted social media post, Pabi shared, the star is seen holding hands with Adams while wearing matching traditional outfits. The star captioned the post: “So many people got married last week, even me.” However, in a statement issued by her lawyer, Vanessa da Silva of Ulrich Roux, Pabi insisted that she never married Adams. According to recent reports by Sunday World, Pabi, and her estranged “husband” are about to battle it out in court as Ruan demands 50% of everything…

TEENAGE pregnancies in South Africa have been increasing over the past five years, more so over the past two years, during which time access to schools and clinics was limited due to the lockdown. Five public health specialists detailed the pregnancy figures and associated societal issues in an academic study published by the South African Medical Journal. They disaggregated public health data for the study. P Barron, H Subedar, M Letsoko, M Makua and Y Pillay wrote in the study: “ … On the whole, teenage birth rates in rural provinces such as Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape were much higher than in more urbanised provinces such as the Western Cape and Gauteng.” Gauteng and Western Cape had rates of between 35 and 45 births per 1 000 teenagers,…

LOCAL rising star Owami Mkhize, fondly known as DJ Wamz, has revealed intriguing details about her love for music, and how The Smirnoff Shaya Ingoma DJ Search competition opened doors for her. She was exposed to music from a young age through her father, Edgar Mkhize (DJ Mebs), who showcased his artistry as a DJ and producer and drew her close to the world of music. She says she followed suit and took steps to achieve her dream of also becoming a DJ. “I’ve always been exposed to music. My dad would DJ in the garage and in his studio throughout my entire childhood. It’s just something I was always exposed to. I finally followed his footsteps in 2020 during the lockdown when my friends and family pushed me to…

NALEDI Award nominee Thami Tshabalala will return to the Jabulani performance hub with Isenyuso, one of his premier dance pieces. It will run at the Soweto Theatre in his home town from May 5 to May 7. Isenyuso emanates from Tshabalala’s first choreographed dance piece, Simon, which received critical acclaim at the relaunch of the Dance Umbrella in 2019, and at several national dance festivals such as PACE and the Solo and Duet Festival at the Soweto Theatre. It was nominated in the Best Contemporary/Ballet Production category at the Naledi Awards in 2020. Isenyuso is a noun derived from Tshabalala’s native isiZulu language, meaning “ascension”. He said it was a contemporary dance work that detailed a global narrative of individual justice, liberty, representation and the preservation of heritage. All are…

THIS LONG Easter weekend marks a very important and holy time for the Christians the world over. This period calls for deep and honest reflection in our various faiths as we go about with our lives. It is arrogance combined with ignorance to claim to be all knowing and to possess Solomonic wisdom. We must be open to learning every day. Yes many a time we see the world through our own limited worldly experience, socialisation, exposure, knowledge, thinking and understanding. We tend to impose our limitations and assumptions to the world. We define and generalise the world in our limited terms and vocabulary. We tend to think of the world in terms of mutual exclusivity – that is, the inclusion of one concept impliedly excludes the other one. Nowadays…

THE FORGOTTEN SISTER Judy Summers Loot.co.za (R173) ABANDONED and alone, can she find new hope? Liverpool, 1848. Meg Shaw is the middle child of eight siblings, not quite old enough to bring in a wage to help her struggling family, but not young enough to be a babe to be cared for. When the family realise they can't feed all the children, Meg makes a choice. She volunteers to go to the workhouse for one season, and she'll take her little sister, Rosie, with her. As long as they are together, they can make it through. But the moment they enter the workhouse, Meg and Rosie are separated. Abandoned and alone, Meg is determined to make it through, and soon finds herself surrounded by a new family of vulnerable girls…

Saving My Sons - A Journey With Autism Ilana Gerschlowitz, Marion Scher Loot.co.za (R220) Bookstorm ILANA and Martin Gerschlowitz are an ordinary middle-class South African family – young, newly married with a bright, promising future. Ilana falls pregnant and gives birth to David, a happy, healthy baby boy. At 10 months old, David suffers recurring ear infections, and at 11 months old a terrible fever sends him to hospital. David’s behaviour abruptly changes; he no longer looks at his parents, his motor and budding language skills disappear, and the light in his eyes dims. It is the beginning of a journey with autism that few parents would ever want to encounter, yet a staggering number of children are now diagnosed with autism, and the number of diagnoses rises every year.…

