Innholdsfortegnelse for 2021-08-12 i Cape Argus

GIVEN MAJOLA given.majola@inl.co.za THE average value of economic transactions registered another decline last month, marking the second consecutive monthly decrease, according to the BankservAfrica Economic Transactions Index (Beti). The index represents an overview of economic trends over a range of sectors, making use of economic transactions captured by BankservAfrica. According to the Beti, the transactions processed by BankservAfrica via the National Payments System (NPS) recorded their biggest monthly decline since January, when higher lockdown restrictions were in effect. BankservAfrica’s head of stakeholder engagements, Shergeran Naidoo, said the Beti for July was at 127.6 points. “Already being the second month in negative territory, the monthly Beti level declined by -0.2 percent between July 2021 and June 2021,” said Naidoo. The annual and quarterly figures were mostly up since May and April,…

Thobile Mazibuko thobile.mazibuko@inl.co.za On Monday, South Africans woke to the devastating news that Amapiano artists Mpura, Khanya Hadebe, Thando Tot, TD and Sakhile Hlatshwayo (Killer Kau) were involved in a fatal accident while on their way to perform at an event in the North West. While details around the accident are still unclear, Hlatshwayo’s family confirmed that the 23-year old rising star passed away on Saturday. When I arrived at his home in Soweto on Tuesday, I found his aunt cleaning the yard after friends and fans gathered to honour the legend the night before. It was heartbreaking as nothing I could say was going to make the family feel better. His older sister, Gugu Hlatshwayo, said she had lost a part of herself and wished someone could pinch her…

Mthuthuzeli Ntseku mthuthuzeli.ntseku@inl.co.za WITH fewer than six weeks until the ICF World Canoe Marathon championships in Romania, the Peninsula Canoe Club (PCC) has renewed its calls for the City to reopen the Zandvlei Estuary for sporting and recreational activities. The vlei has been closed for 11 weeks and the club said training efforts of its athletes who had been selected to represent team South Africa at this year’s marathon from September 30 have been impacted. Peninsula Canoe Club chairperson Estelle Jacobs said they offered to indemnify the City against any claim made by a member of the club, should one’s health be compromised by the water quality. She said they also requested paddling in the relatively cleaner water of the Marina da Gama, however, the unilateral refusal received without any…

Tarryn-Leigh Solomons Tarryn-Leigh.Solomons@iinl.co.za IF THE Constitutional Court rules in favour of the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) request to postpone the October 27 local government elections, the DA says this would undermine the supremacy of the Constitution, giving a handful of judges the power to amend it at will. These were the sentiments of DA federal chairperson Helen Zille. Political parties and other stakeholders had until yesterday to make submissions to the apex court in response to the application brought by the IEC. During a media briefing yesterday, Zille said the party resorted to approaching the apex court to defend the Constitution and the democratic rights of voters. This decision came after the DA gave the IEC a deadline of tomorrow to agree to stick to their prescribed time…

Cllr Yagyah Adams | Cape Muslim Congress The Cabinet reshuffle was a chance for the president to rid himself of persons that threaten his chance for a second term. It was also an occasion to secure positions for his allies to ensure political loyalty. The political games that are played are done at the expense of taxpayers, who remain observers. I will give five examples to explain my theory. Enoch Godongwana is steeped in dubious behaviour that goes back a decade. His historic scandals involve millions and suggest that this is not a trustworthy man. Yet he is the new finance minister. Lindiwe Sisulu’s role is minimised although she has political pedigree and is a presidential prospect. She is popular and a skilled and beautiful woman. She was building her…

THE apartheid era is over and we are — regardless of skin colour, race or tribe — all equal in the eyes of the law. This is generally considered to be a good thing. But regardless of laws, or lack of them, humans seem to prefer associating with other humans who are like themselves — people who speak the same language and have the same customs and background as they do. We may have colleagues or business associates from other ethnic backgrounds but, at the end of the day, most of us retire to the comfortable cocoons of our own homes where everybody speaks the same language and enjoys the same traditions. This is not exclusive to the human race. Leopards do not share their caves with lions; dassies do…

Professor Theodore Petrus In the latest episode of the controversies within the top leadership of the SAPS, the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal by SAPS National Commissioner General Khehla Sitole, to overturn the decision made by the High Court that he and both of his deputies were found to be politically compromised, putting the interests of the ANC above those of the country. The SCA judgment preceded the chaos of the looting and violence that swept across Gauteng and KZN in July, and that once again exposed, among other things, the perceived inability of the SAPS to adequately address public violence of this scale. The controversies surrounding General Sitole are also not new. He has been embroiled in conflicts within the most senior leadership structures of the…

