Innholdsfortegnelse for 2021-11-24 i Cape Argus

Brian Timperley INNOVATION is an overused term for a reason. It’s more than just creating new solutions, building new products and breaking down barriers. Innovation is a mindset, one that should be embedded into the very fabric of a company’s culture to ensure that the business is agile enough to cope with the leagues of uncertainty that lie ahead. In the current market, globally and locally, everything is constantly in flux – people, business, markets, demands, environments. As McKinsey points out, innovation is the business launchpad out from underneath the Covid-19 crisis as it’s a way of thinking that will drive growth, performance and optimisation. Innovation is traditionally seen as building new products and services, or being creative and improving customer perceptions. But it’s also finding new and effective ways…

Gerry Cupido geraldine.cupido@inl.co.za We’re a month away from Christmas and already there’s a jingle and a “ho-ho-ho” in the air. Homes are already sporting Santas hanging from chimney tops, Christmas wreaths on the doors and twinkly lights in the windows. The decorated trees are up and the little ones have already scribbled down their present wish lists for Santa. Over and above the sparkling lights and fancy gifts, Christmas is about family and togetherness. In the past, the Christmas Day outfit was a big deal. People saved up and spent a fortune on an outfit for that one day of year. As we all feel the financial pinch, that additional expense is something we can happily do without. Who needs to be all dressed up to get into the Christmas…

Mwangi Githahu mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za A WESTERN Cape High Court judge has ordered a well-known Mouille Point restaurant, The Butcher Shop & Grill, to pay more than R2 million in rent, which it had withheld citing the effects of pandemic restrictions between August last year and June this year. The case centred around the question of whether a commercial tenant is entitled to withhold payment of rental to the landlord payable in terms of a lease agreement during the period of national lockdown, and whether such a tenant is entitled to claim a rental remission as a result of the legislative restrictions caused by the imposition of the regulations. The judgment said: “The leased premises are used as a restaurant, butchery, deli and wine shop, with the largest part of…

Nomalanga Tshuma nomalanga.tshuma@inl.co.za INTERNATIONAL non-profit organisation The Justice Desk (TJD) is gearing up to officially launch its campaign 16 voices for 16 Days as part of the annual 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence (GBV) campaign. The initiative will focus on amplifying the voices of ordinary South Africans, who will act as TJD ambassadors raising awareness about GBV through social and physical engagements from tomorrow until Human Rights Day on December 10. TJD CEO Jessica Dewhurst said: “Often times we are told of how advocating against GBV has become somewhat exclusive. How only certain groups or individuals are the voices of GBV, and that’s not what we are about. “We wanted to do away with that and showcase a united stance against GBV, to involve everyone because the fight…

Mwangi Githahu mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za CAPE Town’s dam levels have fallen for the fourth consecutive time since the beginning of November when the capacity of dams supplying the Cape Town metro fell to 100% from 100.5% on October 25. The City reports that the dams are now standing at 97.7%, having dropped by 1.1% in the last week, from 98.8%.. Meanwhile, daily water consumption has fluctuated from 760 million litres per day on November 2, to 738 million litres per day the following week, to 803 million litres per day this week.…

Loyiso Sidimba loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za THE Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF), AfriForum and the DA were yesterday accused of disrespecting former president Jacob Zuma by challenging his medical parole. The three organisations asked the North Gauteng High Court to overturn former correctional services national commissioner Arthur Fraser’s decision to grant Zuma parole. Zuma’s lawyer, Dali Mpofu SC, said the case was clearly a politically motivated application and that the HSF, AfriForum and DA application was a waste of judicial processes. Mpofu described the organisations as right-wing and “racist”. “Our courts cannot be used for this thing,” he said, adding that the matter was full of falsities and that the parties involved were propping up a case that was non-existent. According to Mpofu, the case was a political point-scoring exercise. In his argument, Thabani…

