Innholdsfortegnelse for 2022-06-03 i Cape Argus

The SAPS’s Rapid Rail Unit is mourning the death of their colleague, 49-year-old Warrant-Officer Siyakubonga Gladson Mphakhati, who was shot dead while driving towards the Philippi railway station. Police spokesperson Novela Potelwa said crime scene experts were called out to the scene in Ngulube Street, Browns Farm, shortly after 7pm on Wednesday, and discovered Mphak- hati’s body lying in his vehicle. “An initial report of the incident indicates that the officer was driving towards the Philippi railway station in his vehicle when he was shot through the vehicle window by yet-to-be-identified suspect/s. He died on the scene. A murder docket has been opened for investigation and the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation (DPCI) detectives are investigating,” Potelwa said. Mphakhati’s death comes less than a week after two Bellville South police…

Drakenstein mayor Conrad Poole has said that the municipality will challenge Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma’s refusal to waive retirement for the council’s 65-year-old Municipal Manager Johan Leibbrandt in court, but only as a last resort. Poole said that the municipality was still hopeful Dlamini Zuma would reconsider and grant approval for the full five years. “Unfortunately, all my attempts to secure an audience with Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma to discuss and resolve this matter have been ignored.” He said the municipality’s application for a retirement waiver was not unusual or covert and that the legislation allows managers in municipalities to work beyond the retirement age. Dlamini Zuma granted approval for Leibbrandt’s appointment for a period of six months up to August 31, 2022 but told…

KIDNAPPING, common assault, 12 counts of rape, child exploitation, child grooming, murder, sexual assault, incest, intimidation, and the violating or desecration of a corpse. These are just some of the charges 56-year-old Moyhdian Pangkaeker faces. He has been accused of raping and killing 8-year-old Tazne van Wyk. Tazne is one of many children countrywide who have been victims of crime. As the country observes National Child Protection Week, we ask whether the government is doing enough to protect children. Simply and honestly put, it’s an obvious no. Nearly every week we hear about children who are hurt, abused and, sadly, even killed. Spaces meant to be safe for children are no longer safe. In parts of Cape Town children cannot play in parks or even in their own yards due…

There have been unanimous calls for Heathfield High School learners to return to classrooms following nearly two weeks of instability, with labour law and mediation specialist professor Brian Williams brought in as mediator. Learners in support of former principal Wesley Neumann vowed that they would not accept any other leadership, and protested over his dismissal. Neumann had been embroiled in a two-year long legal battle with the Western Cape Education Department (WCED) over misconduct charges. In October last year, Neumann was found guilty on six charges of misconduct. From May to July 2020, the WCED said Neumann incited personnel, learners and the community on social media to refrain from attending school or to report to duty during the Covid-19 pandemic. Neuman rejected the offer based on principles, he said, and…

Home security is necessary in South Africa but this doesn’t mean it has to be something that hampers your lifestyle or places added stress on your day. To reap the full benefits of good home security, it should be in sync with your lifestyle, enhancing it rather than hampering it. Innovations like remote home control enable homeowners to keep their property and family safe and experience simpler living, all at the touch of a button. The security industry has come a long way since the first residential security system was invented by Edward Callahan in 1874. His “call box” to signal for assistance to a central office, to which he then connected 50 other homes in the neighbourhood was the birth of the American District Telegraph (ADT) company in Baltimore…

BRASILIA: The death toll from heavy rain in Brazil’s north-east Pernambuco state over the past week has increased to 107, with 11 people still missing, according to officials. At least 6 650 people have been displaced by the rain, which caused major flooding and landslides that buried dozens of houses, officials said. Firefighters and the army were focusing on finding the bodies of those still missing with the help of trained rescue dogs. The rain also took a toll on the states of Sergipe, Paraiba, Rio Grande do Norte and Alagoas, where three people were killed and more than 18 000 were evacuated. | IANS…

Perfecta Carvajal was the beloved aunt from Miami, a gentle, grey-haired woman who loved children. She was also an economic lifeline for her family in Cuba. Two or three times a year, Aunt “Pepa” would take the hour-long flight from Florida to Santa Clara, about 300km east of Havana. Her suitcases would be stuffed with gifts: shoes, clothing, coffee and dried beans. Then the visits stopped. First, then-president Donald Trump suspended US flights to Cuban cities outside Havana in 2019. Next, the coronavirus struck. Now, thanks to US policy changes announced last month, the 94-year-old Miami resident is looking forward to returning. “I’m crazy happy about going back,” she said. The flights are among a handful of measures introduced by President Joe Biden’s administration to ease Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign…

