Innholdsfortegnelse for 2021-08-31 i Cape Argus

KASI football, showboating, showing off or trickery is what makes South African football unique. It is referred to in many different ways based on the perception one has on it. For most foreigners, it is something of no worth, unnecessary and useless. It is “not football”. I am saying foreigners, because this is a value in Africa. It is who we are. It is in our DNA. It is “us”. When someone wants this removed from the game we love, there is nothing left and most games have nothing because this “us” is no more. I am conscious of the fact that some people want to reduce this “us” to a race matter. This value has nothing to do with race. It is above race. In the old days when…

GIVEN MAJOLA given.majola@inl.co.za SOUTH Africa’s e-commerce market had the potential to double by 100 percent to 5.6 percent of the total retail market if e-tailers beefed-up their trustworthiness, ease-of-use, security, delivery and after-sales support, according to the third annual South African Digital Customer Experience Report. The report’s key finding was that R30 billion was being “left on the table” because of poor customer experience (CX), at R12bn, and cart abandonment, at R20.4bn. The value of the e-commerce market was currently R30bn. The report found that 96 percent of respondents said they would spend more online if e-tailers’ CX was better. Collectively, these glitches were estimated to cost e-tailers R11.95bn in lost sales. The report was based on an annual ovatoyou study among 2 000 online South Africans and was…

Staff Reporter Magnet Theatre’s latest production, Snapped, is set to premiere at the Baxter Flipside from Thursday, September 16. Snapped explores societal issues, including relationships between fathers and daughters and what it means to be a good man. It also tackles loss, grief and mortality. Written and performed by Jennie Reznek and directed by Mark Fleishman, Snapped features Magnet graduates Carlo Daniels, who plays the father, an unknown stretcher bearer and various other characters, and Sithyilelo Makupula, who plays the “crew”. Commenting on the show, Reznek explains: “I wrote the play during the lockdown. Although it has been brewing ever since my father died 16 years ago. “Once I had made I Turned Away And She Was Gone, which dealt with a relationship between a mother and her daughter and…

Bongani Nkosi bongani.nkosi@inl.co.za THE Hawks are hot on the heels of more suspects behind the execution of Gauteng health official Babita Deokaran. Yesterday, six men made a brief appearance in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court. Deokaran was ambushed and gunned down outside her home in Winchester Hills, Johannesburg south on Monday ast week. Her killing is suspected to be linked to her role in the investigation into dodgy personal protective equipment contracts in the province. She was reportedly a key witness. It emerged at the weekend that police had cracked the case and arrested seven male suspects. It became apparent in court yesterday that six men had been arrested. They were Phakamani Hadebe, Zitha Hadebe, Sanele Mbele, Nhlangano Ndlovu, Siphiwe Mazibuko and Phakanyiswa Dladla. The matter was postponed to September 13…

Mwangi Githahu mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za TWO years after it got the green light for construction to begin, the controversial R33.5 million Qolweni Phase 3A Project in the Plettenberg Bay area of Bitou Municipality is under way. The project was approved in October 2019, and construction of the 169 units was to have begun in January, but faced several hurdles. Provincial Human Settlements spokesperson Marcellino Martin said: “Due to various challenges between the Bitou Municipality, the contractor appointed by them, and community dynamics, this could not occur. After numerous community protests, the Bitou Municipality handed the project over to the Western Cape Department of Human Settlements on June 18 this year. Regrettably, the department could not immediately commence with the project, as the contractor that was appointed by the municipality threatened the department…

Kristin Engel kristin.engel@inl.co.za THE Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Institute (Fadi) launched its net-making project in St Helena Bay with the aim of upskilling members from fishing communities with net-making abilities. Fadi projects head Sulaiman Appolas said the project was part of their alternative livelihoods programmes which sought to create additional sources of income for coastal communities fighting unemployment, poverty and hunger. The launch of the project was attended by representatives from various groups including the Transport Education Training Authority (Teta), South African Fisheries Fund, the Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone (IDZ) and Aquaponics Business, and included an actual net-making training for 30 community members aged 21 to 63. The net-making classes, funded by the Teta, will begin next month and will take place over several weeks. “Net-making is a…

