Innholdsfortegnelse for 2021-08-05 i Cape Argus

Kedibone Modise kedibone.modise@inl.co.za Fans of television presenter and singer Katlego Maboe are thrilled to have him return to Instagram after a nearly 9-month break. Maboe was embroiled in a scandal involving infidelity and domestic violence. The allegations against him were made by his ex-girlfriend, Monique Muller. In a lengthy post, shared on his Instagram page, the star reminded his 138K followers to be grateful even when they were confronted with challenging situations. “It’s difficult at such a time to be thinking of a word such as gratitude,” the star shared. He continued: “The past year has taken so much away from all of us and, for some of us, it has taken everything. “Be that as it may, I still firmly believe that there is so much to be grateful…

Sisonke Mlamla sisonke.mlamla@inl.co.za NATURE lovers and the group Friends of Table Mountain have complained about the alarming number of trees being stripped of their bark illegally at Newlands Forest, which poses a serious threat to various tree species and Cape Town’s biodiversity. Newlands Forest Conservation Group co-founding member Willie Boshoff said as walked to the Newlands ravine picnic site to continue clearing out Queensland poplars in that area yesterday, he walked in on another “tree slaughter” – six large trees completely ring-barked, one being an exceptionally beautiful assegai tree. Boshoff said the last 10 years have seen the area around the picnic site being transformed from a place with a lush, verdant tree canopy into a veritable war zone. “The trees that have been stripped in the last five years…

FOUR Nelson Mandela Bay Municipal officers, three company directors and three juristic persons were granted bail in the Gqeberha New Law Court in a case in which they face charges of fraud, corruption and money laundering. The group were arrested last week and made their first appearance on the same day, Eastern Cape spokesperson for the Hawks, Captain Yolisa Mgolodela, said yesterday. They include Mpho Steyn Nangambi, Joram Mziwonke Mkosana, Thabo Williams, Andile Wellington Tolom, Vuyokazi Bazi, Thoneka Gloria Buti and Rukaard Abrahams. Another, Mongameli Bobani, has since died. Mgolodela said it was alleged that in 2014, the public health directorate in the municipality awarded a tender to service provider Milogani Eco Consulting to conduct an environmental impact assessment (EIA). The contract is reported to have been for three years,…

Shannon Ebrahim shannon.ebrahim@inl.co.za MINISTER in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni engaged with the Hellenic, Italian and Portugese (HIP) Alliance this week, calling on them to assist the government in creating economic opportunities in the wake of the recent unrest in the country. “You represent an entrepreneurial community who can mentor young people, women and small businesses in our country and assist them to find economic opportunities. We can’t solve our problems through donations, we need to build our own enterprises so that local produce from vegetable gardens can be sold at Spar and Pick n Pay. People need to be trained to run their own enterprises, and mentored on how to aggregate their volume,” he said. Ntshavheni emphasised that small businesses accounted for 10% of total employment in South Africa,…

A PARLIAMENTARY committee is concerned about the delay by the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) to introduce a bill dealing with problems in municipalities placed under administration. Two years ago, Cogta promised in the National Council of Provinces of plans to introduce the Intergovernmental, Monitoring, Support and Intervention Bill. Yesterday, Cogta portfolio committee chairperson Faith Muthambi said they were disappointed by the delay in the wake of the Cabinet’s decision to intervene in 64 dysfunctional municipalities. “There have been successive promises about the tabling of this bill since the formation of this committee. “We are now mid-term, and there has been no tangible movement on the bill, which has been sold as a solution to many challenges that impede successful implementation of interventions.” Cogta could not be…

FAROUK ARAIE | GAUTENG MY BELOVED beloved brothers and sisters. In 1981, by unanimous resolution, the UN declared September 21 as the International Day of Peace. The goal was to create a worldwide culture of peace in which the inevitable conflicts between nations and communities would be solved peacefully. ”Peace on Earth; goodwill towards men” is a phrase we hear often, but in our land it appears to be evaporating before our eyes. Sadly, our beloved country was rocked, mutilated and decimated by mindless violence, devoured by destruction unprecedented in our recorded history. We wonder how our people have been able to weather the storm despite the severity of the issues at stake. Irrespective of your colour or political affiliation, do not relent in your quest for the…

Kristin Engel kristin.engel@inl.co.za TO SUPPORT learners from rural areas and townships during the closure of schools under the Covid-19 lockdown level 4, a group of university students from Dub’s Mathematics Programme developed the Quarantine E-Learning Programme for Grade 11 and 12 learners using WhatsApp. Programme founder and UCT maths final-year student Mthandeni Sithole said their non-profit was formed by Stem (Science, technology engineering, and maths) students from universities across the country to empower learners from disadvantaged communities through education. The group originally planned to host contact winter classes but due to the level 4 curbs, they had to rethink methods of delivery which led to them using WhatsApp as a tool to facilitate online learning. “Despite the fact that learners from rural communities had no access to different kinds of…

