Innholdsfortegnelse for 2022-02-21 i Cape Argus

Bang Showbiz Tom Holland nearly lost his teeth while filming Uncharted as the metal ring he had to wear kept hitting him in the mouth during fight scenes. The 25-year-old actor plays Nathan Drake in the movie based on the video game series of the same name but said that a ring he had to wear around his neck did damage to his pearly whites during the movie’s fight scenes. He is quoted by The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column as saying: “We had to get a rubber one made because during the fight scenes it kept whacking me in the teeth. “Honestly it really hurt. I had to say to the props master, ‘Can you make me a rubber one?’ I’d turn around and punch someone and it would bounce…

Mwangi Githahu mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za AHEAD of Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s Budget speech on Wednesday, economists, trade unions and small businesses are jittery about some of the trade-offs that will have to be made on the bumpy road to recovery. A team of FNB economists led by Mamello Matikinca-Ngwenya said the Budget came at a time when the severe real-time impact of the pandemic on economic activity had largely diminished, but poverty and unemployment have deepened. “The government faces the tough trade-off between providing permanent social support to unemployed adults and risking a deviation from fiscal consolidation or crowding out private investment, which would be better suited to create sustainable employment.” Uasa spokesperson Abigail Moyo said they expect the Budget to come with practical measures to hasten economic recovery. “Our wish list…

Tarryn-Leigh Solomons Tarryn-Leigh.Solomons@iinl.co.za Parliament’s “R1m a day” use of the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) remains unconfirmed. The national legislature’s hunt for an alternative base comes after the National Assembly – which hosts sittings of one of the Houses of Parliament and joint sittings of Parliament – and Old Assembly buildings were destroyed in a blaze on January 2 following an alleged arson attack. Alleged arsonist Zandile Mafe was arrested soon after. A report suggesting that Parliament could cough up R1m a day to use the CTICC as an alternative base was speculation, Parliament spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said yesterday. According to a media report, sources within Parliament said discussions are taking place between the leadership and management of the CTICC. The report reads that moving sessions from the Parliamentary…

Nomalanga Tshuma nomalanga.tshuma@inl.co.za THE call by dozens of civil society organisations (CSOs) across the country for the Department of Internal Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) to halt its donation of R50 million to Cuba is gaining momentum. In a bid to influence the government to not send over the hefty donation as announced by International Relations and Cooperation Deputy Minister Alvin Botes, the coalition of about 60 civil society organisations began a petition aimed at mobilising other CSOs and ordinary citizens to demand that the donation be recalled and redirected to fight food insecurity in South Africa. After receiving no positive feedback on its demands, the coalition is preparing to deliver its signed petition supported by 15 000 signatories to Dirco offices in Tshwane. Chefs with Compassion’s Coo Pillay said: “The…

Tom Stokes | Claremont I LISTENED with keen interest to the arguments and rebuttals between the Honourable Julius Malema and advocate mark Oppenheimer during the court case against the EFF (accused of hate speech), specifically the issue of legitimate ownership. Obviously, like the rest of mankind, I do not have the depth of intellect that Honourable Malema has, and consequently couldn’t follow fully the sequence of his argument. I think the logic of his primary syllogism was as follows: Premise one: Africans were the first and hence only original people of Africa. Premise two: Original occupier means legitimate owner. Conclusion one: Therefore Africans are the only legitimate owners of Africa (Africa belongs to Africans). Conclusion two: Therefore every non-African owning part of Africa is a settler and hence…

Russia staged another show of military might at the weekend with President Vladimir Putin reportedly overseeing drills involving nuclear- capable missiles. Ukraine accused Russia of wanting to escalate tensions by not attending planned trilateral peace talks on eastern Ukraine on Saturday, adding that it was concerned by the worsening security situation in the conflict zone. “We believe that the non- participation of the Russian Federation indicates its conscious intention to continue escalating the situation,” a statement by the Ukrainian delegation to the talks said. Dramatic US warnings that it was sure that Moscow was planning to invade Ukraine, increased shelling on the frontlines and the evacuation of civilians from Russia-backed rebel regions in Ukraine have raised the fear of a major conflict in Europe to its highest amid weeks of…