SAMKELO MTSHALI IF the Happiness Index could be applied to football clubs around the world for their transfer window activity in the current transfer window, there is no doubt that record English champions Manchester United would top the charts easily. Euphoria amongst United’s massive global fanbase reached unprecedented levels at the weekend following the announcement of the return of Cristiano Ronaldo 12 years after his departure for Real Madrid, leading to the club’s website crashing in the aftermath of the historic announcement. Ronaldo returns to United with the feel good factor already in abundance at Old Trafford in recent weeks following the signing of English attacking ace Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund and the arrival of highly decorated World Cup and multiple UEFA Champions League winning French international centreback…

Ashfak Mohamed ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za THE embarrassment of player riches that the Bulls have acquired over the last few months must be the envy of all the other South African sides. Coach Jake White, though, is not worried about the ‘salary cap’ jibes that are being thrown around on social media. After experiencing the surprise defeat in the Rainbow Cup final against the unfancied Benetton in Treviso, Italy, in June, the former Springbok coach knows that he needs solid depth if his team are going to compete for the title in the upcoming United Rugby Championship. The Bulls begin their campaign with one of the toughest fixtures possible – Irish giants Leinster in Dublin – on September 25, and White said last week that there will be a few more signings in…

AS PART of US President Joe Biden’s June visit to the UK, the US and the UK announced an updated Atlantic Charter, agreeing to collaborate on research and development of 6G, or sixth-generation wireless technology. 6G, the successor to 5G cellular technology, uses higher frequencies than 5G networks, and therefore provides substantially higher capacity and much lower latency of one microsecond (a thousand times faster than 5G). It is expected that 6G will support data rates of 9.6 gigabits per second or 1 terabyte per second, allowing the download of 142 hours of Netflix movies in one second. In addition, 6G’s higher frequencies (95 GHz to 3 THz) will enable much faster sampling rates, and thus enhance sound quality. According to Hexa-X, the joint European 6G initiative, the prospective uses…

Kedibone Modise kedibone.modise@inl.co.za As Women’s Month draws to a close, an exhibition titled Layers of a Black Transgender Woman continues to gain momentum in highlighting the challenges facing transgender women across the African continent. Presented and curated by trans- gender activist and media personality Yaya Mavundla, the exhibition showcases “different layers of women, interrogates identity and validate trans- gender women as women in a form of art” on their own terms. This exhibition features black transgender women who are in the media and at the forefront of transgender visibility in South Africa. The three women are Moja Love’s The Way Ngingakhona reality TV star Tholang Motsumi, Miss South Africa top 30 finalist Lehlogonolo Machaba, and Mzansi Magic’s Becoming Reality star, and award-winning transgender activist Mavundla. Mavundla collaborated with South African…

Viwe Ndongeni-Ntlebi viwe.ndongeni@inl.co.za COVID-19 has made us acutely aware of how important our health and well-being is, but for parents it has highlighted how critical it is for your little ones to develop healthy relationships with food from a young age. Experts say until about 6 months old, breast milk or formula is sufficient as the sole source of nutrition for babies. And while this will remain the primary source of nutrition until 12 months, the nutritional needs of a baby increase to support growth and development. And that is why solids become necessary. For many parents, making the transition to solids can feel daunting. Some babies are varied and adventurous eaters, while others are picky. Nadia Jansen van Rensburg, co-founder of Rooted Natural and a clinical dietitian with…

Kristin Engel kristin.engel@inl.co.za THE National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) has generously donated a 4.7m Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) to the Lawhill Maritime Educational Trust (LMET), that was officially launched in a boat-naming ceremony in Simon’s Town. The boat will be based at the False Bay Yacht Club and used to enhance the skills of maritime students from the Lawhill Maritime Centre at Simon’s Town School (STS) participating in the NSRI’s Personal Survival Training course, and delivered in association with the South African Training Ship (Sats) and the General Botha Old Boys’ Bursary Fund. NSRI chief executive Cleeve Robertson congratulated LMET on receiving the vessel and told how the boat was originally donated to the NSRI by a family that had lost their son, along with two other teenagers, at…

Mwangi Githahu mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za the provincial Health Department is launching another campaign to get more people vaccinated with the co-operation of pubs and other businesses where people socialise. In its latest surveillance report, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said that as at the end of last week an increase in the weekly incidents of new cases among people younger than 20 had been reported for the past five weeks. The report said: “This could be explained by clusters reported from schools, following reopening of private and public schools, as well as transmission in the community as this increase preceded school opening in some provinces.” Meanwhile, to mark the first day of spring, Western Cape Health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo has invited the 18 years and older age group to the…