PARIS: Emmanuel Abayisenga, a Rwandan asylum seeker suspected of murdering a 60-year-old Catholic priest, Olivier Maire in Mortagne-sur-Sèvre, in France this month, and of setting fire to Nantes Cathedral in 2020, had apparently met Pope Francis several years ago. According to the Catholic News Agency, a photo taken on November 11, 2016 shows Abayisenga greeting the pontiff “during an audience with socially excluded people in the Vatican”. Meanwhile, Pope Francis himself said yesterday that he was greatly pained by the death of Father Maire. On Monday, Abayisenga turned himself in to the authorities and confessed to the killing. An autopsy revealed that the priest had “six lesions in his head caused by violent blows”.…

MORGAN BOLTON Comment MALIGNED by some, beloved by more; flyhalf Elton Jantjies often splits opinion amongst rugby supporters, especially when he dons the Green and Gold. To his detractors he lacks consistency and big match temperament, while his advocates insist he is one of the best distributors in the game and among the best attacking pivots in the country. Either way, there will be a cacophony of voices that will argue both sides on Saturday when the Springboks open their Rugby Championship account against Argentina at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium (kick-off 5pm). Jantjies will start at No 10 to give Handre Pollard a deserved rest after the brutal British & Irish Lions series victory. He will have the responsibility to marshal a backline with new combinations and players who have…

What is the point of Sascoc? If that organisation didn’t exist, would anyone miss it? South African athletes perform, well or not, in spite of and not because of Sascoc. It’s been that way for a while. Current Minister for Sport (and Arts and Culture) Nathi Mthethwa, for all his many faults – just ask anyone in the arts industry what they think of Mthethwa – has tried really hard to give Sascoc an authoritative role in SA sport, and Sascoc has failed dismally. “Failed dismally” were the very words used by Mthethwa earlier this year to describe Sascoc’s attempts at intervening in the problems that beset Cricket SA’s administration in the last few years. Sascoc president Barry Hendricks has occasionally earned the ire of Mthethwa. In a radio interview…

Shakirah Thebus shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za THE tribunal into the alleged rape of Anglican Church reverend June Dolley-Major was thrown into disarray when she had to depart and self-isolate after having been exposed to a Covid-19 positive case. The Anglican Church of Southern Africa Diocese of Cape Town tribunal convened yesterday at St George’s Cathedral for the sixth day. In 2002, Dolley-Major, with two clergymen, undertook a visit to Makhanda (then Grahamstown), where the incident is said to have occured. Dolley-Major and the accused stayed in the residence of a priest for the three-day trip. The accused denied that he and the priest conspired to conceal the alleged rape, and referred to the testimony by Dolley-Major that he entered her room, pulled down her underwear and penetrated her without consent, as lies. The…

ANOTHER unrest suspect was due to appear in the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court yesterday after his arrest in connection with the violence in Gauteng and KZN last month, the Hawks said. He was arrested earlier this week by members of the Hawks’ Crimes Against the State unit in Pretoria and the Free State, assisted by the Free State Crime Intelligence Unit and the Tactical Response Team, Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said. “In a joint intelligence-led investigation, the team managed to trace one of the alleged instigators in the recent violent protests, looting of businesses and destruction of infrastructure (and) ensured the apprehension of the 40-year-old suspect. During the search on his body and his car, some exhibits were found,” Mogale said. The man faced charges of incitement to commit public…

Nomalanga Tshuma nomalanga.tshuma@inl.co.za THE Department of Social Development is set to launch its Victim Empowerment Programme in an attempt to better connect gender-based violence victims to essential services and support, under the restrictive Covid-19 lockdown environment. The programme will provide vital services to over 5 000 people in need across the province. Speaking on the motivation in launching the initiative, Social Development (DSD) MEC Sharna Fernandez said that the department had noted with concern that between April and June this year 5227 victims of GBV accessed the DSD’s psycho-social support services. This was a sharp increase from the 2518 victims of GBV and crime who had accessed DSD services during the same period last year. She said: “GBV is a serious threat to the safety and well-being of our…

THERE are many ways in which schools around the world have coped with Covid-19. In Sri Lanka, students have not been in school for the past 15 months. In China, at the beginning of 2020, many schools were closed. In the US, many schools periodically had to be closed. The same in Asia and Africa. A very small percentage of the world’s population has died of the disease. But one death is one too many. In South Africa, Covid-19 has shown what an unequal country we are. Most parents in the country have to work to fork out a living. The government has decided to send students at all primary schools to school this term. High schools continue to send students in a staggered manner. Now schools have adopted various…

