Innholdsfortegnelse for CA-2021-04-21 i Cape Argus

Sisonke Mlamla sisonke.mlamla@inl.co.za A TAXI owner has been shot dead and a passenger injured during a shooting near the Kuwait long-distance taxi rank in Khayelitsha. Police spokesperson Noloyiso Rwexana said circumstances surrounding the incident in Site C are being investigated by provincial detectives. Rwexana said 52-year-old Goodman Lomboza was shot and fatally wounded while a 38-year-old woman was wounded in Njongo Street near the garage. “The wounded victim was taken to a medical facility. Cases of murder and attempted murder were opened and police and detectives are pursuing the suspects,” she said. Congress for Democratic Taxi Associations spokesperson Andile Khanyi said the association was grieving the loss of their Lomboza, who was killed at about 4.30am yesterday. Khanyi said there were no clear details of what led to the…

Zintle Mahlati zintle.mahlati@inl.co.za The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has nominated six candidates to fill vacancies at the Gauteng High Court division – one of the busiest divisions in the country. The JSC has for the past week interviewed candidates to fill crucial judicial vacancies in the country’s courts. Yesterday it concluded interviews with eight candidates for Gauteng. The commission has chosen the following candidates: Judge Nelisa Phiwokazi, who is transferring from Mpumalanga; advocate Petrus Malindi SC; Norman Manoim; Mandla Mbongwe; advocate Portia Phahlane; and magistrate Mashudu Munzhelele. During the interviews, candidates were questioned on reserved judgments – it’s a general rule that judges should do their best to deliver judgments within three months of hearing a court matter. A delayed judgment may be deemed justice denied. Munzhelele, a regional magistrate…

Kristin Engel krisitin.engel@inl.co.za PHILIPPI bus driver, Luzuko Nicholas Mgudlwa won Golden Arrow Driver of the Year award at the bus company’s annual awards ceremony. The ceremony was held at the River Club to reward and recognise outstanding driving and excellent customer service skills at Golden Arrow, with cash prizes and certificates. The drivers are assigned points throughout the year based on their dress code, late coming, absenteeism and customer complaints, the top drivers then qualify for the K53 test, which determine their eligibility for the semi-finals. The winners of the semi-finals then compete in the manoeuvring and vehicle-inspection components of the finals to determine the winners. Seven of this year’s finalists found themselves in the top 10 for the first time. Mgudlwa won the top spot and the…

Siyabonga Mkhwanazi siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za The power cuts implemented by Eskom have forced the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy to procure additional energy. This information was part of the presentation made by senior officials of the department before the National Assembly’s minerals and energy committee yesterday in support of the department’s decision to procure 2 000MW of renewable energy from independent power producers. The department’s director-general, Thabo Mokoena, and deputy director-general, Jacob Mbele, also rejected claims of political interference in the procurement process. They said everything was above aboard in selecting the bidders to produce renewable energy to be added to the national grid. Mbele said Eskom has had load-shedding for some time and to go for renewable energy was a measure to ensure the supply of electricity. “Why has it…

Sisonke Mlamla sisonke.mlamla@inl.co.za THE Legal Resources Centre (LRC) said it was in a process to request the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) to provide a detailed plan on measures to reduce high numbers of unplaced learners in the province, and to make sure that the placement of those learners does not result in overcrowding. LRC spokesperson Thabo Ramphobole said the organisation was gravely concerned about the increasingly high number of unplaced learners in schools in the province. Ramphobole said the WCED has recently stated that they were working hard to place the remaining learners in schools. However, they said they were concerned about the fact that those learners have missed a term, and counting of learning. “We therefore call on the WCED to put in place measures to ensure that…

Mwangi Githahu mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za THE Western Cape First Nations Collective, comprising the majority of Khoi and San leaders in the Cape Peninsula, has applauded the City’s approval of the controversial R4 billion River Club development as a phenomenal victory. However, the Observatory Civic Association (OCA), which has led a battle against the development, said it would continue with its court challenge. The collective’s spokesperson, Zenzile Khoisan, said the developer’s undertaking to introduce elements celebrating Khoi cultural heritage at the site broke the curse of invisibility that First Nations people have had to endure over the past 26 years of democracy. “This decision vindicates our strategy of the exercise of our right of cultural agency. That process has now opened a new chapter for us, where our right to return to…

A YEAR ago the news carried mayor Dan Plato’s announcement that the controversial camp for the homeless was being “scaled down and phased out, as was the plan. Our exit plans are well in place”. When a group of individuals were asked to choose their preferred destination after the closure of the Strandfontein camp, a group of 168 chose option 2: Culemburg Safe Space 2. It eventually took a court case and two months of negotiation to see 96 of those 168 individuals moved into the place they had been promised, and which a court ordered be provided. The other 72 were still being housed at the Community Chest building, where all 168 were invited to stay by then chief executive Mr Lorenzo Davids. Due to Community Chest’s act of…