More than half of families in Lebanon had at least one child who skipped a meal by last month amid a deterioration of living conditions, the UN’s children’s fund said in a report released yesterday. Children have been hit hard by the country’s economic crisis exacerbated by Covid-19, which has left about eight in 10 people poor and threatens the education of 700 000 children including 260 000 Lebanese. The proportion of Lebanese families sending children to work increased to 7% between April and October, | Reuters…

Schools must comply with tribunal’s ruling Mwangi Githahu mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za THE Competition Tribunal’s ruling that schools can no longer force parents to buy their children’s school uniform at a specific supplier has been hailed a huge victory for poor parents and small businesses. The tribunal this week said a consent agreement between uniform supplier McCullagh and Bothwell and the Competition Commission formed part of efforts to increase competition, and ensure cheaper prices in the school uniforms market. The agreement follows the commission’s investigation into several schools and school uniform manufacturers and suppliers for possible contraventions of the Competition Act. The probe followed numerous complaints from parents and school uniform suppliers in 2017. Tribunal spokesperson Gillian de Gouveia said: “The commission’s investigation found that exclusive supply agreements of a long duration enable…

Colin Bosman | Newlands IT’S often said that truth is stranger than fiction. True to this notion is the bizarre political make-up of some of South Africa’s newly elected municipal members and political heads. Top of the list and first prize must go to Gayton McKenzie, president of the Patriotic Alliance, a convicted criminal who was incarcerated for bank robbery and other crimes and who now sits in Parliament. Hot on his heels in second place is Jeffrey Donson, mayor of Kannaland who is a convicted criminal, having been found guilty of rape/sexual assault of a minor. Bringing up the rear is deputy mayor of Kannaland ex teacher Werner Meshoa who was fired from his school for inappropriate sexual behaviour towards a pupil. He was later convicted of…

Kara Moss, founder and chief executive officer of the STEPS Foundation, will be the Cape Argus’s special guest in a Facebook Live interview. The organisation works to support public health-care services dealing with clubfoot – a congenital condition in which a baby’s foot is twisted out of shape at birth. Moss will clear up myths and answer questions on the Facebook page tomorrow at 1pm. Her son was born with a clubfoot and this prompted Moss to start the STEPS Foundation which focuses on treating the condition with non-invasive surgery. The STEPS Foundation supports 38 partner clinics in the state health sector and has directly trained 693 health-care professionals in the use of the Ponseti Method. The organisation works in South Africa and supports clubfoot treatment providers in Botswana, Lesotho,…

BUSINESS is starting to pick up as Covid-19 recedes, and there is noticeable activity leading up to the holiday season. South Africa is starting to show the green shoots of an economic revival. Despite negative legislation and rather poor sentiment the business community is slowly reacting to create a little more employment, especially in the Western Province. Many businesses were brought to their knees and were almost bankrupt. These businesses were put on the market, and new prospective owners (employers) were able to step in the breach and restart businesses for the recovering economy. These changing circumstances with new ownership have created a lot of anxiety for the staff of the various businesses. I receive phone calls on a daily basis from groups of staff who want to…

FAROUK ARAIE | BENONI Brutal murders, the mutilation of women’s bodies and the ever increasing incidence of kidnapping reveal a disturbing chronicle of terror and uncertainty of life in our dysfunctional country. Our women are brazenly assaulted without any consequences. Grim reports offer tragic insights into the nature of our country’s present peril and a nuanced account of the human consequences of a rapidly disintegrating state. Violent crime has turned the rule of law into a mere myth. Lawlessness is an overwhelming fact in South African life. Assaulting women is a serious offence. These assaults are inconsistent with the standards of a civilised country. It creates a moral imperative to act. Society must ostracise the abuser, not the abused. Violence against women continues to be a major social…

After years of struggling with insufficient funds, efforts to build Africa’s Great Green Wall against desertification on the rim of the Sahara desert have received a major boost. Donors have pledged $19 billion for the scheme, while at the recent COP26 climate summit, US billionaire Jeff Bezos said his foundation would stump up $1bn to help fight land degradation, particularly in Africa. The idea is to plant diverse trees and shrubs in a corridor 8 000km long and 15km wide, on the southern edge of the Sahara. | AFP…