SCHOOLING during the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the inequality of education. The UN Children’s Fund’s South Africa representative, Christine Muhigana, said that while remote learning had been a lifeline for some children, for the most vulnerable in the country, even this was out of reach. Access to the devices, data and skills necessary to navigate online resources were simply not possible for many children. “We need to ensure that we prioritise vulnerable girls and boys in all our efforts to keep children in classrooms,” she said. According to statistics, many pupils were three-quarters to a full year behind. Rotational classes were introduced as schools tried to be Covid-compliant, but many pupils returned to school full time due to hunger. The Daily News highlighted this in its lead story yesterday about…

Tunis: President Kais Saied launched his takeover of Tunisia by relying on the armed forces, an institution normally above politics, but analysts believe that retaining their support will depend on developments. Since he was elected head of state in October 2019, Saied had generally shunned being seen with political leaders, instead spending time in public with the military. In doing so, he set himself above the grind of daily party politics, aligning with an institution that embodies the state itself. The armed forces have featured in many of his key decisions. In December, Saied entrusted the military’s health services with the running of a new Chinese-built hospital in the port city of Sfax. And on July 25, it was in the presence of top officers that Saied declared he had…

TEL AVIV: Four Israelis were injured yesterday by three rockets that had been fired from southern Lebanon to northern Israel, NBN TV channel reported. The rocket attack had prompted retaliation by Israeli artillery toward the Sahl al-Khiyam area in southern Lebanon, NBN reported. The head of the Upper Galilee Regional Council ordered Israeli settlers to stay in safe places while shelters were provided for settlers in Kiryat Shmona, a city in the Northern District of Israel, according to al-Manar TV channel. The Lebanese-Israeli border has been mostly quiet since Israel fought a war in 2006 against Hezbollah, except for some tensions caused by occasional firing by the Palestinian factions in Lebanon toward Israel.…

Mthuthuzeli Ntseku mthuthuzeli.ntseku@inl.co.za TWO men aged 33 and 34, allegedly belonging to the Gupta gang in Gugulethu, were shot and killed on Tuesday, in what police believe was a revenge attack. Police spokesperson Joseph Swartbooi said Gugulethu police were investigating two murders. “According to reports, two men driving in a Toyota Tazz were chased by three unknown suspects from NY121 in a Toyota Avanza. When they came near NY 125, the suspects dragged the victims out of their vehicle and shot them in the street. “The victims sustained gunshot wounds to the head and were found lying on the road away from the vehicle in which they were travelling. The victims were declared dead on the scene by the medical personnel.” Swartbooi said the suspects fled in an unknown direction…

Zintle Mahlati zintle.mahlati@inl.co.za The Constitutional Court will have a chance to weigh in on an extraordinary matter as the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) seeks relief to postpone the 2021 local government elections, says IEC chairperson Glen Mashinini. The IEC filed its court application yesterday and seeks relief to postpone the elections, which have been proclaimed for October 27. The IEC last month accepted and adopted a report compiled by retired Deputy Chief Justice Dikgang Moseneke which found it unfeasible to hold free and fair elections in October due to Covid-19 cases. Moseneke advised the commission to seek relief by postponing the elections to February next year. Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma this week gazetted October 27 as the election date. The commission had…

Loyiso Sidimba loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za THE constitutionality of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s administration’s neoliberal austerity measures could face a court challenge by a non- governmental organisation. The Alternative Information and Development Centre (AIDC) is opposed to Ramaphosa’s neoliberal austerity measures and has indicated that it is considering bringing litigation to challenge their constitutionality. The Cape Town-based NGO has applied to be amicus curiae (friend of the court) in the public service unions’ challenge of the Labour Appeal Court’s judgment declaring the implementation of the last leg of the agreement signed in 2018 unlawful last year, as its judges bowed to neoliberalism to come to their conclusion in December. It has also cautioned the Constitutional Court against being swayed by political ideologies in its determination of the salary dispute between the government and its…

AFTER several years of faithful service, my cellphone’s camera died, so I handed it in to the digi-guru for repair and found myself digitally disconnected for a couple of days. What a traumatic experience it has been! I had forgotten what a major role that little pocketful of electronics played in my life. Apart from making me instantly available to friends and family, that little gadget tells me what time it is, how much money I’ve spent today, how many paces I’ve walked since getting out of bed, what the weather is likely to be, what appointments I have booked, which of my friends and family have birthdays coming up and what the weather’s like in Nova Scotia, Somerset (England) and the Eastern Cape – all parts of the world…