Mwangi Githahu mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za THE weather outlook for the province this week continues to look bleak following the arrival of yesterday’s cold front and another one scheduled for Friday, the SA Weather Service said. The weather bureau also predicted scattered rain for the Garden Route during the week and more rain across the province for the weekend. Meanwhile, Local Government and Environmental Affairs MEC Anton Bredell said that dam levels for the Western Cape continue to record high levels for this time of year. “We continue to see increases in most dams across the province. “In August 2016 the level was 56% and heading for record low levels later in that year. “The average dam level for dams in the province has increased to 81.4% which is 10% higher than…

Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za FUEL users can expect a slight breather next month with the prices of all grades of fuel set to drop. This is according to the Automobile Association (AA). The AA’s outlook for September was that petrol will drop by around 11 cents a litre, diesel by up to 21c/l and illuminating paraffin by around 12 cents. “International petroleum prices continued their gradual retreat during August, having pulled back by around 10% since the start of the month. We attribute this mainly to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) cartel, which increased oil production gradually during the first half until previous production restrictions were removed," the association said. The AA noted, however, that the rand weakened a fair amount against the US dollar this month meaning that…

THE Tokyo Paralympics are underway after a year’s pandemic delay. Here, AFP Sport picks out five athletes hoping to make an impact: Markus Rehm (GER) Known as the “Blade Jumper”, three-time Paralympic champion Rehm is aiming to push the boundaries even further after demolishing the T64 long jump world record in June. The German, who turned 33 on Sunday, leapt 8.62m at the European Championships in Poland - beating the previous record by a full 14cm. That jump would have been enough to win gold at every Olympics since 1992, and was only 33cm short of Mike Powell’s non-disabled world record. Beatrice Vio (ITA) Wheelchair fencer Vio is a sporting icon in her native Italy. The 24-year-old, known as “Bebe”, started fencing at the age of five, but had both…

Ashfak Mohamed ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za HAVING missed out at Rio 2016 and the 2017 world championships, Louzanne Coetzee expressed her relief at finally breaking her medal duck with silver at the Tokyo Paralympics yesterday. It has been a long road for Coetzee, who has a visual impairment, to reach the heights that she did at Tokyo Stadium. Running in the 1 500m T11 class, the 28-year-old was a bit concerned when Mexico’s world champion Monica Rodriguez Saavedra took the lead from Coetzee in the second part of the race. But with her guide Estean Badenhorst, Coetzee negotiated the jostling for positions and managed to claim second place in a time of four minutes 40.96 seconds, which was a new African record, with Rodriguez Saavedra setting a new world record to take gold…

MOMENTUM Life Insurance paid out almost R1.4 billion for 842 Covid-19-related death claims by July, an indication of the severity of the second and third waves of the pandemic. Claims so far this year show a steep increase compared with last year. Jenny Ingram, the insurer’s head of product development, said of the R5.5bn in claims paid last year, more than R370 million were for 217 Covid-19-related death claims. Ingram said respiratory death claims, in which Covid-19 was categorised, formed the third-highest number of claims last year, representing 19 percent of Momentum’s death claims. The top two reasons for death claims last year were cardiovascular disease (28 percent) followed by cancer (25 percent). Although respiratory complications represented only 19 percent of total death claims, Momentum had seen a dramatic increase…

Kedibone Modise kedibone.modise@inl.co.za Though the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has been felt by all, it’s no secret the arts and entertainment sector has been hit the hardest. With lockdown restrictions, major events have been postponed, while artists alongside other creative workers continue to suffer. The Hilton Arts Festival recently announced that this year’s event hadbeen cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “We left the decision as late as possible in the hope that the Covid pandemic would be less severe by September,” said Sue Clarence, the Festival director. “However, in the light of the Covid situation right now, it would not be socially responsible to go ahead with this year’s event. “The generous donations via our crowdfunding campaign will make for a great event next year. Let’s all live…