Mihlali Baleka mihlali.baleka@inl.co.za ORLANDO Pirates caretaker coach Mandla Ncikazi is confident they’ll be able to handle the congested schedule in the final stretch of the year, especially with some of their key players returning from injuries. The Sea Robbers have endured a roller-coaster outing for the better part of the first half of the season. They are seventh on the log with 15 points, tied with eighth-placed AmaZulu and 11 behind leaders and champions Mamelodi Sundowns. Although they’ve had some good moments, Pirates’ main issues have been their poor conversation rate and defensive frailties. The lack of goals haunted them in the last two games, losing to rivals Kaizer Chiefs and drawing with Golden Arrows away. They’ll aim to ensure that the winless streak doesn’t extend to three matches when…

Michael Cavna and David Betanourt THIS year delivered a wealth of worthy graphical works, from anthology to autobiography, as well as featured illustrations by such star cartoonists as Art Spiegelman (Street Cop) and Jaime Hernandez (Queen of the Ring). Here are eight of the year’s graphic narratives that stayed with us, in their power to create unique immersive worlds and help spark illumination through illustration. Run-Book One, by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, L Fury and Nate Powell (R402 on Loot.co.za) The late civil rights hero died before Run’s release, but Lewis left this riveting follow-up memoir to his March trilogy – this time centring on the movement after Selma – as a legacy of ever-relevant 60s lessons in social progress. The Secret to Superhuman Strength, by Alison Bechdel (R424 on…

Anita Golani Prebiotics are being claimed to do wonders for your skin. The live organisms live in our skin’s microbiome and act as a protective shield that safeguards it from the harmful substances in the environment. Millions of bacteria dwell in our skin’s ecosystem. Some are good, some are bad. The goal is to eliminate bad bacteria from causing havoc on your skin. For this, you need a good defence barrier to avoid pimples, rashes, pigmentation, and signs of ageing. Prebiotics may be an answer, say some. A good source of prebiotics and superfoods strengthens your skin and helps give it immunity to infection. They also help keep skin issues away. A balanced microbiome is a healthy microbiome. If it is unbalanced, it results in dryness, oiliness and acne.…

Rafieka Williams rafieka.williams@inl.co.za EIGHT men who allegedly scammed people out of their money by manipulating them into online romantic relationships have appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court. Perry Osagiede, Enorense Izevbiege, Franklin Edosa Osagiede, Osariemen Eric Clement, Collins Owhofasa Otughwor, Musa Mudashiru, Prince Ibeabuchi Mark, and Toritseju Gabriel Otubu are facing charges in the US. The eight men have been accused of committing transnational crimes. There is a pending extradition application by the US government, and warrants for their arrests have been issued by the US Attorney’s office in Texas and New Jersey. A document from the US Attorney’s office has shown that they have been charged with wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering and aggravated identity theft. It is alleged that the men fraudulently formed romantic relationships…

MTHUTHUZELI NTSEKU mthuthuzeli.ntseku@inl.co.za THE Table Mountain National Park watch groups have warned of a surge in muggings and car break-ins as the festive season approaches. The groups say areas where incidents recently occurred include Tafelberg Road, Cecilia Forest, Constantia Nek and Scarborough. Hot spots include Tafelberg Road and Kloofnek Corner, where a group of hikers were recently robbed of their belongings and their car. The groups pleaded with mountain users to leave valuables at home, be vigilant and ensure that reports of all criminal activity were reported to the authorities. André van Schalkwyk, of Table Mountain Watch, said crime in the park was generally seasonal and an increase in crime could be expected due to an increase in tourists. He said that despite this there was no formal safety plan…

Shakirah Thebus shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za A FAIRLY new and already sprawling Ocean View farm and restaurant, run entirely by a group of women, will be hosting its first high tea and tour event this Friday, and they have appealed to the public to support the initiative. In 2019, an agri-training hub was formed in Ocean View by Justin Bonello of Neighbourhood Farm. The hub accepted its first batch of 20 interns in early 2020, with 10 qualifying early this year. The farm was created from scratch in that first year. Then this year, management of the farm was handed over to five women who had formed a co-operative to collectively manage it. The farm also runs a volunteer programme for those who want to learn how to farm and do…