Isaiah Mombilo | Chairperson: Congolese Civil Society of South Africa, Cape Town MANY people know that on August 6, 1945 an atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in Japan, killing 70 000 to 80 000 people with a further 35 000 to 40 000 people killed three days later when another was dropped on Nagasaki. The bombs brought to an end World War II, in which 75 million people died. What few people know, however, was the damage the atom bomb caused to forgotten African victims of colonialist exploitation who to this day have not received compensation or apologies for the suffering caused by the mining of the uranium for the bombs. The Congolese had nothing to do with the conflict. The people living in Shinkolobwe, in the…

Sisonke Mlamla sisonke.mlamla@inl.co.za UCT called on its alumni around the world to support Alumni in Action, a new campaign to assist survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) on campus. The campaign, an initiative of alumnus Zellah Fuphe and student Sanda Nyoka, in partnership with the office for Inclusivity and Change (OIC), the Development and Alumni Department (DAD), and Student Wellness Service (SWS), was launched last month. Fuphe started the drive by donating R120 000 of her own funds for the first phase of the roll‑out. The project received an additional R100 000 from the Mauerberger Foundation Fund, chaired by alumnus Dianna Yach. Fuphe said GBV remained a significant problem in the country, with devastating consequences for survivors. She said institutions of higher learning were not immune to the scourge, and the…

Brownhilder Neneh South Africa was recently rocked by violence, riots and chaos that has devastated the business community. An estimated 40 000 businesses were affected, costing the country about R50 billion in lost output and endangering around 150 000 jobs. Given that riots and protests are not unusual in South Africa, some people on social media have argued that South Africa is a volatile country, and that small businesses should have anticipated such risks and have made an effort to obtain business insurance. But can all small businesses afford insurance? In most cases we expect the answer to be no, because small businesses operate under difficult circumstances, such as liabilities of newness, smallness, poorness and lack of access to external financing. Nonetheless, it is important to educate…

Lebanon yesterday marked a year since a cataclysmic explosion ravaged Beirut, with a mix of grief over lost lives and rage at the impunity for its worst peacetime disaster at a time when its economy was already in tatters. Shortly after 6pm on August 4, 2020, a stock of ammonium nitrate fertiliser haphazardly stored at the city’s port exploded and left swathes of the Lebanese capital looking like a war zone. What went down as one of the largest non-nuclear blasts in history killed at least 214 people, levelled entire neighbourhoods, irreparably scarred the nation’s psyche and deepened the country’s economic abyss. With more than half the country living under the poverty line, former colonial power France aims to raise humanitarian aid at another international conference co-hosted by the UN…

NEW DELHI: A video showing several youths with a jail inmate of Gwalior Central jail in Madhya Pradesh has gone viral on the social media, which has exposed the security apparatus in the jail. The Jail Superintendent Manoj Sahu ordered a probe into the matter. The incident has brought forth the lapses on the part of the jail administration. The room where the prisoners and the visitors meet is surrounded by a glass wall. Aniket Shivhare, the son of a liquor trader, is lodged in the Gwalior Central Jail. Recently, several youths met him. The meeting took place following all jail regulations while they interacted standing opposite to the each other surrounded by a glass wall.…

WYNONA LOUW wynona.louw@inl.co.za SPRINGBOK tighthead prop Frans Malherbe says the front-row changes the British & Irish Lions have made for the series decider on Saturday have made no difference to their own preparations. Warren Gatland has made six changes to his starting line-up for the third Test at Cape Town Stadium following defeat in the second Test. In the pack, there are two changes to the front row with fit-again Wyn Jones returning to loosehead to make his Lions Test debut alongside Ken Owens, who will start his first Test of the tour at hooker. Tadhg Furlong continues at tighthead. Asked whether it influenced their preparations, Malherbe said: “All of them are world-class players and we need to focus on ourselves and our prep. “We need to make sure that…

Sihle Mavuso sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za FORMER president Jacob Zuma’s supporters have vowed to arrive in large numbers at the Pietermaritzburg High Court to demand his release. This as the Jacob Zuma Foundation yesterday urged law enforcement agencies to work in harmony with the supporters to ensure there was no confrontation outside court. Zuma will – for the second time – temporarily leave his Estcourt Correctional Centre cell, where he is serving his 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court. On August 10 he will travel to court to join his lawyers, who are arguing that NPA advocate Billy Downer SC should not lead his prosecution for corruption. They argue that Downer was legally and politically compromised because he allegedly acted in a legally and politically compromising manner, thus rendering himself unfit to…

