Innholdsfortegnelse for 2021-05-14 i Cape Argus

APPLICATIONS opened yesterday for the SMME Booster Fund 2021, Western Cape Finance and Economic Opportunities MEC David Maynier (pictured) said in a statement yesterday. The fund would distribute up to R20 million to organisations and municipalities for programmes that focused on supporting small businesses to grow and improve their sustainability, so they could create more jobs in the Western Cape, he said. Run by the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, the SMME Booster Fund 2021 is calling for any SMME business development projects based in the Western Cape, particularly those that support rural, township-based, youth and women-owned businesses, to apply. The closing date for applications is Monday, June 7. Information and application details can be found at www.westerncape.gov.za/general-publication/smme-booster-fund. “Now, more than ever, we need to work together to…

Ntombi Nkosi ntombi.nkosi@inl.co.za One South Africa (OSA) Movement leader Mmusi Maimane remains silent on which municipalities his movement is setting its eyes on ahead of the local government elections in six months’ time. Briefing the media in Sandton yesterday, Maimane said that the organisation was not a political party nor would he contest the upcoming elections as an independent candidate. But he emphasised the OSA would support independent candidates. “We’ve tried the party model for the past 27 years, since the dawn of democracy. It’s outdated and in need of full-scale change,” said Maimane. He introduced OSA last year as an alternative to wrestle power away from political parties. Maimane maintained that following months of extensive consultation with relevant stakeholders, community organisations and potential candidates, his movement had hit the…

Kailene Pillay kailene.pillay@inl.co.za Former Mineral Resources minister Mosebenzi Zwane claims that the Gupta family did not pay for his trip to India despite his email being used to make travel arrangements. During his appearance at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture yesterday, Zwane indicated that it was a coincidence that he shared a flight to India with the choir he founded – which the Gupta family paid for. He claimed that he visited India to conduct oversight on the Indian company Paras, which he believed was contracted to manage the Free State dairy farm project. Zwane said that he believed it was the Agriculture Department that paid for his trip. When questioned about his email being used to make the travel arrangements for the choir and himself, Zwane…

The interim role assumed by ANC Deputy Secretary-General Jessie Duarte will, over the next few weeks, serve as a litmus test of how serious the governing party is on matters of gender equality. It will be interesting to observe whether many of the ANC national executive committee (NEC) members and those at branch level afford Duarte the same respect they have shown suspended Secretary-General Ace Magashule. In his closing remarks on Tuesday after the NEC concluded its meeting, ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa maintained that the NEC “condemned the unwarranted attacks” on Duarte and staff members stationed at Luthuli House. He said the committee reaffirmed its confidence in Duarte and “supports her in carrying out her duties as per the ANC’s constitution”. However, this reassurance leaves much to be desired, particularly…

As clashes continue in East Jerusalem with the pending eviction of Palestinians from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah to make way for Israeli settlers, and there are repeated raids into Al-Aqsa Mosque by Israeli forces and the death toll rises in Gaza, anger and frustration within Israel’s Green Line has reached boiling point. On Wednesday, Israel declared a state of emergency and a night curfew in the northern city of Lod, where a young Palestinian man was shot dead by an Israeli and protesters clashed with Israeli forces during the funeral procession on Tuesday night. This was the second time in the city’s history that a state of emergency had been declared, the first being in 1966 before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. During the clashes, a police vehicle was set…

SYDNEY: A mouse plague tearing through the rural heartland of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) has led to its state government vowing to spend 50 million Australian dollars (R546m) to tackle the scourge. Millions of mice have overrun rural towns and farms in the western districts of NSW in recent months, destroying entire crops. Farmers reported catching hundreds of the pests in their homes on a near daily basis. In response, the NSW government is offering cash rebates to farmers and small businesses who have been the hardest hit. “We know the financial pressure this mice plague is putting on farmers and household budgets, we are acting on it,” said NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro.…

Zaahier Adams zaahier.adams@inl.co.za MAMELODI Sundowns co-coach Rhulani Mokwena has stated that arriving in Egypt during the Muslim holy of month of Ramadan has helped his team “maintain our focus” ahead of their all-important Champions League clash against Al Ahly tomorrow. Having departed from OR Tambo International Airport on Tuesday, Sundowns arrived in Cairo on Wednesday at 3am via Addis Abba in Ethiopia. Predominantly Islamic Egypt was still observing the last day of Ramadan, which requires Muslims to stay without food and drink for from an hour before sunrise to sunset. The Egyptians celebrated the culmination of a month long of fasting through Eid al-Fitr yesterday. “The reception has been good. The weather has been accommodating. It’s a very different climate coming into Egypt because the country is still going through…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za CONSUMERS saw an improvement in their financial position in the first quarter of this year, largely because of the recovery in income generation among middle- and higher-income earners. The latest Momentum-Unisa Consumer Financial Vulnerability Index (CFVI), released yesterday, improved from a low of 35.4 points in the second quarter of last year to 49.7 points, up from 47.5 points in the fourth quarter of last year. The CFVI is compiled from the views of key informants, including researchers, bankers, insurers, retailers, government, economists and analysts who deal with consumers daily. The main drivers of the improvement in financial stability, the CFVI noted, included a decline income vulnerability as consumers retained or obtained employment, lower levels of expenditure vulnerability, a decline in savings vulnerability as…

