Innholdsfortegnelse for 2022-11-22 i Star

In a joint statement, SABC1 and Uzalo announced two of their key characters, Pastor Gwala, played by Menzi Biyela, and Nosipho, played by Nompilo Maphumulo, will be leaving. The characters will exit the popular soapie at the beginning of season nine, early next year. Maphumulo has been with Uzalo since its debut on SABC1 and her character has grown over the years. Viewers have seen her go head to head with Nkuzi (Masoja Josiah Msiza) over her father’s estate, making her his enemy and, in so doing, almost getting buried alive. She has had her fair share of lovers, from dating ruthless criminal Amos, to and the abusive Njeza, until she found her prince charming in Pastor Gwala. Nosipho may have started out as a gangster’s daughter, but…

CITY of Joburg MMC for group corporate and shared services Leah Knott, said the multiparty government was working hard to ensure all municipal services run smoothly in spite of problems with service providers. Knott said about 47 of the metro’s vehicle fleet were withdrawn by Avis, placing service delivery at risk. But she said the city was still in negotiations to get the vehicles back. Some of the seized vehicles would affect the operations of the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD). “The non-specialised fleet contract, which covers JMPD vans, City Power bakkies, Joburg Water trucks and other branded regular vehicles, was already in its second extension, despite National Treasury ruling the portion of the contract with Afri-rent to be irregular and having to be cancelled. I must state for…

The SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) has slammed City of Joburg’s economic development MMC Nkululeko Mbundu over his threats to fire municipal administrators over service delivery-related issues. In a council meeting last week, Mbundu said if it were up to him, he would fire all politically-linked administrators because they created blockages in the delivery of services. Mbundu is an ActionSA councillor and a member of the multi-party government, which has had tense relations with workers who were employed during the ANC’s term in office. The comment has created an uproar from opposition parties and Samwu. Samwu chairperson Esther Matyana told The Star that the union had demanded a meeting with the MMC. She said Mbundu’s comments had left workers worried about their job security. “The MMC must realise that we…

The Joy of Jazz takes the magic of jazz to the youth with an empowering skills workshop tomorrow, from 10am to 3pm at Joburg Theatre. The workshop is devised to empower music students and young people with dreams of a career in music, with valuable knowledge and insights. This also allows students to build relationships with the musicians as mentors. The workshop, as an investment in the future careers of young musicians, is at the heart of this year’s focus on recovery for the festival after a two-year Covid-19-related hiatus. Focused on imparting actionable, useful, and relevant skills, the workshop also creates a welcoming context for young people to access experienced musicians. A league of award-winning musicians will take turns giving classes on key subjects and learning areas throughout the…

Many voters are becoming increasingly sceptical and concerned about coalition governments at local level. Apart from Mangaung and Buffalo City, every other metro council – and dozens of other town councils – have coalition administrations, many working very well. Some not well. If opinion polls are to be believed and with by-election trends that consistently show ANC slippage, it is becoming clearer that coalition governments at all levels are either here to stay or on their way in. Paul Mashatile, a will-he-or-won’t-he aspirant for the Presidency of our country, has been told by the EFF that if he becomes president, the EFF will be prepared to go into coalition with the ANC. Mashatile must be careful, the last person clasped to his bosom by Julius Malema, Herman Mashaba, became known…

Dr Ahmed Jazbhay, in his comment in The Star, seems to be rather economical with the truth. He keeps claiming that the appointment of Israel as an observer in the AU was a unilateral decision. The truth is that Israel was appointed by most African countries, despite the South African objections, but to the great advantage of all the African countries, including South Africa. He talks a great deal about colonisation. If Jazbhay knew his history, he would know that this land of Israel was inhabited by the first Jew, Abraham, 2 500 years ago. Since then, the Jews have occupied this land, even after being exiled and expelled by conquerors like the Romans, Babylonians and Turks and British, always to return and settle there once again. They have…

3Sixty Life fights on, Ubank is gone. Workers have lost a bank and they are about to lose an insurance company. Judge Fiona Dippenaar took seven months to release the first judgment of 3Sixty Life curatorship in which she ruled to keep 3Sixty Life under curatorship. She even went further and removed Yashoda Ram as curator, replacing her with Tinashe Moshoko. To recap, the Prudential Authority placed 3Sixty Life under Curatorship after 3Sixty Life breached its minimum capital requirement (MCR) and solvency capital requirement (SCR). 3Sixty Life argued in court that it has provided the capitalisation that would enable it to meet the MCR. The regulator has given concession for all insurance companies who have breached SCR due to Covid-19 an exemption. 3Sixty Life falls into that category of insurance…