THE rampant corruption and maladministration in municipalities across the country remain a major cause for concern, and something needs to be done to stop the rot. Every now and then, we witness shocking incidents and allegations levelled against those tasked with the management of these institutions.More shocking is the fact that municipalities are the sphere of government closest to the people on the ground. The spate of fraud, corruption, maladministration, theft, infighting and, lately, alleged involvement in political killings against those tasked with leading the institutions, threatens South Africa’s developmental agenda. A recently published Independent Media news report looked at how a certain district mayor was allegedly part of a bid process that hired additional bodyguards, which exceeded the budget, and donated money to an oil company. He also allegedly…

Khartoum: Sudan will hand longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court along with other officials wanted over the Darfur conflict, Foreign Minister Mariam al-Mahdi said yesterday. Bashir, 77, has been wanted by the ICC for more than a decade over charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Sudanese region. The “cabinet decided to hand over wanted officials to the ICC,” Mahdi was quoted as saying by state media, without giving a time frame. The United Nations says 300,000 people were killed and 2.5 million displaced in the Darfur conflict, which erupted in the vast western region in 2003. The cabinet’s decision to hand him over came during a visit to Sudan by ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan, who met with Mahdi on Tuesday. Mahdi…

MOSCOW: An oil spill off Russia’s Black Sea coast at the weekend spread over an area of nearly 80km² and was much larger than first thought, scientists at Russia’s Academy of Sciences (RAN) said yesterday, citing satellite imaging. A leak occurred as the Greek-flagged Minerva Symphony tanker took on oil at the Yuzhno-Ozereyevka sea terminal near Novorossiysk in southern Russia, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium that owns the terminal said on Monday. It said the spill had spread over 200m². But yesterday, RAN’s space research institute said a satellite image taken on Sunday showed the leak had covered a much bigger area. The oil slick stretched from the shore into the open sea over a distance of 19km on August 8, it said.…

MIHLALI BALEKA @Mihlalibaleka KAIZER Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter is optimistic about his team’s chances of chasing for top honours in the upcoming campaign, saying they’ll work tirelessly to ensure that they knock Mamelodi Sundowns off their perch. For almost a decade, Sundowns have been the team to beat in domestic football, having amassed 12 trophies, including four Premiership titles in the last four seasons. Chiefs, meanwhile, have failed to win a single title for the last six seasons. As a result, at the end of last season they rehired the last coach who won them silverware in 2015: Baxter. The Brit has already sat on the bench for his first match in charge since his return, coaching the team in the final of the CAF Champions League. Chiefs lost that…

Given Majola given.majola@inl.co.za SOUTH African national development finance institution, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), has launched a R1.5 billion funding package in response to the civil unrest, looting and destruction of property that occurred in parts of the country last month, bringing many businesses to their knees. “Our exposure to key sectors of the economy and feedback from our affected client base spread across the country, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, gave us insights into the impact on business activity,” said IDC chief executive TP Nchocho. He said he was particularly concerned about the lasting impact of the unrest on local and regional supply chains. According to him, export- orientated businesses in KwaZulu- Natal might lose out on opportunities in the long term if business confidence remained affected. The IDC’s…

Mthuthuzeli Ntseku mthuthuzeli.ntseku@inl.co.za THE wife of a Franschhoek man who was attacked with a chainsaw on Saturday says the family is living in fear following the incident. Andy Makoma, a Malawian national, was attacked on his birthday after a brief argument with the wife of the suspect earlier on Saturday. Makoma is in the intensive care unit at Tygerberg Hospital after suffering severe injuries to his face, arms and legs. Makoma’s wife, Sizeka Busuku, said she was not sure what had transpired before the suspect barged into their house after 9pm. However, she said Makoma apparently had an argument with the suspect’s wife and they had exchanged words. Busuku said she could not say whether the attack was xenophobic. “People disagree and argue all the time, but a normal…

Kristin Engel kristin.engel@inl.co.za THE provincial Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEA&DP) released the first draft provincial government Inclusionary Housing Policy Framework to facilitate affordable housing in high-valued areas. Andricus van der Westhuizen, the DA's Western Cape committee spokesperson on Agriculture and Environmental Affairs, said the framework provided guidance for municipalities in the formulation of policies for inclusionary housing. “The gap between subsidised housing or public rental stocks and opportunities from the private sector has grown immensely,” he said. He said intended beneficiaries of this framework were those with stable incomes that surpassed the thresholds to be considered for current housing assistance programmes. DEA&DP spokesperson Rudolf van Jaarsveldt said the framework would incentivise private developers to include affordable or social housing options in their developments by granting additional…

Loyiso Sidimba loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za SUSPENDED ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule’s lawyers yesterday revealed that they would dispute the status of his former personal assistant and the State’s star witness in his fraud, corruption and money laundering trial. Magashule, his 10 co-accused, including businessman Edwin Sodi, and five companies are charged with 74 counts of fraud, corruption, money laundering and contravening the Occupational Health and Safety Act in relation to the R255-million project to eradicate asbestos roofing in the Free State. They are expected back at the Free State High Court on October 19. Magashule wants the court to decide whether his former personal assistant, Moroadi Cholota, will be his defence witness or turn State witness in the case. Magashule’s advocate, Laurence Hodes SC, yesterday told Free State Judge President Cagney Musi…

