Innholdsfortegnelse for 2022-07-21 i Cape Argus

SOUTH Africans are feeling high levels of financial stress, which is also negatively impacting their health, their home and work lives, according to the Money-stress Tracker. This is a survey of more than 14 000 participants run by South African debt counsellor DebtBusters. Despite this, most were trying to deal with the problem themselves rather than seeking professional help. According to this survey released this week, which DebtBusters said was one of the largest surveys ever done in South Africa to determine how money-related stress impacts other aspects of life, some 70 percent of respondents said they were experiencing financial stress. Of these, 94 percent felt this was impacting their home life and 77 percent their work life. Some 76 believed it was affecting their health. The respondents polled had…

“Driver Sought In Hit-and-Run; Victim Critical”, read the headline in the Daily Oklahoman on May 2, 1990. The newspaper reported that police were still searching for the driver of a car that had struck 22-year-old Tonya Dawn Hughes a week earlier on a service road near a major highway in Oklahoma City. That isn’t the type of incident usually explored in a true-crime film, but the story went far deeper, as chronicled in the chilling Netflix documentary The Girl in the Picture, which has been atop the most-watched movies on the streaming platform since it premiered last week. Even the original 12-paragraph Oklahoman article made the story seem simple, if sad, noting that Hughes had been staying at a nearby motel with her husband, Clarence Hughes, and their son, Michael,…

THE Information Communication Technology Union (ICTU) has vowed to fight side-by-side with the Sekunjalo group against the unbanking of the group and its subsidiaries by the banks, a situation that could cost many jobs. The union, which represents more than 200 Independent Media employees, including journalists, expressed concern that the unbanking was a political ploy to remove Independent Media from the Sekunjalo stable. ICTU deputy president Origenous Mogoatlhe and union general secretary Vulture Ntuluki held a meeting with workers in Durban yesterday to discuss, among others, Standard Bank’s recent announcement that it had taken a decision to terminate its business relationship with Independent Media, citing “reputational risk”. The bank is one of two banks that still provide banking services to the company. The other one is Nedbank, which was ordered…

Delft and Gugulethu residents protested outside the Bellville Magistrate’s Court, where a man has appeared in connection with the murder of Tania Mbalo, a mother of two. Her bruised body was found in a blue recycling bag in a field in Delft on June 27. Her family was informed by police of the discovery before they filed a missing person’s report. Yesterday, the accused abandoned his bail application and the matter was postponed to September 14 for further investigation. He’s arrest came after he handed himself over to police. Lawrence Guma, who is an attorney on watching brief for the family said: “The defence has decided at this point not to proceed with the bail application. Because the community is in support of the deceased, it could be strategy…

The SACP, Cosatu and the SA Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) have called on ANC delegates attending its provincial elections this weekend to be wary of vote-buying. In a joint media statement, the alliance bloc said delegates must emerge from this conference with leadership that will tirelessly work for the strength of the alliance across all regions, saying the uncontrollable desire to accumulate wealth and use of money ahead of the conference should be discouraged. They said they remained concerned about many slates that have been circulating over the past few months, saying this was a clear indication of a lack of unity and, to put it simply, the lack of strong leadership in the province. They said such a situation should not have been allowed. “We are left with…

The lessons from the Enyobeni tavern tragedy were that private service providers and operators are not always compliant when it comes to municipal regulations and by-laws, and officials are not always consistent in monitoring the regulations. The entrepreneurial spirit of this tavern owner and operator was driven by the need to make a profit without any regard, allowing under-aged youth to be considered as patrons and paying customers, and hell-bent on exploiting the community. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the constant refrain was that the government should relax the restrictions and allow the market to open in order for businesses to revitalise the economy. The argument was that a free market would save jobs and provide opportunities for people. In a free market society, neo-liberal economic theory stresses the superiority of…

A second Eskom and a fixed tariff for those using solar energy were some of the jaw-dropping proposals doing the rounds that had consumers gobsmacked. Eskom denied the proposal for a fixed tariff of R938 was designed to discourage people from using alternative energy sources. The idea of a second Eskom came from none other than Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe. At the last SACP conference, President Cyril Ramaphosa revealed that in dealing with the country’s energy crisis, Mantashe suggested that another state-owned entity might be the answer to the energy struggle. When asked for more information, Mantashe’s spokesperson, Nathi Shabangu, said: “It would be difficult for the department to share information or plans on a possible establishment of a state-owned entity in respect of electricity generation as the discussions are…

