Innholdsfortegnelse for CA-2021-04-01 i Cape Argus

Jamal Grootboom jamald.grootboom@inl.co.za South African actor Lesley-Ann Brandt has wrapped up her scenes on the final season of Lucifer and posted a message saying goodbye to her character, Maze Mazikeen. Taking to Twitter, Brandt wrote an ode to her character Mazikeen, who she has portrayed since 2016. “Here we are, at the end of our journey you and I. We have laughed and cried, loved and lost and now we say goodbye, you and I. “Ever faithful to your story, ever faithful to your journey, your body, your heart. Never more to speak as you speak but never without your words. Grateful am I for seasons. Grateful I am for lessons. Grateful I am for challenges. Grateful I am.” She continued: “Blessed are the memories we share, you and I.…

Kangaroo courts linked to high crime levels and loss of faith in criminal justice system Nomalanga Tshuma nomalanga.tshuma@inl.co.za VIGILANTE justice is rearing its ugly head again in different townships around Cape Town, with several deaths being blamed on kangaroo courts, which community leaders have linked to loss of faith in the criminal justice system. This week four people were killed during mob justice attacks in the city, among them an unidentified man whose body was discovered burnt beyond recognition and dumped in the garden of a local primary school in Browns Farm, Philippi. The case, which has been registered by police for further investigation, mimics another incident that occurred in Ravensmead. According to Philippi/Hanover Park community police forum (CPF)chairperson Abraham Ebrahim, the body of a woman was found burnt…

Kangaroo courts linked to high crime levels and loss of faith in criminal justice system Nomalanga Tshuma nomalanga.tshuma@inl.co.za VIGILANTE justice is rearing its ugly head again in different townships around Cape Town, with several deaths being blamed on kangaroo courts, which community leaders have linked to loss of faith in the criminal justice system. This week four people were killed during mob justice attacks in the city, among them an unidentified man whose body was discovered burnt beyond recognition and dumped in the garden of a local primary school in Browns Farm, Philippi. The case, which has been registered by police for further investigation, mimics another incident that occurred in Ravensmead. According to Philippi/Hanover Park community police forum (CPF)chairperson Abraham Ebrahim, the body of a woman was found burnt…

Kailene Pillay kailene.pillay@inl.co.za The extremely high number of medical negligence cases is crippling the Department of Health (DOH) as money that could be used for resources and filling vacancies were being redirected to legal battles. This has been revealed by Auditor General (AG) Tsakani Maluleke. Speaking at a media briefing yesterday, Maluleke said the financial status of a number of departments continued to be “alarming”, especially the provincial departments of health and education. The AG 2019/2020 general report is on the audit outcomes for the national and provincial departments. According to Maluleke, medical negligence claims were often under-budgeted for. The Western Cape continued to produce the best results with 70% clean audits. Every auditee in the province, except for one, submitted their annual financial statements on time for auditing. In…

Siyabonga Mkhwanazi siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Thoko Didiza says government is still pushing to fast-track land reform despite years of delays. Didiza was briefing members of the ad hoc committee on land expropriation yesterday when she said they had put in place intervention measures to speed up land reform. After 1994 the government had planned to redistribute 30 million hectares of land within five years. That target was not met. Some of the problems encountered included the slow pace of processing land claims due to the shortage of staff at the Land Claims Court. The government’s restitution claims were slow because of issues around policy and legislation, said Didiza. Some of the problems related to research on validating claims. “Again, the acquisition strategy was through the…

MWANGI GITHAHU mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za WESTERN Cape municipalities continue to lead the rest of the country with regard to selected aspects of service delivery, such as sewerage and sanitation, according to the 2019 Non-Financial Census of Municipalities (NFCM). The NFCM keeps track of all 257 municipalities, providing data on service delivery, indigent households, bucket toilets and the size of the municipal workforce. Releasing the results, Statistics South Africa deputy director-general Joe de Beer said: “According to 2019 estimates, 12.5 million consumer units received sewerage and sanitation services from municipalities across the country, and 18.7% of these consumer units had access to free basic sewerage and sanitation. “Western Cape showed the highest proportion of consumer units that benefited from free basic sewerage and sanitation at 47.9%, followed by Eastern Cape with 32.5%…