Mwangi Githahu mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za THE Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has dismissed the appeal against conviction by former independent Knysna ward councillor Velile Waxa and former Knysna municipal official Mawande Makhala, both of whom were sentenced to life imprisonment for the 2018 murder of Knysna council’s ANC chief whip Victor Molosi. Waxa and Makhala were convicted together with hitman Vela Patrick Dumile in the Western Cape High Court sitting in Knysna, back in December 2019, on one count of murder, one count of possession of an unlicensed firearm and one count of unlawful possession of ammunition. They were each sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and five years’ imprisonment on the remaining counts. Molosi was shot and killed on his way home after attending a school governing body meeting at Concordia…

Mwangi Githahu mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za BEAUFORT West mayor Gideon Pietersen (Patriotic Alliance) has accused Local Government MEC Anton Bredell of playing politics after Bredell launched an investigation into the troubled municipality, citing complaints about poor governance and service delivery failure. Launching the investigation on Friday, Bredell said that over the last three months he had received numerous complaints from a wide range of stakeholders in the municipality, including residents, municipal employees, non-governmental organisations, trade unions, civil society groups, the business sector and farmers. “The call from these complainants is clear: they are asking the province to intervene in the municipality as a matter of urgency to address the service delivery, administrative challenges and financial crises that the municipality faces and is unable to effectively resolve.” Bredell said he had tasked senior officials…

Rafieka Williams rafieka.williams@inl.co.za YOUTH activists from Cape Town gathered over the weekend to delve deeper into climate change and the way it directly affects their communities. The gathering was organised by African Climate Alliance (ACA) and Project 90 by 2030 to discuss ways of applying an inter-sectional approach to climate change and to interrogate ways of sharing information from a westernised view. Youth development manager Daniel Robinson said: “This was an opportunity for youth activists to build their understanding of how they can use the inter-sectionality framework in addressing climate change in their community. “Many of the participants were from different areas of Cape Town and were able to listen to others who share their same understanding, as well as challenge their own understanding of climate change and climate justice,”…

Colin Bosman | Newlands JULIUS Malema is without doubt one of the most intelligent politicians in South Africa. He is smart, streetwise, a brilliant orator and a born leader. Sadly though, he is confused. History shows that people like Cecil John Rhodes who marched through Africa colonising as he went was indeed a rogue and a land thief. Only a lunatic would dispute this. However, to tar all whites with the same brush as Rhodes, as Juju tends to do in his rants, is both vexatious, misleading and mischievous. It’s also a nonsense. History teaches that the Great Plains of America before the white man came along were occupied by the Cherokee, Sioux, Palute, Iraoquois, Apache, etc, popularly known as Red Indians. Today they live in compounds…

JUSTIN VISAGIE AND IVAN TUROK ECONOMISTS and policymakers seem to have a blind spot when thinking about how the economy functions and what determines success. Analytical frameworks and government policies consistently neglect the role of space and geography in favour of national averages and sectoral plans. Yet growing evidence from around the world shows the importance of place and location for productivity, growth and development. Intuitively, it is obvious that economic progress depends on the quality of local skills, capable public institutions, reliable infrastructure, and proximity to markets and suppliers. But just how important are these factors compared with the particular mix of local industries and macro-economic conditions? In a recent paper we unpacked the economic performance of different provinces in South Africa to diagnose the significance of local factors…

Emergency crews battled to restore power to hundreds of thousands of homes in Britain after Storm Eunice carved a deadly trail across Western Europe and left transport networks in disarray. At least 13 people were reported killed by falling trees, flying debris and high winds in Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Poland, according to emergency services. Train operators in Britain urged people not to travel, with timetables in chaos after most of the network was shut down when Eunice brought the largest wind gust ever recorded in England – 196km/h – on Friday. The train network in the Netherlands was paralysed, with no Eurostar and Thalys international services running from Britain and France after damage to power lines. France was also grappling with rail disruption and about 75…

Stuart Hess stuart.hess@inl.co.za THE best course of action for the Proteas is to get away entirely from cricket, which is exactly what the players and management are doing for two days. They would much rather still be playing, of course, but having been blown away in seven sessions in the first Test against New Zealand, they have the extra time at their disposal, and the best use of that time is to do nothing – at least in terms of cricket, thinking about it, practising or even watching it. Christchurch, as New Zealand’s TV coverage showed, has a lot to offer. So fishing, rock-climbing, golf, punting down the Avon River, trail-running or even X-box (for those who don’t enjoy the outdoors) should be the priority – anything but cricket. The…