Nothing is going to disrupt France in their opening World Cup game against Australia – not Karim Benzema’s absence, and especially not the ‘One Love’ armband row in Qatar, captain Hugo Lloris said yesterday. The defending champions start their campaign in Group D tonight, looking to beat the Socceroos just like they did to kick off their 2018 journey in Russia. They have been hit by a series of injuries, which ruled out key midfielders N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba, and most recently Ballon d’Or winner Benzema, who left the squad in the early hours of Sunday after withdrawing with a thigh injury, and centre-back Presnel Kimpembe. “We still believe in our chances, in our squad. The last-minute withdrawals, especially Karim’s, did not help,” Lloris said. “But I want to…

The Gauteng provincial legislature’s portfolio committee on safety and security has expressed concern about the spate of senseless killings that continue to plague the province. This follows the fatal shooting of popular local musician Oupa John Sefoka, known as DJ Sumbody, while with his bodyguard in Woodmead in the early hours of Sunday. In a separate incident, the committee received reports of the alleged fatal shooting of Refentse Mangope, who was employed as a liaison officer in Gauteng legislature speaker Ntombi Mekgwe’s office. It was reported that he was shot dead on Friday night in Randfontein. Of greatest concern to the committee is the apparent execution- style killing in both incidents, which points to a motive beyond acts of criminality. The committee revealed there have been no arrests in either…

There is modern-day piracy unfolding globally and yet, it is ignored. After the Russian/Ukraine conflict erupted, many states, mainly in the West, imposed sanctions on Russia. A facet of the sanctions is to pursue those who are said to be close to Vladimir Putin, the so-called oligarchs whose properties are being seized globally, the most prized being their yachts. The oligarchs have clearly acquired their wealth illegally as they are the beneficiaries of the extensive looting of state assets in Russia after the collapse of Communism. The irony is that the assets have been invested in the West, fuelling the economies of these countries, with no criticism – until Putin lost his head and invaded Ukraine. Who will be the beneficiary of the seized assets? Are the countries ever going…

This was clearly an aspirational statement, not a statement of fact, otherwise we will say we were lied to. A rendezvous is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as “a prearranged or regular meeting place.” Steve Biko and all the student leaders of our time, like Barney Pityana, Harry Nengwenkulu, Henry Isaacs, Onkgopotse Tiro, Thenjiwe Mtintso, Edna Van Harte, Saths Cooper, Thoko Mpumlwana, Mamphela Ramphele, Strini Moodley, Mapetla Mohapi, Bennie Khoapa and many other Black Consciousness leaders had this bright future in their minds, which made us, as their followers, in the early ’70, when raising the clenched black fist in the air, believe that freedom was around the corner. It would take another 20 years before our dreams were realised, that we arrived at the rendezvous of victory, in 1994.…

Iran launched deadly missile and drone strikes overnight on Sunday against Iranian Kurdish opposition groups based in Iraq whom it accuses of stoking unrest inside the Islamic republic. One Kurdish peshmerga fighter was reported killed in mountainous northern Iraq, where two of the groups said their bases had been targeted in the latest such barrage of aerial attacks in recent months. Iran has been shaken by over two months of protests sparked by the death of Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, 22, after her arrest for allegedly breaching the strict dress code for women. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has repeatedly struck Kurdish dissident groups based in Iraq, whom it labels “separatist anti-Iranian terrorist groups”. One of the groups, the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), said it was hit…

SOUTH African Poultry producers (Sapa) will have to continue to “take one for the team” at least for the next 18 months as the International Trade Administration Commission (Itac) takes on a sunset review of US anti-dumping tariffs, which expire tomorrow. Itac earlier this month begun a sunset review of the US’s tariffs on concerns by the Sapa and poultry producers in the SA Customs Union area. Itac decided the application had “sufficient evidence and a prima facie case” to justify an investigation on concerns that the expiry of the tariff period without a new one in place could lead to percentage-based, or ad valorem, anti-dumping duties such as apply to other countries. “This was a last-minute condition imposed by the US for its agreement to an extension of…

Having been in the music industry for 16 years, soulful songstress SPHEMusic is now establishing herself as an artist with the release of her debut album Beautiful. Born Siphelele Sokhela, the musician has had a passion for music from a young age and would bug her elder brother DJ Sox, (Mbusi Sokhela), who is one of the founding members of Durban’s Finest, to put her on a song. She eventually got him to give her an opportunity to record a demo and her voice was heard by fellow Durbanite DJ Bongz, who featured her on his smash hit As long as you love me. This all happened while Sphe was still in high school, igniting her career in the musical space. Having been a part of a choir, the musician…