FOR followers of the biblical way, the Christian calendar this week communicates great sacrifice, deep spiritual significance and a restoration of hope. The church of God remembers and confesses that Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again. Jesus known as the son of God, the Messiah, journeyed into Jerusalem on a donkey all those years ago not only symbolising peace but also embodying peace. Christ showed us an excellent example of peace and his death showed us all to believe in something bigger than ourselves. Many people around the world started this week with the remembrance of the triumphant entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. Jesus the son of God riding into the holy city on a borrowed donkey has for centuries inspired a time of…

Mwangi Githahu mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB) chief executive Mamodupi Mohlala-Mulaudzi has said High Court Judge Derek Wille erred in his ruling on the defamation suit between her and DA MP Emma Powell over a tweet. Mohlala-Mulaudzi sued for defamation after a 2019 tweet by Powell said: “Today, a meeting between EAAB management and Nehawu shop stewards was terminated when increasingly rogue CEO Mohlala-Mulaudzi’s husband/partner allegedly walked on to the state entity’s premises and produced a firearm.” In a ruling delivered on March 26, Judge Wille gave Mohlala-Mulaudzi 10 days to hand over documents requested by Powell. The documents are from complaints made about Mohlala-Mulaudzi and court papers in another defamation action she has brought against fellow EAAB board member Eugenia Kula-Ameyaw. In 2019, Mohlala-Mulaudzi sued Kula-Ameyaw for R1.5…

A college science professor and an aerospace data analyst were named on Tuesday to round out a four-member crew for a SpaceX launch into orbit planned later this year billed as the first all-civilian space flight in history. The two latest citizen astronauts were introduced at a news briefing livestreamed from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida by SpaceX human spaceflight chief Benji Reed and billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, who conceived the mission in part as a charity drive. Isaacman, founder and chief executive of e-commerce firm Shift4 Payments, is forking out an unspecified but presumably exorbitant sum to fellow billionaire and SpaceX owner Elon Musk to fly himself and three others into orbit aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. The flight, scheduled for no earlier than September 15, is…

Alphabet Inc’s Google has reached licensing deals with over 600 news outlets around the world and is seeing a “huge increase” in users requesting more content from specific publications as part of a new programme, it said yesterday. The update comes as big internet service providers including Facebook Inc have been locked in bitter disputes over fair compensation to publishers. Google is continuing to negotiate with additional publishers, including in the US, to spend $1 billion (about R14.7bn) for what it calls News Showcase. The programme through 2023 is Google’s biggest effort to invest in an industry that blames tech giants for siphoning its advertising revenue. Combined, Facebook and Google control over half of the digital advertising market. Google is exercising little oversight over publishers’ use of the money.…

MIHLALI BALEKA Comment PITSO MOSIMANE. That should be the one and only name on the South African Football Association’s shopping list as they embark on a journey to find a replacement for Molefi Ntseki. Ntseki failed to guide Bafana Bafana to the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations after a bitterly disappointing 2-0 loss away to Sudan which ensured that they missed out on the continental showpiece as they finished third in Group C behind leaders Ghana and the Falcons of Jediane. Ntseki's appointment as Bafana coach shouldn’t have been made in the first place. This is a man who had made a name for himself by inspiring the Under-17 national team, Amajimbos, to the World Cup and deputising for his predecessors, including Stuart Baxter. But after Safa fired Ntseki yesterday,…

book Hollywood star Sharon Stone thinks victims of harassment deserve their "day in court". The 63-year-old star has revealed stories of misbehaviour by men in Hollywood in her memoir, The Beauty of Living Twice, and she's come out in support of women who have been harassed, saying they deserve their "day in court". She writes: "I know that all of these women and men who have been harassed, been raped, had their jobs held for ransom, and been sexually tormented deserve their day in court. I know that to be true. "I know that all of the unprocessed rape kits on police shelves everywhere must be processed so that crimes can be solved. This inaction is a true and real crime in itself." In her book, Stone detailed her experience…