South Africa’s disgraceful abstention during the UN General Assembly vote to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council lays bare the moral bankruptcy and depths to which Naledi Pandor and her ANC government have sunk. In the face of glaring evidence of Russian barbarity during her aggressive invasion of Ukraine, Pandor, addressing the Heads of Mission conference, unashamedly states that South Africa “seeks to mediate in global conflicts”. Yes indeed, see just how her Department of International Relations and Co-operation intervened and tried to mediate in the Syrian civil war when Russian fighter jets were bombing schools and hospitals in Aleppo, causing the deaths of thousands of children. See how Pandor tried to mediate when those same Russian aircraft were bombing Edlib and Homs. Her ambassador remained ensconced in…

Minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s remarks about illegal immigrants have stirred up a hornet’s nest. When was the enforcement of the law synonymous with xenophobia? This is pure emotional blackmail because there is stark difference between myth and reality. Let me venture to say that the reason why mankind conceived the concept of government was to manage and lead human affairs. Our government has lamentably failed to carve out a proper strategy to manage illegal immigrants. Does our government know how many foreign nationals reside within our borders? Do we know those who are drawing pension and the child support grants illegally every month, at the cost of taxpayers? On the other side of the coin, when the government asserts itself by enforcing the law on illegal immigrants due to local pressure,…

The 3Sixty Life curatorship has become a soap opera that is likely to impact the reputation of the Prudential Authority (PA) more severely than they attempted to impact the reputation of 3Sixty Life and the curator. First the PA according to BDO lied under oath when it said Yashoda Ram misled it about her qualification and also the PA lied when it said it obtained Ram’s email from the BDO websites. Those two false statements were taken by the PA to court to try to have Ramremoved as curator and replaced with Tinashe Mashoko. The court dismissed this as an incompetent motion, Judge Fischer said she would like allegations made against Ram to be made in oral hearing where people can speak under oath. Is it any wonder that the…

A Ukrainian climber said yesterday she would summit Mount Everest carrying her national flag to boost morale among those fighting the Russian invasion. Antonina Samoilova, 33, will be the only climber from Ukraine attempting to summit a Himalayan peak this season. She is aiming to join the select club of climbers to scale the Seven Summits, the highest mountains on each continent. Her first updates on the war came from a Kyiv bomb shelter. She said her father and brother were fighting in the war. | AFP…

BARRING a strong performance by either Portugal or Argentina at the 2022 World Cup, it does look likely that the latest Ballon d’Or may be the final time that either of Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo win it. Both players have been having one of the worst seasons of their careers by their standards at Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United respectively. At the time of writing, Ronaldo has just 12 Premier League goals for United this term. He had more than double that in Serie A last season for Juventus (29). Ronaldo is currently on course to achieve his lowest goal tally in a league season since 2009, his final season in his first stint with the Red Devils when he scored 18 in that campaign. Ronaldo’s homecoming to United…

BANYANA Banyana coach Desiree Ellis believes her side’s haphazard defending let them down in their 5-1 friendly hammering at the hands of the Netherlands at the Cars Jeans Stadion in The Hague on Tuesday night. The one positive that Banyana can take from the game is that they were competitive against the fifth-ranked Dutch until the end of the first half, although they fell apart thereafter. “I felt that our defending, at times, let us down. We also created chances. At crucial times when it looked like we would come back, we conceded,” Ellis said. “After half-time, we had an opportunity to change the scoreline and didn’t take (our) chances, like the penalty miss. At times I felt that we did not put the ball on the ground as well…

Ramaphosa promises aid, relief AS the flood death toll heads to a 300 mark, the SA Weather Service has warned that rain is expected to return to many provinces ahead of and during the Easter long weekend. The warning comes as most parts of KwaZulu-Natal do not have a water supply to taps and are relying on a defunct water tanker distribution scheme, standpipes and some residents are buying bottled water. Coastal KwaZulu-Natal has been lashed by heavy rain, which according to provincial authorities has claimed at least 259 lives – and still counting – and left a trail of destruction affecting infrastructure, homes and businesses. President Cyril Ramaphosa visited flood-ravaged areas of KZN where he was briefed by Premier Sihle Zikalala on the extent of damage and the…

The Motor Industry Staff Association (Misa) said it has been devastated by the effects the flooding in Durban and surrounding areas will have on the retail motor industry, which is still recovering from the blow of the Covid-19 pandemic. Misa said that in less than a week, after 10 198 light commercial vehicles were either built or assembled at the Prospecton Plant in Durban, images of the flooded plant emerged. Misa CEO Martlé Keyter said that the disaster at Toyota’s headquarters in South Africa could not have struck the motor retail industry at a worse time. “The industry was grateful last week that new vehicles sales broke through a threshold last experienced in October 2019 with over 50 000 new vehicle sales. Domestic new vehicle sales was at 50 607…