Yasmin Forbes | Chairperson of council: UWC THE Council of the University of the Western Cape (UWC) condemns in the strongest terms inflammatory statements bordering on hate speech made during the fires that have destroyed parts of the UCT. The council has asked the executive management committee of UWC to investigate the matter thoroughly and hold those who made the unfortunate remarks to account. We trust the rector and the vice-chancellor, and the deputy vice-chancellor: student development and support will deal with the matter with necessary due diligence, aligned to the well-established governance protocols and processes at the university. The council is pleased that the rector and vice-chancellor, Professor Tyrone Pretorius, and his team made offers to support UCT during this tragic time for our sister…

Fire that gutted the Jagger Library raised questions about housing archival material Shannon Morreira When news broke that the Jagger Library was burning, scholars across my social media feeds responded with a visceral sense of horror and loss. One colleague wrote that it felt like they had lost a family member. It is not clear at this stage what has been lost as a result of the fire. But the burning of any part of a library – an archive – is such a terrible thing because you lose voices from the past which may carry alternative histories. This has particularly significant implications for countries like South Africa with fraught and contested histories. And whose histories have, for centuries, been told from a particular vantage point. It’s this that has…

Chad’s President Idriss Deby Itno died yesterday from wounds sustained in battle, after three decades in power, the army said, opening a period of uncertainty in a country that is a key strategic ally of the West. His son, Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, 37, a four-star general, was immediately named transitional leader as head of a military council, and both the government and parliament were dissolved, but the army vowed “free and democratic” elections after an 18-month transitional period. The army also announced a curfew and border closures. The shock news of Deby’s death came only the day after the 68-year-old career military man was proclaimed the winner of a presidential election that had given him a sixth term in office. Deby had ruled Chad with an iron fist since…

HERMAN GIBBS Orlando Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer said his team are buoyed by their recent win ahead of their Confederation Cup Group A clash against Algerian visitors ES Setif at Orlando Stadium in Soweto today (3pm kick-off). At the weekend, Pirates bagged a much needed 2-0 Premiership win thanks to an inspired performance by substitute Vincent Pule, who scored twice against Maritzburg United. Zinnbauer shared his thoughts about the upcoming Setif clash at a media conference yesterday. "We had a difficult time after the Sundowns game," said German Zinnbauer, referring to their 4-1 Nedbank Cup loss to Mamelodi Sundowns, three days before the Maritzburg match. “There is confidence in the team after that result, and it has placed us in a good position. There is a good spirit now.…

Nomalanga Tshuma nomalanga.tshuma@inl.co.za THE City’s Safety and Security Directorate has condemned an attack on City officials at the Coastal Park Landfill Site in Muizenberg where a female security officer was injured when a mob petrol-bombed a City vehicle. Law Enforcement spokesperson Wayne Dyson said the officer was chased by the mob and took shelter under a vehicle. Some members of the group threw a petrol bomb at the vehicle while the officer was under it. “Upon arriving on scene, the City’s Law Enforcement officers attached to the Rapid Response Unit managed to free and rescue the female officer from under the vehicle. “The security officer sustained serious injuries to the lower parts of her body. She was stabilised and taken to hospital. No arrests have been made yet,” Dyson said:…

Shakirah Thebus shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za THE arrest of a vagrant as a suspect in the the runaway blaze on Table Mountain that razed buildings and scorched acres of vegetation, could result in a backlash against Cape Town’s homeless, says an organisations working with them. Kerry Hoffman, executive director of Souper Troopers, operating the Humanity Hub, said the incident was already being used to further drum up support against the homeless and renew calls for people sleeping on the streets and mountains to be removed. Humanity Hub provides services to assist those living on the streets, to improve their living conditions. “If the fires were started intentionally, whoever did so must face the full force of the law, but we must not use this to malign an entire group, especially a group…

Mayibongwe Maqhina mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za PUBLIC Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has revealed that state-owned entities (SOEs) under his department are reviewing their measures to ensure that those employees who resigned whilst under investigation or part of a disciplinary process are flagged. Gordhan revealed this in his reply to parliamentary questions posed by DA MP Benedicta van Minnen. Van Minnen enquired from Gordhan what steps he had taken to ensure that officials who resigned from SOEs to avoid disciplinary action were not re-employed in other government departments. There have been concerns among MPs about the failure by some departments and SOEs in enforcing disciplinary measures against those officials found on the wrong side of the law. Previously, several public servants who were under investigation for corruption and fraud resigned from one government department…