Ntombi Nkosi ntombi.nkosi@inl.co.za Deputy President David Mabuza says the fruits of democracy would be incomplete unless the youth and women had access to opportunities in order to lead the lives they desired. Mabuza was speaking at the fourth three-day Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) Summit under way at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand yesterday. It was his first public appearance since returning from seeking medical attention in Russia. In his capacity as chairperson of the HRDC, he addressed the summit under the theme “Skills required for the 21st century”. “The past 27 years has given us ample lessons to draw on and decide what works and what does not, so that we improve our present circumstances and shape a better future for our country and the world. This collective…

Colin Bosman | Newlands THE one thing everyone is in agreement with regarding the proposed amendments to the Gun Control Act is that the firearm registry is in a total shambles and probably unfixable. There was always a backlog for gun licence applications due to inefficiency, lack of service delivery and a dictatorial attitude by the relevant authority. Right now there are tens of thousands of expired gun licences, possibly hundreds of thousands being held in safes in private homes and on farms awaiting a decision on the status of the firearms. In addition there are now tens of thousands lying around at police stations having been handed in during the recent amnesty for relicensing and ballistic testing. Add to this the many thousands of new applications pouring…

THE rare, heart-warming sharing of the gold medal by Qatar’s high jumper, Mutaz Barshim, sent my memory spiralling back to 1958, when I was in standard four at Anjuman Islam School. Sports grounds were not easily available to non-white schools, and we were mainly restricted to Curries Fountain. During that particular year, even that ground was not available due to heavy booking, so the school negotiated with Hoy Park near the beachfront, and so our annual sports/ athletics/fancy dress competition was held there. Apart from the excitement of the close and heated competition between the four houses (Taj, Benaras, Ajmer and Shalimar – all significant names from India), the single event that stands out is the 400m (440 yards those days) race where the top athlete – his surname was…

Unjust actions committed by Israel offend letter and spirit of AU charter On behalf of the South African government, I recently had to communicate our objection to the unjust and unwarranted decision of the AU Commission to grant Israel observer status in the union. The commission has taken this decision unilaterally without consultation with its member states. The decision to grant Israel observer status is even more shocking in a year in which the oppressed people of Palestine were hounded by destructive bombardments and continued illegal settlements of their land. The AU strenuously objected to the deaths of Palestinians and the destruction of civilian infrastructure. The commission’s decision in this context is inexplicable. The unjust actions committed by Israel offend the letter and spirit of the Charter of the AU.…

Taliban fighters could isolate Afghanistan’s capital in 30 days and possibly take it over in 90, a US defence official said yesterday, citing US intelligence, as militants took control of an eighth provincial Afghan capital. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the new assessment of how long Kabul could stand was a result of the rapid gains the Taliban had been making around the country. The loss of Faizabad, capital of the north-eastern province of Badakhshan, was the latest setback for the Afghan government, which has been struggling to stem the momentum of Taliban assaults as US-led foreign forces leave. It came as President Ashraf Ghani flew in to Mazar-i-Sharif to rally old warlords to the defence of the biggest city in the north as Taliban…

NEW DELHI: Rescuers were working to clear tonnes of rocks and mud yesterday after a landslide buried about 60 people in India’s Himalayan north, killing at least 10. A bus carrying between 20 and 25 people had been buried under rubble, said the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), which is involved in the rescue efforts. “A total of 10 dead bodies have been retrieved from the spot. Fourteen injured have been rescued,” the ITBP said in a statement. A local police official at the site, which is in Himachal Pradesh state’s Kinnaur district, bordering Tibet, told AFP that rocks were still falling in the area. The 14 rescued people had injuries “but should be okay after treatment”, the official added.…

ZAAHIER ADAMS zaahier.adams@inl.co.za DEFENDING MTN8 champions Orlando Pirates may have a major transfer looming but coach Josef Zinnbauer has urged his current squad to take their opportunities in their quarter-final tie against Swallows FC on Saturday. Pirates were relatively goal shy last season in the league despite finishing in third place behind champions Mamelodi Sundowns and AmaZulu. A string of injuries to Pirates’ strike-force was an influential factor with Tshegofatso Mabasa and Zakhele Lepasa spending long periods on the sidelines. It was expected that Pirates would attempt to rectify this immediately in the transfer window with the addition of a high-profile striker, but this has not yet come to fruition with Pirates only adding Goodman Mosele‚ Monnapule Saleng‚ Bandile Shandu and Kwanda Mngonyama to their squad thus far. The Buccaneers…