Senior provincial traffic official Farrel Payne will appear in the Cape Town Regional Court today, where he is expected to enter a plea on the allegations of improper conduct and sexual harassment levelled against him. This comes after the matter was postponed yesterday for the media to bring a formal application with legal representation requesting to broadcast the proceedings. Both the State and the defence objected to the media’s initial application, but the magistrate said that because South Africa was a democracy, the media would have an opportunity to explain their application in court this morning. Payne last appeared in court in March this year, when the matter was set down for two days. Yesterday, the defence indicated that they were ready to proceed with the trial and that Payne…

The City’s department of mobility says it has set aside almost R6.4 billion to spend on capital projects over the next three financial years, with nearly R1.4bn budgeted for 2022/23. Mobility MEC Rob Quintas announced the directorate’s budget and plans this week, saying the department would be prioritising the construction of new roads, general road maintenance and new infrastructure for public transport services over the next three financial years. “Capital projects relate to investment in new infrastructure to ensure commuters, goods, and services can keep on moving in Cape Town. Thus, this is money to be spent on new roads, traffic signals, congestion relief projects, new facilities for buses and minibus-taxis, and infrastructure related to the roll-out of the MyCiTi service in the metro-south east.” Among its plans for the…

BROAD-BASED Black Economic Empowerment (BB-BEE) is often maligned but, according to businessman and activist Kashif Wicomb, it is essential to narrowing South Africa’s income inequality. Earlier this week, Wicomb, along with Kganki Matabane, Gloria Serobe, Nthabiseng Moleko, Sibongile Sambo, Sibusiso Maphatiane, Ajay Lulu, Louise Thipe, Makale Ngwenya, Lulu Gwagwa, Thulani Tshefuta, James Hodge, Khathu Lambani Makwela and Irene Dimakatso Morati were appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa to his BB-BEE Advisory Council. Wicomb said no country could be safe if 45% of economically active citizens were unemployed. “Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment, if implemented correctly, will assist in addressing those imbalances, not only of the past but the current imbalances we face as a country, and as a nation,” said Wicomb. He said his business path was paved for him through sheer…

IN A joint initiative to raise public awareness about the impact that water and sanitation infrastructure theft and vandalism have on essential services to communities, the City of Cape Town and national Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) launched an anti-vandalism campaign at Fisantekraal on Friday, May 27. The campaign aims to highlight the valuable role all stakeholders, including spheres of government and the public, must play to help protect this critical infrastructure and the staff who deliver this essential service. In the past months, the destruction of water and sanitation infrastructure has reached concerning levels, while attacks directed at water service delivery officers of the City of Cape Town continue to undermine service delivery efforts that are directed to our disadvantage communities. As the DWS, we are appalled by…

“Who of Shakira, my sister, or me would go to university? My parents needed to decide, and we needed to live with the decision and make it work,” Sarah explained. Her mother and her father, as a teacher and a police officer, on their combined income, could afford to support only one of them to study, especially since they also cared for her live-in grandparents and other family members from time to time. Shakira would go on to study and gain a professional qualification. Sarah needed to find work to supplement the family income and support her sister’s studies. As a family, this was their only solution since even though Shakira achieved excellent results, she did not qualify for national student funding – their household income was too high. A…

Two years since the inception of the Western Cape Commissioner for Children, the office still has only two permanent employees with no permanent office. Commissioner Christina Nomdo said the situation hampered the efficacy of the office significantly. This week, coinciding with Child Protection Week, marked the start of the third year of the Western Cape Commissioner for Children in office. Despite this Nomdo said they moved around temporary offices and still had not been able to create the “fantasy house” office concept, but said it would not deter them from striving to do their best. Nomdo said she would continue to work directly with children to fulfil her mission. However, she said many still misunderstood the mandate of the commissioner as an oversight mechanism. “It seems there are expectations that…

SA National Parks (SANParks) has dismissed its chief executive officer, Fundisile Mketeni. Mketeni was fired following the finalisation of his disciplinary process which found him guilty on six out of seven charges. “In July 2021 the board of SANParks initiated a disciplinary process against the then CEO. The process was chaired by an independent professional, and resulted in a ruling and recommended sanction being delivered to the board in May 2022,” said Rey T Thakhuli, general manager for media, PR and stakeholder relations. He said the board met on Wednesday to deliberate on the outcomes of the disciplinary process. In line with the recommendation of the independent senior counsel who chaired the process, the board determined that the relationship between Mketeni and SANParks would be terminated with immediate effect as…

A CULTURE of authoritative and poor leadership in the management of institutions in the private and public sectors is a recipe for disaster, and this has been one of the reasons why many institutions have collapsed. In recent years, it has become evident that there was a lack of capacity in terms of governance in many institutions of the state, leading to them becoming less relevant and employees becoming less productive in their respective roles. Incompetence, authoritative culture, arrogance, and failure to recognise the significant others who are party to the outcomes of the entire production chain, generally have negative consequences. The question that arises is: Why are these institutions that are often well-resourced and key to our everyday life in such a state? The answer lies in poor governance…