I AM saddened and angry about the killing of an innocent young man because of his sexuality, and who could not live his life as he wanted. Human Rights Day had been celebrated, and yet gay or lesbian people are still being murdered because of their sexuality. My plea to the president and leaders is to look and open their eyes. We should have more awareness and education in our communities. We also talk about diversity and the rainbow nation of all people, but maybe we should educate people more. My condolences to the family and all others who have been through this kind of emotional issue. Karel Dampies | Wellington…

THE Table Mountain fire, whoever caused it and however it was caused, was tragically destructive to life and property. The loss of the Jagger Library, with its collection of rare books of great historical significance, is immense. Nature aggravated what humans had begun. Strong south-easterly winds combined with high daytime temperature aggravated the situation considerably. But most inexcusable of all was political failure. The Cape Times reported that community-environmental NPO Parkscape had concluded – after discussion with other parties in October 2019 – that the risk of fire on Table Mountain was significant. Furthermore, Parkscape regarded the situation in the vicinity of Rhodes Memorial as “a catastrophe waiting to happen”. What did the authorities do? Apparently nothing. What did they do about the homeless living on the mountain? Nothing! Outcome:…

COMMUNITY Chest notes, with regret, the article by Carlos Mesquita. As an established and respected organisation, Community Chest prides itself on our expanded work into the field of social justice, which evolved from our efforts during 2019 with our legal support for people living on the streets. During this period, we sponsored three legal cases pertaining to the dignity and human rights of Cape Town homeless communities. Community Chest responded to a humanitarian emergency following the closure of the Strandfontein camp after a group were left destitute, by opening our offices to provide temporary shelter and support. We supported accommodation at Youth Solutions, who funded their stay until December 2020, Ubuntu Circle of Courage (the Culemborg site management organisation), while others moved to a Gardens lodge, which became “Our House”,…

SUNDAY’s fire along the slopes of Table Mountain reminded us once again that nature can be beautiful, yet devastating when its power is unleashed. What started as a small fire, next to Rhodes Memorial on Sunday morning, soon became a raging inferno, fanned by strong south-easterly winds, razing all that stood in its path. Most of us woke up to the shock, and social media images and video of the destruction of the Rhodes Memorial Restaurant and Tea Room. Despite the valiant efforts of firefighters, the fire snaked down to parts of the University of Cape Town’s Upper Campus, forcing hundreds of students who lived in residences on campus to be evacuated. But instead of the residences, the fire razed Jagger Library which served as the reading room for the…

Eshlin Vedan eshlin.vedan@inl.co.za AmaZulu can prove that they are truly now among the elite clubs by recording a home victory over runaway league leaders Mamelodi Sundowns at Jonsson Kings Park in Durban today. Second placed Usuthu head into the top-of-the-table contest against the Brazilians in terrific form, having recorded six straight victories in the Premiership. Augustine Mulenga, one of AmaZulu’s star attackers this season, has emphasised that his teammates are working hard ahead of today’s match. “I can see that everyone has been pushing and looking forward to this game against Sundowns. I’m also looking forward to the game as it’s a big game. If we get three points, it will get us closer to them as they are the league leaders,” said Mulenga. Sundowns who lead AmaZulu by six…

Stuart Hess stuart.hess@inl.co.za Minister of Sport Nathi Mthethwa’s legal team is poring over the Cricket South Africa Members’ Council’s response to his demand as to why he should not ban the organisation from being the governing authority of the sport in the country. “I have not seen the response, but our legal team is busy with it,” Mthethwa told SABC radio yesterday evening. Mthethwa had set the Members’ Council – CSA’s highest decision-making body comprising the 14 provincial presidents – a 5pm deadline yesterday, asking why he should not invoke Section 13 of the National Sports and Recreation Act, allowing him to halt government funding and to remove recognition of CSA as the governing authority for the sport. Should he do so, the Proteas would no longer be the representative…

User groups say SANParks failed to take action despite being alerted to these fires for many years Shakirah Thebus shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za MOUNTAIN-USER groups have pointed a finger at SA National Parks (SANParks) for allowing vagrants to start fires that eventually led to the latest Table Mountain blaze, despite numerous reports about vagrant fires over the years. Table Mountain Watch (TMW), a collective of concerned residents, said SANParks had been repeatedly warned of the threat posed by these fires, coupled with the mismanagement of vegetation. TMW head André Van Schalkwyk said: “As park users, we have alerted SANParks to locations, incidents, evidence of where indigent people camp in the park – on countless occasions and over many, many years. It makes no sense to conveniently blame vagrants when, as a state-owned…