Liam Karabo Joyce liam.joyce@inl.co.za TV presenter and poet Lebo Mashile has been dragged for getting a Covid-19 vaccine this week while she is not a health-care worker. According to government regulations around the roll-out of Covid-19 vaccines in South Africa, only health-care workers are eligible for a vaccination. Mashile found herself in hot water with social media users after she took to Twitter to document her experience of getting vaccinated. Mashile started a Twitter thread by saying that she had been on an emotional roller-coaster leading up to going to the hospital. “I woke up before dawn to head to Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto to get a vaccine along with front-line health-care workers. “I am here to share my experiences and raise awareness about the process. “My heart has been through…

Shakirah Thebus shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za INSTEAD of celebrating Eid, the family of Ayesha Kelly will be spending the day at the Western Cape High Court for the pre-trial hearing of the man who is alleged to have shot her just over 18 months ago. Ayesha, 10, was caught in rival gang crossfire in Oudekloof Street, Tafelsig on the night of December 8, 2019. The Grade 4 learner from Tafelsig Primary School died on the scene, with her mother, Inshaaf Kelly at her side. Kelly said: “Me and she were walking to the shop and someone called me and I heard a shot and someone said she was laying on the floor. By the time I got there, she was in so much pain and she passed on there. People were…

ZELDA VENTER zelda.venter@inl.co.za A NIGERIAN citizen will have to return to his country of birth after South African authorities revoked his questionable citizenship nearly a decade after it was granted. This was based on allegations that he had illegally married a young South African woman. It, however, transpired that Antony Nwafor, although apparently telling Home Affairs he was a “bachelor” at the time of his wedding in this country, was already married to another woman in Nigeria. Home Affairs also questioned his South African marriage as his “new wife” was underage and needed permission from her parents to get married. The 57-year-old Nwafor, however, insisted that he never told the department he was a bachelor. According to him, he was divorced from his first wife when he remarried. He…

Zintle Mahlati zintle.mahlati@inl.co.za HEALTH experts have cautioned against large gatherings ahead of the local government elections as the country braces itself for a possible rise in Covid-19 infections. The Covid-19 pandemic will put a limit on big political rallies that often accompany election season. The presence of new Covid-19 variants, first identified in the UK and India, have raised concerns about a possible third wave of the pandemic. South Africans head to the polls on October 27. Wits Professor Shabir Madhi said mass gatherings would have an impact on the trajectory of the pandemic. He cautioned against the big-styled political events. "Allowing for mass gatherings is what probably broke the camel's back in India. This is something we should have learnt months ago. This data that mass gatherings are…

SAMKELO MTSHALI THE National Council of Provinces (NCOP) yesterday lamented the inability of most of the country’s municipalities to generate revenue and a lack of capacity to manage finances as some of the persisting challenges that impacted development at a local level. NCOP chairperson Amos Masondo was addressing a gathering of the South African Local Government Association (Salga) National Members Assembly in preparation for the fifth term of local government which will follow local government elections on October 27. “This is particularly the case with many rural municipalities that have poor revenue bases and also experience difficulties with attracting talent. Observers have noted that despite the population shift from rural to urban areas, the health and well-being of the entire population will continue to depend on rural goods and…

The lawyers who sign off on who lives and who dies in modern war zones When we think of war, we might think of soldiers on the front line – or those pulling the trigger – as the ones responsible for the death or injuries of those they are targeting. But my research suggests that, over the past few decades, an unlikely profession has become deeply involved in the conduct of war: lawyers. Legal advisers (also called military lawyers) are trained as soldiers and are also qualified lawyers. It’s a military lawyer’s job to interpret the myriad rules of war, weigh the legal risk of a proposed action and provide preferably pithy advice and a range of lawful options for military activities to harried commanders. State militaries have employed lawyers…

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is “moving fully ahead” with the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics despite widespread public unease in Japan over the spread of the coronavirus. A state of emergency was extended in Japan this week after Covid-19 cases swelled, but the IOC is hopeful that the virus will be contained. The IOC is confident that despite public opinion, which is largely against the Games, the Japanese government will be able to host the Olympics in a spectacular fashion. In fact, it believes that once the Olympics start in Tokyo, public sentiment will turn in favour of the event. “As things stand, and as we talk to our Japanese partners and friends, we are moving full-ahead,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said in an online press conference this week. “There has…