Sisonke Mlamla sisonke.mlamla@inl.co.za Transport and Public Works MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela said yesterday that the province was expecting a busier Easter holiday season this year as more South Africans from other provinces travelled to the Western Cape. The Western Cape government and the Department of Transport and Public Works launched its road safety plan. Madikizela said every person must be on high alert so that they did not get infected with or spread Covid-19 during their stay. The launch, at Gene Louw Traffic College in Brackenfell, formed part of the province’s 365-day approach towards road safety. Madikizela said the Western Cape’s approved Easter plan would kick in from today. It included the Easter weekend, April 1-April 6, and Freedom Day and Workers’ Day long weekend, school closure and reopening, April…

Mwangi Githahu mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za THE SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) said that the yet-to-be-released Pfizer vaccine was so far the only one approved for an emergency roll-out across the general population, according to Sahpra chief executive Dr Boitumelo Semete. Semete told a briefing of the legislature’s Covid-19 ad hoc committee that the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccines, which are being given to healthcare workers under Phase 1 of the roll-out, are currently part of a trial and not for general roll-out among the population. “Several pre-submission meetings were held with prospective vaccine manufacturers to ascertain, among other things, application requirements including the available information applicants have to support their applications.” At the same time the provincial Health Department told the committee that the J&J vaccines came in batches from…

Mayibongwe Maqhina mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za SIXTEEN EFF MPs face the prospect of their salaries being docked for a month after they were found guilty of various charges of contempt of Parliament. The MPs are said to have blocked Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan from delivering his budget vote speech in July 2019. Their conduct was referred to the Powers and Privileges Committee after an investigation by the sub-committee on physical removal of members from the chamber. The sub-committee found that their conduct halted Gordhan from delivering his speech and/or intimidated him, which constituted a breach of the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act. When the matter came to the committee, the EFF objected to it. This did not stop advocate Ncumisa Mayosi from initiating the inquiry…

Mwangi Githahu mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za PREMIER Alan Winde is studying a report from the Office of the Public Protector that found Transport and Public Works MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela guilty of a breach of the executive ethics code by lying in the legislature. In a report released yesterday, Acting Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka said: “The allegation that MEC Madikizela wilfully made false and misleading statements to the legislature about (Good Party MPL) Brett Herron on July 23, 2019, is substantiated. By wilfully misleading the legislature about the achievements or lack thereof of one of its members, Madikizela did not act in a way that is consistent with his office. Instead of withdrawing the false statement, and apologising to the legislature and Herron, Madikizela tried to change the obvious meaning of his…

Mphathi Nxumalo mphathi.nxumalo@inl.co.za A GROUP of Indian expatriates feared returning to work at the Durban Port after a “community forum” prevented the 32 men from leaving their accommodation on the Bluff. Ramulu Dandiboniya said they had arrived from India about two years ago to build 36-metre diameter tanks including floating roofs and Geodesic domes. Part of the project included sharing skills with South Africans. Last week, they were prevented from leaving their accommodation, and they felt fearful. “They (the community forum) were shouting slogans that we could not understand,” he said. Dandiboniya, the project manager for VJ Tanks, said they worked on the project with Stefanutti Stocks, and the situation had deteriorated to the point where the Consulate of India had to get food to the men because they were…

FAROUK ARAIE | GAUTENG THE careless outburst of Dali Mpofu SC at the State Capture Inquiry is tantamount to gross judicial misconduct. The judiciary is a very noble profession steeped in history and tradition. Judicial officers are expected to uphold those customs as they traverse the profession. Recently it has been observed with great disenchantment the slow erosion of established etiquette practices. Mpofu’s aggressive style of presenting legal arguments are crude acts of judicial intimidation. Aggressive lawyers act without respect for others. This damages interpersonal relationships, leading to an un-cooperative environment that makes resolution or agreement impossible. Maintaining a decorum in and around a judicial environment is not merely a superficial means of protecting the image of lawyers and judges, it is absolutely essential to the administration of…