TUNIS: Tunisian President Kais Saied yesterday sacked 57 judges accused of corruption and other crimes, after passing a new law strengthening his grip on the judiciary. Saied had accused judges of corruption, stalling “terrorism” cases, sexual harassment, collusion with political parties and obstruction of justice. He has already scrapped an independent judicial watchdog and replaced it with one under his control. Saied had accused the previous watchdog of blocking politically sensitive investigations and being influenced by his nemesis, the Islamist Ennahdha party. | AFP…

The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will conduct more military exercises in the Taiwan Strait, keeping in mind the worst-case scenarios due to rising tensions with Japan and the US, the Global Times newspaper reported, citing a Chinese military expert. The expert reportedly said that such a decision was prompted by Tokyo and Washington’s intention to resolve the Taiwan issue by military means. The PLA has recently conducted three large-scale exercises near Taiwan, the expert said. Another military expert, Song Zhongping, told the newspaper that the Chinese army was not only issuing warnings, but also making practical preparations for a military conflict that seemed quite possible. This week, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian warned the US of serious consequences for its support of separatist forces in Taiwan amid…

THERE was good news all around for South African rugby yesterday when it was not only confirmed that the country’s United Rugby Championship (URC) teams would contest next year’s European Rugby Champions Cup but also that the Cheetahs, at last, have a home in a major competition – the European Challenge Cup. Both of these knockout competitions fall under the European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) organisation. This means that the SA teams will now cross swords with the best clubs from England and France, after already successfully integrating with teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the inaugural URC, which is now at the quarter-final stage. Under EPCR qualification, the four Shield winners and the next four highest-ranked clubs on the final league table of the URC will take…

MARUMO Gallants coach Dan Malesela has rubbished speculation linking him to Orlando Pirates, insisting that it will be disrespectful to the Sea Robbers and to his current employers Gallants. “It will be disrespectful to Pirates and my current team to speak about things I never spoke about. I do not want to disrespect Pirates or their coaches or my current team. They have coaches,” Malesela said. The former Pirates captain’s name and that of former striker Benni McCarthy have been strongly linked with the Buccaneers following a poor show by current incumbents Mandla Ncikazi and Fadlu Davids. Reports circulated earlier this week that the Soweto giants were considering some names to take over and among those were former players at the club. Malesela flatly refused to be drawn into the…

FAMILY members of the three women who were allegedly killed at the hands of Wellington man Johan Williams will have to wait until next year before the trial begins after he rejected the plea and sentence agreement. Williams faces charges for the rape, kidnapping and murder of three women – Maria Isaacs, Natalie Jonkers and Chantell Matthyssen – whose bodies were found on the same farm in Wellington in July 2018. Williams has made several appearances in the Western Cape High Court over the past few weeks, consulting with his lawyer, advocate Nawaal Abdurahman, who engaged in a constant back and forth with the State on the finalisation of the agreement. However, yesterday was the last straw as his lawyer withdrew from the matter due to conflicting instructions from…

A long-standing dispute over the chieftaincy of the Nzuza clan in Eshowe led to a crippling shutdown in the northern part of KwaZulu-Natal yesterday that led to school closures. The dispute is over who should succeed the late Inkosi Muntakafi Themba Nzuza of the Nzuza clan, which derives some royalties from commercial sugar cane and timber farming under its jurisdiction. Two names have been put up by the warring factions within the royal house of the area. One of them is Mxolisi Nzuza. Challenging him is an unnamed son of the late Inkosi, whom he fathered with a woman who is a local police officer, but they were never married. According to documented information that was leaked to the Daily News last year, officials from the Department of Co-operative Governance…

World Hunger Day was initiated in 2011 by The Hunger Project, an organisation doing excellent work to raise awareness of hunger and the need for global communities to work together to put an end to hunger. This year, their campaign highlights the role of youth in creating a future free from hunger, and calls on the world to let young voices be heard. Rightfully, they note that when young people have access to education and leadership opportunities, they develop the skills to achieve self-reliance for themselves and their communities. The tragedy, however, is that it is the youth who are the most prone to the harmful effects of malnutrition and hunger. These desperate and harsh circumstances render many of our youth incapable of being able to concentrate in school, or…