Mthuthuzeli Ntseku mthuthuzeli.ntseku@inl.co.za THE City’s phasing out of water meter devices (WMDs) was long overdue and an admission of a failed strategy it pursued for 15 years, says lobby group Stop CoCT. The group was commenting on the City’s proposed draft budget for the 2021/22 financial year, for which the public participation period has been extended to May 3. The City’s water and sanitation department proposed that the intallation of WMDs be halted from July, and that those currently in service be replaced by conventional meters with the latest metering technology. Mayco member for water and waste Xanthea Limberg said the economic pressure residents currently faced, urbanisation trends and the growth of backyard tenants, and increasingly crowded conditions in many communities, were considered. She said the City was…

Loyiso Sidimba loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za THE non-payment of employees’ salaries is set to continue this week at state-owned aerospace and military technology company Denel. Denel Land Systems (DLS) has informed its staff that they will not receive their April salaries, a situation the struggling company attributes to extremely low revenue and a worsening liquidity position. DLS, which had 507 employees by the end of March last year, still owes workers part of their salaries for May, June and July 2020. In their communiqué to employees, DLS management indicated that its financial and liquidity position continues to be under extreme pressure and the revenue has been extremely low, resulting in a weak outlook for total sales for this month. “It is with great regret that we inform you that we will not be…

Sihle Mavuso sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za AS the Constitutional Court edges closer to handing down judgment on the urgent application brought by the Zondo Commission – to have former president Jacob Zuma jailed for two years for defying its summons – Zuma’s family insists he will not be sitting in a holding cell. This was said yesterday by one of Zuma’s sons, Edward Zuma, during an interview with Independent Media, which wanted clarification on a Zulu traditional ritual that had been held at Zuma’s Nkandla home on Saturday. After pictures of the behind-closed-doors traditional ritual were leaked, showing Zuma carrying a spear and a knobkerrie inside a kraal (sacred space for rituals), there was speculation that the former president held it to appease his ancestors and ask for their protection, as he braces…

Staff Reporter OUR next guest joining us for a Facebook Live session is serial entrepreneur, author and speaker Nic Haralambous who will be delving into the subject of his latest book. Join us tomorrow for a live session with Haralambous on the Cape Argus Facebook page at 7.30pm. Haralambous has spent the past 20 years building businesses, in the process learning the hard lessons while figuring out what it takes to launch a “side-hustle”. While Covid-19 has up-ended the economy, Haralambous says now is the time to start that side-hustle to experiment and earn extra income. In this book, he helps you take the first steps towards that side-hustle you’ve been dreaming about. Haralambous will be giving away R1 000 a day for anyone wishing to start a side hustle…

Keith Alfred Adolph Blake | Ottery There are two issues that are not making sense at all and no one seems to notice it or question the City of Cape Town. The first serious issue is who is attacking the Muizenberg Dump Site off Baden Powell Road, Muizenberg. There are continuous rumours of arson, a security officer killed and last night a security officer – a female – was again attacked and while hiding under a vehicle. The vehicle was petrol-bombed. Thank God she was rescued by metro police, according to a community radio news bulletin. Why are the Red Ants security vehicles parked daily near this site? What is the reason? One can almost imagine the place is a target. The question is why? Second, the old…

Gordon Dent AS the search continues for Covid-19 treatments, results from several studies have led to changes in the advice on which drugs to give patients. The European Medicines Agency and US National Institutes of Health recently said one previously promising treatment – the antiparasitic drug, ivermectin – is not recommended for routine management of Covid patients. But support for ivermectin has been circulating on social media and in WhatsApp groups, with rumours rife that the drug is being blocked on purpose. Some have dubbed it the “new hydroxycholoroquine” – a treatment that received a significant amount of online support but was found in trials to be ineffective against Covid-19. Ivermectin’s effectiveness in treating parasitic worm infections led to a Nobel Prize for its discoverers, William C Campbell and…

In the international system, no single state is likely to be positioned to dominate across all regions or domains, and a broader range of actors will compete to advance their ideologies, goals and interests. The forecast has been published in the seventh edition of the US National Intelligence Council’s Global Trends report. The document, published every four years since 1997, assesses the key trends and uncertainties that will shape the strategic environment for the US during the next two decades. In the next 20 years, the intensity of competition for global influence is likely to reach its highest level since the Cold War, the US Intelligence Council has forewarned. “Countries and other actors are likely to compete over food, mineral, water, and energy sources made more accessible, more valuable, or…

DURING the Royal Challengers Bangalore’s IPL opener against Mumbai Indians on April 9, I was surprised to see AB de Villiers donning the wicket-keeper gloves again. “It hurts, just a little bit, when I see AB de Villiers playing as a wicket-keeper” was part of a tweet I posted at the time, with reference to the days when the former Proteas captain was reluctant to stand behind the stumps due to his back issues. We also all know the problems he had with time away from his family, which played a role in him deciding to retire from international cricket in 2018. He has been continuing his great form for RCB in recent seasons, and scored 48 off 27 balls against Mumbai. After missing out with one against Sunrisers Hyderabad,…