Adding the nutrient selenium to diets protects against obesity and provides metabolic benefits to mice, according to a study published today in eLife. The results could lead to interventions that reproduce many of the anti-ageing effects associated with dietary restriction while also allowing people to eat as normal. Several types of diet have been shown to increase healthspan – that is, the period of healthy lifespan. One of the proven methods in many organisms, including non-human mammals, is to restrict dietary intake of an amino acid called methionine. Recent studies have suggested that the effects of methionine restriction on healthspan are likely to be conserved in humans. Although it might be feasible for some people to practice methionine restriction, for example, by adhering to a vegan diet, such a diet…

ONLY last year, the notion of online learning was considered taboo by most parents as learners relied primarily on traditional physical classes before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. In unprecedented circumstances, the government imposed a hard lockdown in March last year, forcing learners to stay home as the Covid-19 death toll surged. Education expert and prominent campaigner for virtual learning Janessa Leita said as sceptical parents were left with no options, virtual learning was introduced to many children – and many have remained on that path even when traditional schools reopened in the revised lockdown. “Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which even now has not been eradicated, the school calendar still remains under threat. From time to time adjustments to the lockdown have been made, and the new regulations…

Ashfak Mohamed ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za AFTER about 17.3 seconds of an epic 200m duel on Tuesday, Akani Simbine was still in the lead against Wayde van Niekerk. The 100m Commonwealth Games champion had roared out of the blocks, and kept his shape impressively beyond his specialist distance against the 400m Olympic champion and world record-holder. The fact that Simbine managed to hold on for such a long time speaks volumes about his development as a sprinter. While Van Niekerk glided past him in the final metres to win in 20.10sec, his good friend can be delighted about the 20.29 he posted – in the rain as well. It’s a pity the times won’t count towards world lists due to a 2.1 metres per second tailwind, but the performances prove that the two…

K-pop’s BTS calls for end to rising anti-Asian racism on Tuesday, South Korea’s K-pop music group BTS called for an end to anti-Asian racism and said it had also suffered racist abuse which had made them feel powerless and hurt their self esteem. BTS, the first K-pop group to ever receive a Grammy Award nomination, made the appeal in a statement posted on Twitter along with hashtags #StopAsianHate and #StopAAPIHate. In an apparent reference to the shootings in Georgia, Atlanta, on March 16, where six out of eight victims were Asian, the group wrote: “We send our deepest condolences to those who have lost their loved one.” The shootings have stoked fears among those in the Asian-American Pacific Islander community, which has reported a spike in hate crimes since March…

Sihle Mavuso sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za FORMER president Jacob Zuma’s supporters are preparing to head back to Nkandla to guard his home and thwart his looming arrest as expectations mount that the Constitutional Court will order his jailing, setting the SAPS to arrest him. Late last week the court heard from the Zondo Commission, which is probing allegations of state capture between 2009 and 2018, how Zuma defied its ruling of late January this year and refused to appear to testify. Through advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, the commission said Zuma not only defied a legally binding instruction, but went on to insult the judges and the courts. As such, the commission asked the court to jail the former president for two years, because his defiance was a grave matter. Now those close to Zuma…

PROMINENT Ndebele activist Thando Mahlangu said yesterday his recent humiliation at Boulders mall in Midrand should generate change and bring about equality among South Africa’s 11 official languages. The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission) on Thursday kicked off hearings in relation to the incident last week in which Mahlangu was confronted by Boulders shopping centre manager Jose Maponyane and asked to leave after being told his traditional attire was “indecent”. Maponyane has since been suspended by Redefine Properties after a video of the confrontation went viral. Mahlangu told the African News Agency (ANA) that he hopes that his horrendous experience will benefit cultural activists, as well as artists. “I wish good things could come out of this,…