Conservationists have called for the introduction of environmental education in schools to protect and conserve biodiversity. Catherine Kühn from Nature Connect, a Cape-based conservation group, was speaking to delegates at the Africa Protected Areas Congress (Apac) in Kigali, Rwanda. Kühn said environmental education in South African schools was a key aspect of the group’s work to support the preservation of the country’s unique and biodiverse natural heritage. This was done through education, training and conservation initiatives. “Environmental education involves integrating environmental and conservation knowledge-based learning into the school curriculum through various interactions and immersive activities, either at schools or off site,” she said. Kühn believed environmental education in schools was essential to protecting and conserving this diversity as it enabled youth, adults and residents to better understand the need for…

FORMER Bafana Bafana captain Mbulelo Mabizela has slammed the state of the Premiership. South Africa’s top flight is due to kick off at the beginning of next month with Mamelodi Sundowns looking to defend their title for the sixth time in a row. Mabizela, one of the best players to emerge from South African shores, has expressed his displeasure at the quality of football displayed in the nation’s top league. “I don’t watch the PSL any more, it’s boring. Things aren’t the same as when we used to play but I also don’t expect it to be. If you were to compare the standard of football from when we played, it has somewhat taken steps backwards,” he said. “The current generation couldn’t take the baton and continue from where we…

GOING head-to-head with defending champion and gold-medal favourite Noah Lyles nearly derailed Luxolo Adams’ quest to reach the 200m final at the World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, on Tuesday night. Lining up in a favourable lane six draw, Adams had a tough task to gain automatic qualification – finish in the top two. Against Lyles and another American Kenny Bednarek as well as Trinidad and Tobago star Jereem Richards, it was a tall order. But going into the event at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon, Adams would have great confidence after clocking an outstanding 19.82 seconds personal best to win the Paris Diamond League meeting, which ranks him fifth in the world in 2022 behind American teenager Erriyon Knighton (19.49), Lyles (19.61), Cuban Reynier Mena (19.63) and…

The new, fully-automated assessments by the South African Revenue Service (Sars) are causing havoc for some taxpayers, according to William Louw, a tax director at Sable International SA. In 2021, Sars trialled automatically issuing assessments for taxpayers with less complex tax affairs. This meant that you no longer had to log into e-Filing and manually submit. Instead, you were given the option to “accept” a pre-generated assessment. This year, in a bid to make the process “much easier”, Sars has fully automated the assessment. You will no longer be given the option to accept or reject. Instead, you will need to file corrections or objections after the fact – and the clock’s already ticking for doing so. Theoretically, you are meant to be able to edit the return to do…

What started off as Cassper Nyovest trolling Slik Talk for asking for a rematch quickly took a left turn and somehow led to a Cassper v Priddy Ugly fight. On Tuesday evening, the Siyathandana hitmaker took to Twitter to share a screenshot in which Slik Talk texted him on WhatsApp claiming that if he had trained for the pair’s fight the outcome would’ve been very different and that he deserved a fair one. In his caption, Nyovest said, “Not Slik Talk wanting to get his ass whooped again”, which naturally led to several comments. One particular comment caught Cassper’s eye. “Ek se Abhuti Billiato, I was never scared,” commented rapper Priddy Ugly. “You hit my line & called me up about a fight & I gladly said yes, I didn’t…

Civil society organisation Action Society has thrown its weight behind the Western Cape government’s call for the devolution of national police powers to provinces. Director Ian Cameron said their response was in reaction to Police Minister Bheki Cele’s comments at the Khayelitsha Crime Response Summit. At the summit, Cele had castigated the provincial government for asking for the devolution of police powers instead of focusing on jointly working to resolve the crime issues that residents were facing. Cele said it was ignorant of the province to ask for the devolution of the SAPS to the province, considering that no province could be given policing powers unless the constitution was changed. “Instead of wasting time and energy calling for the devolution of the SAPS, the province should rather work together with…

Khomani San elder Petrus Vaalbooi has condemned all those opposed to the contentious multibillion-rand River Club development and appealed to them to put selfish aspirations aside in support of the development which provided “socio-economic and heritage rights and benefits” for the greater Khoi and Bushman nation. Vaalbooi was declared a living human treasure by the National Heritage Council and is the son of Elsie Vaalbooi, who was at the forefront with Dawid Kruiper in years-long struggle which resulted in the restitution of San traditional land in the Kalahari in March 1999. At a press conference yesterday, Vaalbooi said he was informed and updated on the court proceedings in this matter and that he was deeply concerned about an affidavit by Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Indigenous Council high commissioner Tauriq Jenkins, wherein…