Despite having reported the issue numerous times, the City failed to repair the drain in which the toddler died Sisonke Mlamla sisonke.mlamla@inl.co.za THE Khayelitsha community is blaming the City after the death of two-year-old Imthande Swaartbooi, who drowned after falling into a sewage drain outside his family home in Green Point, Khayelitsha, on Sunday. Residents say this was not the first time a child has fallen into the drain, but Imthande had been the first one to die “as a result of the City’s negligence in failing to fix broken, blocked and overflowing drains, in poor working-class communities”. The child’s uncle Nkosikhona Swaartbooi said Imthande was discovered by his mother Busisiwe Swaartbooi, who had been looking for…

Tarryn-Leigh Solomons tarryn-leigh.solomons@inl.co.za PUBLIC Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has commended board members at Denel for their efforts to help the entity recover from the damage caused by state capture. According to Gordhan, the board has made significant inroads in restructuring the entity. He however emphasised that there was no “quick fix” for corruption. The new board was appointed in 2018 after the minister’s appointment to the portfolio. At the time, he said the birth of the board was to stabilise the state-owned entity, restore its financial standing, and root out corruption. In response to questions by the DA’s Michéle Clarke, Gordhan indicated that one of the successes which Denel saw was the cumulative cost savings in excess of R1 billion from April 2018 to September 2020. He said this was…

Mwangi Githahu mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za AHEAD of an expected judgment from the Constitutional Court, on the recognition of Muslim Marriage under South African law, the Al Jamah-ah Party has submitted a Private Members Bill, on a proposed interim registration of Muslim marriages, to the Speaker of Parliament. Party leader Ganief Hendricks said the new bill was in response to a recent judgment by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) and the party’s position in respect of the Green Paper, published by the Department of Home Affairs. Hendricks said: “The bill is a minimalist piece of legislation, aimed at just registering a nikah, which is a marriage performed by an imam – with consequences including proprietary benefits, in terms of the Islamic tenets/rulings on marriage. “It also provides for a pre-nuptial marital…

Shakirah Thebus shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za DESPITE wealthier nations making headway by rolling out Covid-19 booster shots, the majority of the world is trailing behind, battling to administer first doses. This as a new potential Covid-19 variant of interest, C.1.2 lineage, has been identified in South Africa. The Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa first detected the mutation in May. It was detected in all provinces at a relatively low frequency from May to August. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the national Department of Health were alerted to C.1.2 in July. Earlier this month, the WHO called for a temporary moratorium on Covid-19 booster shots to ensure equitable access globally to Covid-19 vaccines. Last week, Johnson & Johnson announced data to support boosting its single-shot Covid-19 vaccine. The interim data…

LIONEL Messi came on as a substitute to make his Paris Saint-Germain debut on Sunday but Kylian Mbappe stole the show by scoring both goals in a 2-0 win against Reims in Ligue 1. Messi, wearing the No 30 jersey, came off the bench in the 66th minute to replace Neymar at the Stade Auguste-Delaune, where fans in the sell-out 21 000 crowd had earlier chanted his name as he emerged to warm up. The Argentine had not played since arriving in Paris from Barcelona almost three weeks ago, his last appearance in any game dating back to the Copa America final on July 11, when he led his country to victory against Brazil. The six-time Ballon d’Or winner will have to wait for his first goal with his new…

Zaahier Adams zaahier.adams@inl.co.za CAPE Town City coach Eric Tinkler will hope the forthcoming Fifa international break will allow some of his injured attackers to recover, while working on finding that cutting edge in front of goal again. After a hectic start to the season, which has already seen City play four matches in a short period of time, the Citizens will not be in action for a fortnight with their next Premiership game only on September 15 against Marumo Gallants. City have responded well to Tinkler’s training methods and style of play since the former Bafana Bafana hard man returned to Cape Town near the end of last season for his second spell in charge of the club. They have been much more organised and structured, particularly in defence, and…

HERMAN GIBBS THE elder statesmen in the Bafana Bafana squad, Ronwen Williams and Percy Tau, have been handed the leadership reins to usher in a new era in South African football under the tutelage of Belgian Hugo Broos. The 29-year-old goalkeeper Williams will don the captain’s armband. He replaces Thulani Hlatshwayo, who has fallen out of favour with the new Bafana leadership. Williams follows in the footsteps of goalkeepers like Senzo Meyiwa and Itumeleng Khune, who have captained SA in the past decade. The 19-time-capped Williams has spent many seasons in the shadow of Khune, who has 91 caps for the national team. Williams, who spent part of his youth career at Tottenham Hotspur, made his Bafana debut in March 2014 against Brazil. “It is an amazing feeling, but…