Sisonke Mlamla sisonke.mlamla@inl.co.za AFTER dedicating more than 47 years to improving the education system in the province, the head of the Western Cape’s Education Department (WCED), Brian Schreuder had his last day at the office yesterday. Schreuder, who retired yesterday, said it has been “an unbelievable privilege” to work with the people there. He said there have been “fantastic principals, committed teachers, wonderful officials” and “particularly the amazing children of this province and this country”. “I am very proud of the initiatives launched during my time. The literacy and numeracy strategies were an example, the e-learning strategy that has now moved to digital learning and blended learning, will set them on the way for real 21st century education," he said. WCED spokesperson Bronagh Hammond said it was a sad day…

Mthuthuzeli Ntseku mthuthuzeli.ntseku@inl.co.za WITH Easter weekend approaching, churches are gearing up to celebrate the Passover in a rather unique fashion for the first time since the outbreak of Covid-19. On Tuesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said religious gatherings over the Easter period will be restricted to 250 people indoors and 500 outdoors. He said where the venue was too small to accommodate the numbers with appropriate social distancing, no more than 50% of the capacity of the venue may be used. Ramaphosa also cautioned congregants not to gather outside their usual places of worship and not to sleep over after services. The Anglican Church of Southern Africa said its main services will have to be shorter than usual as there will be fewer people in their churches. “But especially in…

The Washington Post Shortly after evidence emerged that a new coronavirus was spreading in the Chinese city of Wuhan in January last year, speculation mounted about the origins of the lethal pathogen. Right-wing news outlets in the US published tendentious and thinly sourced reports that the virus may have come from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, famous in the scientific community for researching coronaviruses in bats. In April, President Donald Trump suspended US funding for the World Health Organization, which he accused of being subservient to Chinese officials, and said that the US government was investigating the lab as a potential source of the virus. “A lot of people are looking at it – it seems to make sense,” he said. Since then, more information has accumulated that the…

Staff Reporter MOT South Africa recently hosted its first MOT Coaches’ Basic Education for the year at Fairmont Secondary School in Grassy Park. MOT is an organisation that was started in Norway by two former Olympic speedskaters, Atle Vårvik and Johann Olav Koss, who wanted to prevent social problems by setting up programmes in several communities targeting the youth. The organisation is active on five continents and on March 26 and 27, MOT South Africa hosted 26 participants who included principals, educators, social workers and community volunteers who were trained as MOT Coaches. The participants came from several schools like Fairmont, Zeekoevlei and Lotus High Schools, alongside three community organisations – JP21 Foundation, Amy Foundation, Mbekweni Youth Centre and Rotary Foundation. MOT South Africa partnered with The Rotary Club…

Zaahier Adams zaahier.adams@inl.co.za CAPE Town City coach Jan Olde Riekerink is approaching the final phase of the season like “another bubble”. City were the form team when the 2019/20 season resumed after lockdown when all the teams were placed in a bio-bubble in Gauteng to finish off the season. It was the Dutchman’s first season in charge at the Citizens and he was able to turnaround a campaign that had been floundering. City have not been that poor this season – in fact they have played beautiful football on occasion – but have not always managed to get the results required. Their latest stretch of games has been particularly disappointing with City unable to pick up a victory in their last seven league outings. But with the season approaching the…

Ashfak Mohamed ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za “TRUST the process. I am building on something completely different.” That is what Wayde van Niekerk posted on Twitter after emerging victorious in the 200m at the Athletics South Africa Invitational in Johannesburg on Tuesday. And didn’t he just have to “trust the process” in that race. His good mate Akani Simbine had taken him head-on, blasting out of the blocks to create a lead over the first 100 metres. Just as it looked as if Van Niekerk had caught up with him at the bend, though, Simbine put in another forward spurt. At that point, it looked like the 100m star had enough gas to go all the way, but while Van Niekerk kept going at a consistent pace, Simbine began slowing down and the 400m…