The Special Investigating Unit has welcomed the arrest of six Mpumalanga government officials by the Hawks on charges of fraud and theft to the tune of R60 million. Thembi Milicent Zulu-Motlohi, Agnes Nozipho Ndzinisa, Xoliswa Ngcelwane, Nompumelelo Winny Nxumalo, Allman Masuku and Nkosinathi Gumede are alleged to have manipulated the eNaTIS system in what is known as “money dumping of fees”. It is alleged the accused would recruit companies or individuals whose vehicles were heavily in arrears in terms of motor licensing and penalties incurred due to failure to pay for licensing. They would then dump those fees by changing the ownership of the affected motor vehicles to unsuspecting individuals, deceased individuals or dormant companies. Some fees were said to also have been dumped on to the government vehicles by…

SEVERAL members of the media spewed vitriol in the aftermath of South Africa’s controversial Wafcon semi-final win over Zambia at the Mohammed V Stadium, in Casablanca, Morocco, on Monday night. Four minutes into added time, South Africa were awarded a penalty after Fifa accredited referee Lidya Abebe was made aware of a foul on her earphones by the officials operating VAR (Video Assistant Referee). After reviewing the play on the pitchside monitor Abebe, who refereed at the 2019 Fifa Women’s World Cup in France, awarded South Africa’s Banyana a penalty. Banyana winger Linda Motlhalo, aka ‘Randfontein Ronaldinho’, stepped up and netted from the spot. Motlhalo, who plays for Swedish club Djurgardens, was also crowned Player of the Match. The 1-0 scoreline remained unchanged in the remaining time and South Africa…

THE Springboks got the job done in their series against Wales, and now the focus shifts to the Rugby Championship. The series against Wales was far from an easy one. Not only did the Boks set up Cape Town as the decider with that 13-12 defeat in Bloemfontein, but up until the final Test in the Mother City, things could have swung either way in the first two outings, while the South African coaching staff also had to spend quite a bit of time defending their selections for the second game. The South Africans did enough in the third and final Test, however, to clinch the series 2-1 as they handed the Welsh a 30-14 defeat on Saturday. Here are five Springboks to watch out for come the Rugby Championship,…

THE singing of Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika before every Springbok Test match is always a special occasion. While I remain neutral when writing about SA sports teams, I am proudly South African, and hearing the national anthem is a profound moment for me, especially considering what this beautiful country has gone through during the horrors of apartheid to fight for a democratic dispensation, and then the current battles we face as a nation in almost every sphere of society. Sports matches are a bit of escapism from all those travails such as loadshedding, the petrol price and the cost of living, and for 80-odd minutes, South Africans urge on their rugby heroes in green and gold to at least give them something to cheer about. But then, shouldn’t those Bok fans…

WHILE entrepreneurship is encouraged, not everyone is brave enough to take the step, and some simply cannot juggle family commitments to chase their dream. With the government encouraging South Africans to focus on entrepreneurship year in, year out, the disconnect may be evident as the struggles of everyday life for many wanting to venture into starting their own business bite hard. This is the case for Richard Dube, who works a 9-5 job and reinforces his monthly income, working himself to the bone, with a side hustle at an events company where he handles sound equipment. Dube says: “I shadowed a sound engineer and gained the skills to work the equipment just so I could supplement my income as I have a family to support. “Living in South Africa is…

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Netflix documentary series is reportedly being timed for release with The Crown. The releases are set to be timed so the shows did not get overshadowed by Prince Harry’s upcoming autobiography. A source added: “There is a lot to organise. Netflix wants to make sure they get in there and don’t get scooped. “(Netflix executives) knew the book was coming out, which is why they wanted the series this year. They don’t want to hold off any longer.” Harry, 37, and his wife, 40, known as Meghan Markle before they married, have been working on their Netflix content for more than a year after signing a reported mutimillion-dollar deal with the firm in 2021. Executives reportedly hope to show their docuseries shortly after the…

ONE of the men arrested in a police raid which freed kidnapped businessman Ismail Rajah has been granted bail after he insisted he was busy with “night gardening” when he was apprehended. Identified as one of the men who held Rajah captive for 111 days, Elijah Silinga, from Mandela Park, was granted bail by the Bellville Magistrate’s Court. The State alleges Silinga, 30, and four others worked together in common purpose to execute a well-orchestrated operation as part of a criminal syndicate to abduct Rajah outside his construction business in Parow on March 9. After being transported to the Khayelitsha house, Rajah was violently tortured, deprived of chronic medication and threatened with gardening tools while his captors demanded his family pay millions of rands for his release. Silinga was arrested…