The City has defended its 2021-2026 CCTV roll-out plan which the opposition parties and anti-crime activists described as ineffective. Safety and security member JP Smith said the criticism from opposition parties was confounding, as the members were represented on the Safety and Security Portfolio Committee that endorsed the plan a few weeks before it was presented and later endorsed by the Council on Thursday last week. ANC chief whip Xolani Sotashe dismissed the plan as a copy and paste while GOOD Party councillor Suzette Little said installing cameras across the city had not stopped the crime spiralling out of control in many communities. However, Smith said the CCTV roll-out plan was based on numerous sources of data that were cross-referenced, including contributions from police to the crime threat analysis on…

Stacks of letters, believed to be utility bills from the City, addressed to different households in areas of Steve Biko Drive, Malinga Park and Khikhi in Gugulethu, were found abandoned in a bin by residents on Tuesday. This comes after some residents claimed that they hadn’t received their utility bills for months. The letters, which the residents said were delivered by two guys in a bakkie, were not sealed. While other residents claim that these were hand-delivered to them, some raised concerns about the lack of protection of their personal information, which they said was carelessly displayed by the City and the local post office. Thobeka Balintulo, the resident who made the discovery, said when she asked kids who were playing with them where they found them, they said the…

One in 10 South Africans goes hungry every day. As a result malnutrition levels are high. Malnutrition has three simultaneous dimensions: undernourishment, micronutrient deficiencies and over-nutrition. These can manifest in stunting – being short for one’s age because of long-term undernutrition. In 2016 it was estimated to occur in 27% of South African children. This is high. Africa is currently the only continent where stunting rates continue to rise, with 27% of African children classified as stunted in 2018. Another consequence of malnutrition is obesity and being overweight. There has been a dramatic increase in obesity and being overweight among adults in the country, rising from 29.6% in 1998 to 39.8% in 2016 among women aged between 15 and 24. Among women aged between 45 and 54, it increased from…

RAMALLAH: A Palestinian teen was shot dead by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank yesterday, the Palestinian health ministry said, the fourth such killing in two days. The teen, 17, arrived at a hospital “with a bullet in the chest” fired by Israeli forces near the village of Al-Madiya, west of Ramallah. Earlier, a Palestinian man was killed during clashes with Israeli soldiers in a refugee camp next to the West Bank city of Bethlehem. The ministry said that Ayman Muheisen, 29, died in hospital. The Israeli military said troops carrying out a raid in the camp opened fire when locals threw bombs and rocks at them. | Reuters | AFP…

SANA’A: Yemen’s warring parties have agreed to renew a two-month truce, the UN said yesterday, in an 11th-hour move on the day it was set to expire. Yemen has been gripped by conflict since the Iran-backed Houthi rebels took control of the capital Sana’a in 2014, triggering a Saudi-led military intervention in support of the beleaguered government. Aid groups have touted the benefits of the truce, which went into effect in April. Beyond opening Sana’a airport to some commercial flights, a lifeline to Yemenis needing medical care, the truce has allowed oil tankers to dock in the rebel-held port of Hodeida. | AFP…

Russian forces yesterday hammered the last Ukrainian defences holding a strategic city in the Donbas region as the war approached its 100th day and Washington warned it could still last for months. Vladimir Putin’s troops have set their sights on capturing eastern Ukraine since Ukrainian forces repelled them from seizing Kyiv after the Russian invasion began on February 24. Defending the east has come at a high cost for Ukraine, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying up to 100 Ukrainian soldiers are dying daily. Russia’s invasion has killed thousands of people and sent millions of Ukrainians fleeing. The industrial hub of Severodonetsk in Lugansk, part of the Donbas, has become a key target for Moscow, and the local governor said 80% of the city was already now under Russian control. Street…

ONCE a Kaizer Chiefs darling, Lebogang Manyama was on the list of seven players and a coach who will be departing the club at the end of the month. The 31-year-old Manyama arrived in Naturena following a brief spell in Turkey in 2018. His final season at the club was largely hampered by injury and a drop in form which inevitably pushed him out of a rebuilding Chiefs outfit. The Tembisa-born man penned a very heartfelt farewell message on Instagram directed to the club and the supporters. “As a young boy you can only dream of putting on the Shirt of your Childhood club and today I stand as a man that realised his dream,” he expressed. “I want to thank the chairman Mr Kaizer Motaung, Bobby Motaung and everyone…

ORLANDO Pirates should look no further than coach Gavin Hunt if they want to dethrone Mamelodi Sundowns and return to the pinnacle of South African football in the next few years. Hunt is fast becoming a tweleb, given that he’s spending more time on Twitter rather than focusing his energies on returning to the dugout after being sacked by Chippa United last season. It’s sad. Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong with Hunt congratulating his peers after a triumph on social media or showing off the grandest stadiums that England has to offer during his visits. But staunch Pirates supporters should be quite disappointed that their club isn’t taking the phone away from Hunt and returning him to the dressing room at once. I am a neutral who’s not…