Matshelane Mamabolo Comment FOR an institution that prides itself as promoting ‘The Ultimate Human Race’, the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA) is fast contriving to turn the race into an elitist event while ironically alienating the elite runners. Their announcement that they are increasing registration fees for the 2022 edition by 100%, while cutting the prize money for winners by almost half, came across as an institution intent on ‘downgrading’ their event. Granted, we all know just how financially devastating the impact of Covid-19 has been, but to expect runners to fork out more money to participate in a race and then tell the potential winners that they will earn way less than they did three years ago when the race was run normally is just not on. As it is,…

Alyssia Birjalal alyssia.birjalal@inl.co.za Home is where the heart is. That’s why hit comedian, podcast host, and roast master Nikki Glaser is leaving Hollywood and heading back to her hometown of St Louis, Missouri. In her new sitcom Welcome Home Nikki Glaser?, commissioned by E!, Glaser goes back to her roots to navigate friends, family and romance as a home-grown local celebrity in the only way she knows how: unfiltered, relatable and unapologetic. The sitcom follows Glaser’s return to St Louis, where she embarks on an hilarious and often uncomfortable journey of self-discovery. In the midst of her chaotic move, Glaser leans heavily on her parents, Julie and EJ Glaser, her childhood bestie Kerstin Robertson, her platonic roommate, Andrew Collin, and even her ex-boyfriend, Chris Convy. As a big fish in…

Shakirah Thebus shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za SOUTH Africa and the World Health Organization have announced the first African beneficiaries of the very first mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub on the African continent. Located at Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines in Cape Town, the mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub will capacitate and facilitate low to middle-income countries to enable the production of mRNA vaccines through training centres and will work with a network of technology recipients (spokes) from these countries. On Friday, the WHO director-General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus said the first African countries to benefit from the hub are: South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Tunisia, Kenya and Senegal. The countries’ heads of state gathered for the formal announcement hosted by WHO South Africa, the European Council, and France in Brussels, Belgium. Dr Ghebreyesus said: “Currently, 116…

Loyiso Sidimba loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za TRADE union federation Cosatu’s biggest affiliate has warned Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo and the Constitutional Court to deliver the judgment in the public service wage dispute within two weeks or face protests. The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) told Justice Zondo that it would march to the Apex court to express its displeasure at the time it has taken to hand down its ruling. Nehawu has taken the extraordinary step of demanding that the Concourt deliver its decision. “We wish to record that the matter was heard in the Concourt on August 24, 2021 and to date the judgment remains outstanding. The union deems that period to be excessive as it is now in excess of five months,” said Nehawu general secretary Zola…

Phil Greenlees | Pinelands BORN in France, of French and British parents, I sympathise with the Académie Française, which bemoans the infiltration of English into the “pure” French language. According to the article in the Cape Argus on Friday, February 18, the organisation has been fighting this incursion since 1635. On the whole, I’d say they haven’t done all that badly. But these days it has become much more difficult to maintain purity from Anglicisation, because of the internet, social media and other sources. The British took a different approach to their language. Wherever they went they acquired and embraced words from most – maybe even all – of the languages spoken. In my opinion, the addition of foreign words has added to the richness, but maybe…

Wallace Mgoqi THERE is an age-old saying: “People who live in glass houses should not throw stones.” It means that people who have faults should not criticise other people for having the same faults. The raging battle between Dr Iqbal Survé and his 200 companies under the Sekunjalo Group of Companies on the one hand, and Nedbank and the other banks on the other hand, calls to mind this age-old saying. The story begins when a young boy, growing up in the southern suburbs of Claremont/Kenilworth, from humble beginnings, used to sell newspapers – The Argus and The Cape Times – to earn extra money, and assist his struggling family. He rose, by his own bootstraps, to qualify as a specialist doctor, practised for a while, built a community…

President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to pull French forces out of Mali in West Africa is a setback for the EU’s foreign policy ambitions. The EU’s mission in Mali was a test case for Macron’s efforts to establish a European defence capability that could operate independently of the US – at his request, some of the bloc’s 27 member states joined operations to contain an Islamist insurgency that has spread across the Sahel region, though France provided the bulk of the forces. Macron announced on Thursday that France and its allies were withdrawing their forces after relations with the West African nation’s government deteriorated following a military coup. They pledged to continue the anti- terror fight in other parts of the Sahel. As the EU tries to adapt to China’s increasing…