The National Union of Metal Workers of South Africa (Numsa) has rejected a planned purchase of Telkom by network provider MTN. Yesterday, Numsa general secretary Irvin Jim said it had learnt of a planned privatisation of Telkom through media reports. Jim said if the plans to privatise Telkom materialised, they must be rejected. He said Numsa condemned any plan to privatise Telkom, a state-owned enterprise (SOE). The government owns a 40.5% stake in the country’s biggest telecommunications provider. “As of 2020 it has overtaken Cell C to become the country’s third largest mobile operator… We have consistently warned about the dangers of privatisation and the dire impact this would have on the working class and the economy,” Jim said. He said Telkom, as an SOE, played a developmental role in…

THE ANC’s problems witnessed today began before its 54th national conference in Nasrec ANC in 2017, with the recalling of then-president Jacob Zuma in March 2018 being the final nail in the coffin. This is according to ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule who was ousted due to the party’s step-aside policy. He spoke on Power 987 in an hour-long interview this week “My problems started as we were moving towards the Nasrec national conference. They started there and we only learnt when we were at Nasrec that the judiciary behaves in this way. If you look at what happened during those months towards Nasrec, you could find judgments simultaneously throughout the country and we did not actually understand. “That is why some believe that some, and not all, the judges are…

Residents of Tembisa in Ekurhuleni embarked on a violent protest after saying they were sick and tired of poor services. Streets were barricaded by burning tyres, rocks, stones and tree branches, making it impossible for motorists to enter or leave the township. Gauteng police spokesperson Mavela Masondo earlier said a large police contingent was deployed to maintain calm, and currently the situation was calm but still tense. A resident said: ”As we speak we are hungry and we are deprived of electricity, for what reason we don’t know. Rent is too expensive, we are not coping, can the municipality not undermine us because we are uneducated.” Resident Sophie Mthimkhulu said: “We fall victims of crime due to cut electricity services. Do they expect us to live in the dark with…

RASSIE van der Dussen may not have had the amount of game time he desired in the Indian Premier League, but he did not sit around sulking for the two months spent in India. Van der Dussen, who plays with England captain Jos Buttler at the Rajasthan Royals, poured his energies into his fitness regime to prepare for the international season with the Proteas. Van der Dussen was often seen post matches doing drills in the searing subcontinent heat while also hitting the crossfit sessions hard in the gym with his personal trainer. After a belated start to his international career, the 33-year-old takes immense pride in his physical preparation. It is arguably the secret behind his success, particularly in the ODI arena, where Van der Dussen boasts the world’s…

FORMER US President Donald Trump has urged players to “take the money” and join the LIV Golf Invitational Series, suggesting that those who remain loyal to the PGA Tour will ultimately pay a bigger price for staying put. Trump, whose Bedminster course in New Jersey will host the next LIV event from next Friday to Sunday, feels any golfers who do not take advantage of the money being offered to players to make the switch will lose out. “All of those golfers that remain ‘loyal’ to the very disloyal PGA, in all of its different forms, will pay a big price when the inevitable MERGER with LIV comes, and you get nothing but a big ‘thank you’ from PGA officials who are making millions of dollars a year,” Trump wrote…

ANOTHER chapter in the personal rivalry between former Liverpool teammates Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah will play out in Rabat today when the African Player of the Year is named. Mane was a key figure in the Senegal team that defeated Salah-captained Egypt in the 2021/22 Africa Cup of Nations final and in a 2022 World Cup play-off. Both the African title decider in Cameroon and the Qatar eliminator in Senegal were won by the Teranga Lions after penalty shoot-outs. Mane scored in each shoot-out while the outcome of the final was decided before Salah could take his kick, and he uncharacteristically blazed wide from the spot in the play-off. The two Senegalese successes have made Mane favourite to win a second straight Player of the Year award after 2019…

IT’S been a tricky few weeks for Sune Luus as she struggles with her form, while also dealing with drama surrounding the shock retirement of limited-overs batting ace Lizelle Lee. “It’s been quite tough mentally,” Luus remarked yesterday. Luus, usually the Proteas women’s stand-in captain, has now occupied the position for all of this year, with Dane van Niekerk still not fully recovered from the fractured ankle that she suffered just before the World Cup in February. Luus led the Proteas admirably through that tournament, and it has been virtually non-stop for her since. She was among a handful of players involved in some T20 gigs before the tour to England, then was called on to lead in a Test match while making her debut, and a one-day international series…