Innholdsfortegnelse for 2022-01-21 i Cape Argus

Siyabonga Mkhwanazi siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za THE ANC caucus in Parliament has taken action against its MP, Mervyn Dirks, after his letter to Parliament’s finance watchdog, the standing committee on public accounts (Scopa). Dirks had initially been called by the ANC to withdraw his letter to Scopa and was given a deadline early this week. Dirks confirmed yesterday he had been suspended by the party, pending action against him. The Jacob Zuma loyalist had written to Scopa urging it to call President Cyril Ramaphosa to account over his comments in a party meeting on the abuse of public funds during party campaigns. ANC chief whip Pemmy Majodina told Dirks in a letter yesterday that they would act against him and withdraw his membership from Scopa. Majodina said Dirks was being suspended pending disciplinary…

Mwangi Githahu mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za SOUTH Africa’s wine exports have recovered. The Wines of South Africa (Wosa) export report for 2021 shows the value of exports grew to R10.2 billion compared with 2018 when exports fetched only R9.1bn. Among export destinations that bounced back was the UK, South Africa’s largest wine export market, which showed a 10% increase in volume and a 25% increase in the value of packaged wine. Agriculture MEC Ivan Meyer said the improvement had come despite the Covid-19 pandemic and other setbacks experienced by the wine industry such as local alcohol sales bans, global freight and localised port issues. Wosa chief executive Siobhan Thompson said the African market for South African wine recovered very well in 2021, with export volumes exceeding pre-Covid-19 levels. “Markets driving this growth are…

Sisonke Mlamla sisonke.mlamla@inl.co.za THE recent killing of taxi boss Mzoxolo Dibela has prompted the Transport and Public Works standing committee in the legislature to summon the provincial police and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to urgently brief them on the taxi violence. Committee chairperson Ricardo Mackenzie said the stability of the taxi industry and the safety of commuters must be the priority of all stakeholders. Dibela’s body was found in the sand dunes at Monwabisi Beach in Khayelitsha on Monday afternoon. He had been shot in the head. Dibela was a long-standing leader of the Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (Codeta), and was also deputy chairperson of the SA National Taxi Council (Santaco). Mackenzie said while there had been a sense of good co-operation between the relevant stakeholders since July…

FAROUK ARAIE | Johannesburg EVERY day that passes brings us all closer to total nuclear annihilation as Russia, China, the US and their respective allies trade nuclear threats and prepare for the inevitable. We are too complacent about the risk of absolute destruction as we grimly witness brinkmanship by all the world’s nine nuclear powers and their 14 500 nuclear weapons. Once a nuclear weapon is used by design, accident or inadvertence, the ladder of nuclear escalation will intensify, and develop into a titanic battle on land, at sea, in the air and the outer fringes of the stratosphere. Putin, Biden and Xi Jinping are blissfully ignorant about the insanity and futility of nuclear war. Their confrontational policies are inching towards atomic obliteration. Once reason ceases, and war…

| Reuters | AFP North Korea will bolster its defences against the US and consider resuming “all temporally suspended activities”, state news agency KCNA said yesterday, an apparent reference to a self-imposed moratorium on tests of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles. Tension has been rising over a recent series of North Korean missile tests. A US push for fresh sanctions was followed by heated reaction from Pyongyang, raising the spectre of a return to the period of so-called “fire and fury” threats of 2017. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un convened a meeting of the powerful politburo of the ruling Workers’ Party this week to discuss “important policy issues,” including countermeasures over “hostile” US policy, the official KCNA news agency said. The politburo ordered a reconsideration of trust-building…

Nomalanga Tshuma nomalanga.tshuma@inl.co.za THE case of the Brackenfell police officer accused of raping a young woman on a farm in Stellenbosch on the pretext of helping her has been postponed once again. The officer, who was set to appear in the Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court yesterday, will now be making his first appearance on Monday due to the court not having running water. The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) announced the change of dates yesterday, stating that they were not concerned by the postponement of the officer’s appearance. Ipid spokesperson Grace Langa said: “We are not in a hurry, and we will let the law take its course. “Situations such as this need for us to allow things to move at their own pace because we are not the only…

They triumphed despite the turbulence and uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic Baldwin Ndaba baldwin.ndaba@inl.co.za THE matric class of 2021 attained a 76.4% pass rate despite Covid-19 and other challenges in the education sector, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said last night. The pass rate was slightly higher than the previous year’s 76.2%, she said. Motshekga was announcing the matric pass rate and after she had hosted the top 33 achievers at the Houghton Hotel in Johannesburg. During her announcement, Motshekga said the Free State retained its position for the second year in a row, with the highest number of pupils who passed, while Gauteng declined in its performance. Despite its decline, Gauteng still clung to its second position with the Western Cape coming third. Motshekga said…

Sihle Mavuso sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za The National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting this week will be divided in two – yesterday and today there will be an ordinary NEC meeting. It will be followed by a lekgotla of the NEC, which will start tomorrow and conclude late on Sunday, and both meetings will take place in Pretoria. This was outlined in an NEC statement early this week, when the party said the lekgotla would focus on ongoing priorities of the ANC-led government – the economic recovery and reconstruction plan, the provision of basic services to all citizens, and building social compact around unemployment and poverty. The statement also said the agenda of defending the gains of the Constitution and a democratic South Africa, an effective and capable developmental state, with a focus on…