Shakirah Thebus shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za A SOMERSET West woman made a brief appearance at the Bellville Magistrate’s court this week, after claiming she was forced to provide police with a statement in the alleged fraud and corruption case involving the City and a Cape Town construction company. Police spokesperson Joseph Swartbooi confirmed the 31-year-old woman was arrested and appeared in court on Monday on charges of perjury, defeating the ends of justice and crimen injuria. The investigation is still ongoing. Allegations of irregular and fraudulent transactions involving the City’s Housing Maintenance Department and The Construction Co were made by anti-crime activist Hanif Loonat. Western Cape ANC leader in the provincial legislature, Cameron…

Ntombi Nkosi ntombi.nkosi@inl.co.za Power utility Eskom will not be drawn to comment on the ongoing R5 million tax fraud trial involving the accused Kusile Power Station supplier, Maphoko Hudson Kgomoeswana. Yesterday, Kgomoeswana delayed the trial, failing to inform the Pretoria Regional Court that he had changed lawyers on Tuesday and only informed it minutes before he was expected to plead. The court has since postponed the R5m case matter to September 8. “This is an Investigating Directorate matter that is being dealt with at the appropriate forum. As such, Eskom has no comment,” said Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha. NPA’s Investigating Directorate spokesperson, Sindisiwe Seboka, said the trial was expected to begin yesterday. Seboka said the trial date was announced in April and no indication was made of possibilities of changing…

THE City’s mayoral committee, backed by mayor Dan Plato, says it has forwarded plans for the city’s first E-Prix, a race for electric cars, to the city council for approval. “Approval from the council will allow us to begin the civil engineering works on the racetrack and ensure we can finalise all the logistics before the first ever Formula E race on the African continent.” Plato’s committee has reportedly pledged R2 million in cash in support of the event, granted that it would return to the city for future tournaments, as per the recommendation of the special events committee. Another R2m will be provided in the form of services. “We are asking council to approve support for the road infrastructure upgrades required to host the Formula E event. “The upgrades…

THE role and importance of teachers have grown as the world continues to grapple with the impact of Covid-19. Amid the chaos, teachers have gone on with the job of educating the young. Students are also fortunate when their teachers make them aware of the injustices on this planet, injustices they will have to resolve as future leaders. In South Africa especially during the suppression of political views of the oppressed, progressive teachers played an important part in the destruction of apartheid, but also made students aware of the weaknesses of the free market system, and made students read about political systems in different countries. One such teacher was the late Antoinette (Toni) Wilcox. She died on July 8, 2021, at the age of 81. I met her when she…

Mickey Titus | Kuils River South Africa has for the longest time toiled under an umbrella of an integrity deficit. Since honour and probity were but some of the casualties among the many wrecks shipped in with colonial conquest, our country has until this day been in foster care of the worst kind. Free burghers and settlers were gifted land and stock in an orgy of entitlement, forebears of scenarios centuries ahead. Defence of land and property was arrogantly characterised as theft, cunning and laziness and punished with extermination, execution or dungeons, portents of a future where the poor are chastised for being deprived of their means of earning a livelihood. Forced removals and Bantustan creation continued the legacy of a dearth of integrity as communities were uprooted and geography…

Herd immunity unlikely to happen… so what next? How to cope and live ‘normal’ lives ANY notion that Covid-19 was going to last for just a few months was very much misplaced last year. The evolution of the virus has been so rapid that the Delta variant, which is dominating the world, is at least twice as transmissible as the ancestral virus that was circulating. Herd immunity is no longer a discussion the world should be having. We should start to avoid using that term in the context of Sars-CoV-2 because it’s unlikely to materialise during our lifetimes. When politicians and others speak about herd immunity, unfortunately they are under the misconception that the tools we have are adequate to eliminate the virus. It’s not what we have at hand…

Lilongwe: Former Malawian presidential advisor Pastor Martin Thom and his co-accused Nations Msowoya were released on police bail overnight, local media reported yesterday. Broadcast station Zodiak cited lawyer Sylvester Ayuba James as confirming the pair’s release. According to radio station Capital FM, Thom and Msowoya have been charged with four counts of abuse of office, conspiracy to defraud and making false documents without authority. President Lazarus Chakwera fired Thom on Tuesday. “The decision was made once the president established Mr Thom’s unsanctioned role in the irregular submission of a loan authorisation bill in parliament,” spokesperson Sean Kampondeni said in a statement.…