Rihanna wasn’t “planning” to have a child. The 34-year-old singer is expecting her first child with boyfriend A$AP Rocky, 33, and has insisted they were just having “fun” in the bedroom and just so happen to get pregnant. Speaking in a cover interview for the May issue of Vogue magazine, Rihanna said when asked if her pregnancy was planned: “Planning? I wouldn’t say planning. But certainly not planning against it. I don’t know when I ovulate or any of that type of s***. We just had fun. “And then it was just there on the test. I didn’t waste any time. I called him inside and showed him. Then I was in the doctor’s office the next morning and our journey began.” The Fenty Beauty founder also revealed that she…

PORTRAIT OF A THIEF Grace D. Li Loot.co.za (R340) Hodder & Stoughton THIS was how things began: Boston on the cusp of autumn, the Sackler Museum robbed of 23 pieces of priceless Chinese art. Even in this back room, dust catching the slant of golden, late-afternoon light, Will could hear the sirens. They sounded like a promise. Will Chen, a Chinese American art history student at Harvard, has spent most of his life learning about the West – its art, its culture, all that it has taken and called its own. He believes art belongs with its creators, so when a Chinese corporation offers him a (highly illegal) chance to reclaim five priceless sculptures, it’s surprisingly easy to say yes. Will’s crew, fellow students chosen out of his boundless optimism…

THE LITTLE WARTIME LIBRARY Kate Thompson Loot.co.za (R240) Hodder & Stoughton LONDON, 1944. Clara Button is no ordinary librarian. While the world remains at war, in East London Clara has created the country’s only underground library, built over the tracks in the disused Bethnal Green tube station. Down here a secret community thrives: with thousands of bunk beds, a nursery, a café and a theatre offering shelter, solace and escape from the bombs that fall above. Along with her glamorous best friend and library assistant Ruby Munroe, Clara ensures the library is the beating heart of life underground. But as the war drags on, the women’s determination to remain strong in the face of adversity is tested to the limits when it seems it may come at the price of…

A RUSTENBURG single mother, who has dedicated her life to caring for her son who has a multitude of incurable diseases, has turned to crowdfunding for assistance. For as long as Marlene Mans, 52, can remember, life has been a struggle for her son, Victor du Plessis, 35, who was born with special needs. “When the nurses handed Victor to me when he was just minutes old, I stared into his eyes and unknowingly gave him the most appropriate name. A ‘victor’ is someone who has overcome an adversary. Considering the battles he’s fought and conquered, it’s a perfect fit,” Mans said. Du Plessis has suffered three strokes, battled diabetes, epilepsy, bleeding on the brain, and a multitude of rare, incurable diseases. Mans said that when he contracted Covid-19 last…

It is my understanding a certain white woman was convicted and sentenced to imprisonment, for racist behaviour, against a black person. I would expect then the government would maintain its neutrality, and treat xenophobic behaviour by black people also as a crime, including any racism by black people toward other races. The law cannot be seen to be favouring one race, or certain people, over others, for the same crimes. Otherwise, the Constitution must first be amended and discriminatory statutes passed by Parliament. And if this is the preferred route whenever government failures have worsened inequality, then we could return to democratic but segregational policies: if such a thing exists, where foreigners, particularly from Africa, are barred by a specific law from certain areas and economic zones. And concerning the…

For any business to improve its productivity, it is important for the staff to be satisfied. Businesses can suffer tremendously if staff members are not satisfied at their place of work. A staff member who feels demotivated, deflated and unenthusiastic will have a ripple effect throughout the business. Immediately, employers can notice a slump in team spirit and morale, deadlines being met reluctantly, customers complaining of bad service and team members being the target of staff dissatisfaction. Managers and customers can easily just tell a team member it is their job, hence they need to do this. But the reality is that if a team member is feeling out of place at work, their effort is not being recognised, and perhaps they are feeling dissatisfied with the working conditions, it…

China’s lockdowns to contain the country’s worst Covid-19 outbreak since early 2020 have battered the world’s second-largest economy, stalling production in major cities like Shanghai, and halting spending by millions of people shut in their homes. The restrictions are intended to eradicate any trace of the virus in the community, but they’ve also pressured everything from manufacturing and trade to inflation and food prices. Premier Li Keqiang has repeatedly warned of risks to economic growth, telling local authorities on Monday they should “add a sense of urgency” when implementing existing policies. The government is holding firm to its Covid Zero approach for now, a strategy economists say will push growth down to 5% this year, below the official target of around 5.5%. China posted sluggish commodities imports in March, as…