Adiel Ismail | Mount View THE Department of Basic Education (DBE) had since 2014 decided to withhold the names of matric pupils and only to publish their examination numbers alongside their matric exam results. However, what baffles me is why the DBE is continuing to publish the matric results in national newspapers when the names of learners are withheld. This is akin to publishing in a national newspaper the municipal accounts of residents of say, Cape Town, but only supplying their account numbers and their respective outstanding balances. Am I missing something? No one except the resident associated with the account number will know his/her balance. Similarly, the result of any matric pupil will only be looked up and read by that particular person or at least very…

heideveld community project this week launched its flagship programme encouraging young people in the area to pursue vocational training to help them out of poverty. The Heideveld Skill Development Outreach Project is targeting the youth to get involved as a way to tackle drug abuse, alcoholism and gangsterism which is rife in the area. Chairperson Jeremy Petersen said, “If you look at the majority of the youth in our area, gangsterism grows day by day and it’s mostly those 14 and older. I engaged them on why they get involved in drugs and gangsterism and their concern is that there is nothing else for them to do. “We want to get as much youth off the streets. We’re going to use the youth that are involved in gangsterism to…

ESHLIN VEDAN eshlin.vedan@inl.co.za ORLANDO Pirates veteran Happy Jele will not only captain Warriors in the inaugural Compact Cup in Durban this weekend, but he will also be a vital figure in the tournament. It will be up to the stalwart to help pass the knowledge that he has gained over the years to younger players in the tournament. The Dylan Kerr-coached Warriors will take on Amabutho in the second semi-final tomorrow night at the Moses Mabhida Stadium. Jele feels that the tournament will allow him to pass his skills and share the knowledge acquired over the years with players across the team divide. Jele’s team will include players from TS Galaxy, Kaizer Chiefs and Moroka Swallows. Other veterans that he will team up with include out-of-favour Chiefs goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune…

Samkelo Mtshali samkelo.thulasizwe@inl.co.za ONE of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture’s lead investigators, Frank Dutton, has died. He was 72. A career police officer and sought-after detective for nearly 40 years, Dutton succumbed to a long illness on Wednesday evening. Although there had been no official comment from the Presidency, it has previously described Dutton as having continually risked his life in the struggle for the advancement of human rights, justice and peace. Dutton retired from the SAPS in 2003 for medical reasons after 37 years of service, and after his retirement remained involved in human rights-related work as a policing expert, locally and abroad, the Presidency said. In recognition of his work, in 2012 Dutton was awarded the Order of Baobab in Gold by then…

Loyiso Sidimba loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za OUSTED Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) CEO Kgosie Matthews will square off with the entity, its board and Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula next week over the decision to terminate his employment. The Labour Court is scheduled, next Thursday, to hear arguments in Matthews’s urgent application to interdict Prasa from terminating his contract. The matter was due to be heard by the Labour Court in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, this past Wednesday before it was removed from the roll. Matthews’s lawyer, Peter Harris, told Independent Media that the date was moved after an agreement with all parties. He said the matter was not removed from the roll as a result of a settlement. Matthews was fired by the Prasa board last month for failing to disclose his dual citizenship…

Mwangi Githahu mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za THE SA Weather Service (Saws) has warned that this weekend promises to be a scorcher in the Western Cape and residents should do all they can to avoid prolonged exposure to the sun. Saws says a strong upper air high pressure system will result in a sunny and drier end to the week and weekend for South Africa with “extremely hot temperatures expected over the Western and Northern Cape provinces”. Saws Cape Town spokesperson Stella Nake said the Western Cape and Namakwa District of the Northern Cape are expected to experience extremely uncomfortable and hot weather starting today. “The hottest day will be (tomorrow) for most areas. The temperatures should range between 35°C and 40°C in most places, and greater than 40°C in most parts of the…

MICHAEL BAGRAIM | Cape Town Unfortunately, and without any insight, it appears that the Department of Education has once again kept schooling at 50%. This means that children only get 50% of their education when South Africa is at an all-time education low. There are other repercussions which will take years to evidence. A direct instant result is that those children receiving school feeding will not receive that benefit on days off. My wife is involved with a City Bowl school in Cape Town and the worry is that the children might have a nutritional deficit. The Basic Education Department has not taken proper advice and is not listening to international experience, to the children’s disadvantage. These children are also often exposed to dangers at home when their…

This is the final part of a two part series about restoring dignity to the Khoi-San and their descendants. The first part was published yesterday. We cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the past, such as the very first land claim to have been settled under the Restitution of Land Rights Act No 22 of 1994, as amended. This claim was settled in 1996, two years after the commencement of the restitution process, by myself as the Regional Land Claims Commissioner for the Western and Northern Cape. The restitution process was driven politically quantitatively, in the sense of it being how many claims were settled over as short a space of time as possible. Consequently, it was about the qualitative aspects of ensuring that there was adequate spatial planning,…