Rome: The wife and the mistress of a man who died in a road accident have both been awarded life insurance payouts, Italian news reports said yesterday. The 39-year-old man from Turin, in Italy’s north-west, was married with a young son, but also had a relationship with another woman. Her lawyer told La Stampa newspaper that he managed to convince the insurance company that the mistress also deserved compensation for her loss. The daily said that when the man died a year ago in a motorway accident, police called upon her to identify the body, as the victim’s wife was out of town on a work trip. La Stampa quoted the mistress as saying that the man used to spend three days a week with her and four days with…

HERMAN GIBBS DEFENDER Reeve Frosler says Tanzanian visitors Simba SC will not derive much benefit from watching Kaizer Chiefs in action against Swallows FC in a midweek Premiership match. Simba, Champions League quarter-finalists two seasons ago, arrived in South Africa on Tuesday ahead of their quarter-final first-leg match against Chiefs on Saturday at the FNB Stadium (6pm kick-off). On Wednesday, Simba's squad watched Chiefs in action on television as part of their preparation for Saturday's showdown. "Simba has done well to arrive early so that they can acclimatise, and also have a look at our game," said Frosler. "This is a CAF fixture, and we play differently than when we play a Premiership League game. The game plan will be different, and the make-up of the team will be…

SPANISH football clubs have been given the green light for fans to return to matches for the final two rounds of fixtures this season in regions with low levels of Covid-19 infections. Sports minister Jose Manuel Uribes announced that a maximum of 5 000 spectators would be able to attend games in regions with fewer than 50 Covid-19 cases per 100 000 inhabitants, meaning the regions of Valencia and Galicia will be able to welcome supporters back. “How to pick the spectators will be the clubs’ decision: a lottery, a system rewarding those with most seniority,” Uribes said. “This is a first step with a view to many more – the key for us was to begin again.” Health minister Carolina Darias added that other teams could be allowed to…

Kristin Engel kristin.engel@inl.co.za One million needy families across the country benefited from a food relief initiative by the South African National Zakah Fund (Sanzaf) for the holy month of Ramadaan. At the beginning of the month, Sanzaf pledged to distribute 1 million warm meals, 15 000 Ramadaan hampers and 27 000 Fitrah hampers to those in need. Sanzaf spokesperson Nazeer Vadia said the organisation was grateful for the support from groups and volunteers that assisted with funding and distribution. “The response we received was extremely positive, with more than 100 mosques in the Western Cape used to distribute the parcels.” One of the non-profit organisations that assisted was the Saabri & Ashrafi Relief Fund. The fund’s representative, Asief Brey, said they donated food and vegetable parcels to Sanzaf because…

Tesla Inc boss Elon Musk denounced the "insane" amount of energy used to produce bitcoin yesterday, doubling down on his sudden rejection of the cryptocurrency as a means of payment over environmental concerns. Bitcoin fell more than 10% after Musk, one of its most famous backers, tweeted his decision to suspend its use, less than two months after Tesla began accepting it as payment for its electric cars. Other cryptocurrencies, including ethereum, also fell before regaining some ground in Asian trade. "Cryptocurrency is a good idea on many levels and we believe it has a promising future, but this cannot come at great cost to the environment," Musk tweeted on Wednesday. He followed this up yesterday, tweeting a graph of bitcoin's power consumption and saying: "Energy usage trend over past…

Burtram Fielding and Dewald Schoeman IN OUR recent paper we explore the possible links between Sars-CoV-2 infection, Covid-19 disease and nutrition. Severe malnutrition is the most prevalent cause of immunodeficiency in the developing world. We focused on malnutrition that leads to deficient levels of leptin, such as is seen in protein energy malnutrition, a deficiency of dietary protein despite sufficient calorie intake. Protein energy malnutrition is a global issue, and while the condition has decreased in Asia, African nations have reported a continued increase. Leptin is a hormone that is made in the fat cells of the body and has multiple roles in the immune system. Leptin deficiency caused by malnutrition does not protect a person from infection by the coronavirus causing Covid-19. But, based on the work of…

Doha: Qatar should disclose the whereabouts of a Kenyan man who has written about migrant rights in the Gulf state and who was detained by security officials last week, a group of rights groups including Amnesty International has said. They said Malcolm Bidali, who writes under a pseudonym, was taken from his accommodation on May 4 for questioning by the state security service and it is not known where he is being held. “Malcolm is a security guard, blogger and activist, who has been vocal about the plight of migrant workers like himself and has written for a number of online platforms,” a joint statement from MigrantRights.org, FairSquare, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre said.…