OPPOSITION parties have criticised President Cyril Ramaphosa for his international trips to the UK and Northern Ireland as the country faces an energy quagmire that is reaching critical and crisis proportions. They say that even though there were ministers responsible for Eskom’s oversight, such as Energy’s Gwede Mantashe and Public Enterprises’ Pravin Gordhan, it was Ramaphosa who had to steady the ship. Ramaphosa is due to hold talks with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and will be hosted by King Charles III over the two-day visit. The visit takes place amid uncertainty over energy security and increasing levels of load shedding as power utility Eskom needs money to buy diesel; public service workers are expected to embark on strike action today and the Monetary Policy Committee is expected to increase…

THOUSANDS of public sector unions affiliated to Cosatu, Fedusa and Saftu are set to descend on the National Treasury headquarters in Pretoria to demand the government reverse its unilateral 3% salary increases. The marchers are expected to gather at Burgers Park in Pretoria in their thousands, while other members hold various protest actions in the nine provinces. In the capital, the protesters will march to the National Treasury offices on Madiba Street to hand over a list of demands to Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana or any other designated official. During the Public Servants Association (PSA) march on November 10, thousands of its members had expected President Cyril Ramaphosa to accept the memorandum, but he and Godongwana were reportedly in Kenya. Their absence outraged the scores of PSA members who…

Ward councillor Velile “Vivi” Khumalo is a former public servant who occupied a strategic position in the government, that of chief financial officer. He became a councillor in 2016, under the ANC banner. He is a hands-on councillor. When the residents experience electricity challenges, he personally calls Eskom to attend to the problem. Khumalo served in the municipal government and district municipality at the same time. He was on various committees, resulting in him having a heavy workload. However, that did not prevent him from serving his constituency diligently. Last year, during the municipal government elections, the community voted for him again. This shows that the ward 9 residents have confidence in him and are happy with his work. Khumalo has been dreaming of building a park for children…

YET another child, a 3-year-old, was savagely mauled to death by two pit bull terriers in Phomolong in the Free State on Sunday morning. Last week a boy, also from the Free State, was fatally bitten by a pit bull at his home in Vista Park, near Bloemfontein. As the public outcry to ban pit bulls gains momentum, the government last week met breeders, its first move in trying to put an end to the vicious attacks that have stunned the nation. We hope this was not another talk shop – all bark and no bite from our leaders. The nature vs nature debate has raged on long enough, with more and more lives lost and people maimed in violent dog attacks while the authorities figure out what to about…

It is not far-fetched to say that if the Springboks successfully defend their World Cup crown in France next year, they will look back to Genoa as the day they turned the corner. Never again do the Boks have to solely rely on boring box kicking and set-piece domination as the only way they can win rugby games. The nine tries they scored were beautifully crafted and then finished with deadly efficiency, and this surely has given them the confidence to take their game up a level, which they have to do because the suffocation game that worked in 2019 will not work in 2023. I hear the pessimists saying that Italy are weak but that is nonsense. Wales, Samoa and Australia — Italy’s last three (defeated) opponents will confirm…

Spain coach Luis Enrique said it would be “unfair” if Argentina great Lionel Messi were never to win the World Cup – but the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner is running out of time and opportunities. Alongside Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, the Qatar extravaganza will probably be the fifth and last World Cup for one of the two outstanding players of their generation believed by many to be the two greatest footballers of all time. Unlike previous contenders for the title of greatest of all time – Brazil’s Pele and Diego Maradona of Argentina – at least one, and maybe both, will never lift football’s greatest prize. Yet in the case of Messi, this may well be his best chance yet to win that elusive prize. He cut a distraught figure in…

It is true that the Springboks will be in action against England this weekend, but there will also be the business of a resumed United Rugby Championship (URC) to look forward to. All the South African franchises – the Bulls, Lions, Sharks and Stormers – will be in action from Friday onwards as they host the Ospreys, Dragons, Cardiff and Scarlets, respectively. They will do so after a month-long hiatus from the competition, which afforded the Test matches to be played in the northern hemisphere. While not speaking for the rest of the SA teams, Stormers assistant coach Norman Laker revealed that the recent break had done the Cape-based side only good, and one can imagine that will be true of the other franchises, too. “It was a nice break…