IT IS intensely gratifying to see our readers respond positively to our injunction for children to be constantly encouraged to be readers. I think we all understand that by readers we mean not only reading as required by our school curricula, but reading for pleasure, empowerment and, ultimately, as potential writers who will add to the wealth of material waiting to be actioned. There are many reasons why I am covering this domain again this week. I trust my readers will not see this as a lesson, or grandstanding, but as shared steps in promoting this most excellent of habits which is sadly undersubscribed. By reading, we understand achieving a level of literacy that will improve the living and self-concept of every citizen in our country. We believe that the…

Mwangi Githahu mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za WRITTEN replies to questions asked in the provincial legislature have revealed how the office of the Education MEC has come to spend nearly R70 000 in monthly rent for separate offices while the rest of the department is housed elsewhere at a yearly rental of R49 million. ANC education spokesperson Khalid Sayed had asked Transport and Public Works MEC Daylin Mitchell for details about the office space for the Western Cape Education Department. At the same time, ANC legislature chief whip Pat Lekker had asked Mitchell a general question about where the various MECs had their offices, how much they were paying in monthly rent and for details on the ownership of the buildings where they were housed. In three separate replies, Mitchell said the…

Mayibongwe Maqhina mayibongwe.maqhina@inl.co.za ESKOM'S leaders found themselves in hot water yesterday when it emerged that they had failed to provide adequate documents in the auditing of their finances for the 2020/21 financial year. This comes as Parliament's standing committee on public accounts was intent on holding those responsible accountable. ANC MP Bheki Hadebe noted that up to R11 billion in irregular expenditure was incurred and there was no sufficient record of the expenditure. The power utility's chief finance officer Calib Cassim maintained that the R11.7bn was a combination of new irregular expenditure in the year under review and amounts picked from previous years. “The new transaction in the financial year is R2.2bn and half of it is for fuel oil emergencies,” Cassim said. The auditor-general qualified Eskom for the fifth…

Bernard Reisner | Cape Labour and Industrial Consultants, Gardens With reference to the article titled “Domestics still not benefiting, union says” (Cape Argus, November 22), there is no doubt that the wheels of justice turn slowly. More than a year after the Constitutional Court handed down its judgment, employers are still unaware of the existence of COIDA (Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act), how to register as an employer and how to comply with the provisions contained therein on behalf of their domestic worker. By doing so, employers cannot be held liable for any claim for work-related injuries or diseases that may be contracted by domestic workers. In addition thereto, if a domestic worker dies while at work, the family member or dependent is able to lodge…

VOTER apathy has been diagnosed as part of the reason for the low voter turnout in the 2021 local government elections. The turnout was the lowest since the dawn of democracy, with only about 12 million (46%) of about 26 million registered voters casting ballots. Apathy among voters in representative democracies is defined as a lack of interest in voting. Some choose to view the apathy as a threat to democracy. But that might not be the case, as some would like to put it. Instead, it might reflect the evolution of South Africa’s democracy and the expansion of choices available to South Africans outside the voting principle commonly used to define democracy. While I am inclined to agree with the view that this voter apathy has some messaging on…

The Taliban has expanded its shadowy war against the Islamic State branch in Afghanistan, deploying hundreds more fighters to this eastern province in an increasingly violent fight and critical test of the group’s counterterrorism abilities after the US troop withdrawal. More than 1 300 additional Taliban fighters have been deployed to Nangahar province in the past month with orders to increase the tempo of operations, according to Taliban security officials. Taliban night raids against suspected Islamic State-Khorasan members are on the rise, and many of the hundreds arrested have disappeared or turned up dead, according to Jalalabad residents and Taliban fighters. “We have to eradicate Daesh not just for Afghanistan, but for the entire world,” said Qari Nurullah Fateh, a Taliban fighter under the group’s intelligence wing in Jalalabad. Daesh…