Innholdsfortegnelse for 2025-08-27 i Cape Argus

LONG queues, system breakdowns, unpaid grants, discrimination and poor treatment saw 150 pensioners and supporters march to Parliament yesterday, demanding a full review of the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa). Organiser Pat Lee said the protest was about more than individual cases. “This is not for just a specific group of people, but for everybody who is a Sassa pensioner, (people) from all walks of life, colours, and creeds, and we know that our voices will be heard,” Lee said. The march started on the Grand Parade at the corner of Lower Buitenkant and Darling streets, before proceeding up Buitenkant Street and turning into Roeland Street, where participants gathered outside Parliament to hand over a memorandum. Among the marchers was 68-year-old pensioner Joy Pinn, who recounted a case at the…

BISHOP Lavis crime fighters are outraged after a man was shot dead outside a school as class was in session yesterday morning. The Bishop Lavis Crime Prevention Forum strongly condemned the shooting outside Greenlands Primary School, saying learners should not be subjected to such an environment. The body of a 26-year-old man was found lying on the pavement next to the school fence. Graham Lindhorst, spokesperson for the Bishop Lavis Crime Prevention Forum, has called on the SAPS to be proactive and not reactive. “It is not right that our learners be subjected to such a learning environment. It is unacceptable that gangsters control our communities. “Although it was not a learner that was fatally shot, we condemn the fact that this shooting took place around the vicinity where learning…

ACTIVISTS with disabilities have rallied for the immediate restoration of the Dial-A-Ride service, highlighting the critical need for accessible transport in their daily lives. During the peaceful demonstration at the Civic Centre on Monday, they expressed frustration at not being able to access school, healthcare, work, and other basic rights without the service. This follows the City of Cape Town’s announcement that due to budget constraints, the service needed to be realigned and will only transport eligible wheelchair users and those with severe walking impairments. As of September 8, the City said it will transport eligible clients between their places of work and home only. Nontsikelelo Mosoluli, 55, from Khayelitsha, who uses a wheelchair after her left leg, from the knee, was amputated in 2014, said she needed the Dial-A-Ride…

EVERY mother's kitchen favourite, Tupperware, is rewriting its story once again, this time by swapping its iconic plastic for durable glass. With the launch of “Voila Glass”, the company is introducing oven-safe, non-toxic containers that can take you from freezer to oven to table. It’s a bold shift for a brand long associated with school lunchboxes and pantry storage, and one that puts it in direct competition with familiar favourites such as Pyrex. Since 1946, Tupperware has been a fixture in kitchens across the world, including in South African homes where “Tupperware parties” became a cultural staple. After a rocky financial patch and a brush with bankruptcy, the brand is back with a fresh strategy – one that’s shaking off its plastic-only image. Officially launching in the US on September…

In Pretoria over the weekend, the ANC Women’s League renewed calls for the next South African president to be a woman. Gender activists keep asking if we can call ourselves a truly democratic South Africa that embraces all its citizens, including men and women, when South Africa has never had a female head of state in its entire history. In fact, one political analyst labels this unfortunate turn of events embarrassing. The only time our nation had a woman leader at the helm was through Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, who briefly served as acting president in 2005 and 2008. And ​that was it. Consequently, the only woman leaders who served the country at the highest level were occupied roles such as Deputy President and Speaker of Parliament.​ For context, Liberia stands as…

Kaizer Chiefs captain Inacio Miguel says they want to build on their consistent start to the season ahead of their clash against rivals and defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns. Chiefs will host Sundowns at FNB Stadium tonight, coming off a perfect start to the season after winning all three of their Betway Premiership matches. Amakhosi’s flawless run came during the absence of coach Nasreddine Nabi, who has now returned to the club after being away on compassionate leave. Nabi’s return is expected to strengthen the technical team’s planning, as his lieutenants – Khalil Ben Youseff and Cedric Kaze – revealed they had remained in constant contact with him. Chiefs can’t afford to falter now, as fans appear to be back on the team’s side, doing their best to attend matches –…

In 2018 and 2019, it was clear that Rassie Erasmus and the Springboks prioritised their away matches against the All Blacks. In 2018, the Boks won their opening Rugby Championship match against Argentina at home before being hammered by Los Pumas away in Mendoza. A week later, the South Africans lost to the Wallabies in Brisbane, and people were already starting to speculate about Erasmus’ future — seven games in, with three wins and four defeats to his name. Heading into their next match against the All Blacks in Wellington, Erasmus said: "If we do really bad here, then I will probably not be in the seat for the next couple of matches and somebody else will probably be there." At the time, as journalists, we took it at face…

A 35-YEAR-OLD woman transporting schoolchildren was ambushed on Onverwacht Road in Strand yesterday, where according to witnesses, she was shot in the face and chest as young children sat in the vehicle. She was among three people wounded and two taxi drivers killed in separate shootings in Strand and Macassar yesterday morning, in what police believe were unrelated incidents. The shootings follow two attacks on Monday, where three people were killed and six others wounded in Khayelitsha and Philippi in what is suspected to be taxi rival shootings. Community members described being startled by the sudden gunfire yesterday. “We didn’t see who shot at the taxi, but when we went outside to look, we saw the woman and the children were visibly shocked. A car came to take the victim…

NATIONAL Assembly chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Ian Cameron, and his colleagues, said him being a licensed firearm owner saved their lives during the brazen smash and grab attack in Philippi-East by three young men. Police yesterday confirmed that while two suspects were apprehended, a third remained at large. Police spokesperson, Malcolm Pojie, said: “The status of this investigation is still the same. More arrests have not been made yet as the third suspect is still at large. Efforts to trace this suspect are under way.” Cameron and his colleagues, Nicholas Gotsell and Lisa-Maré Shickerling, were returning from an oversight visit at the Philippi Police Training college when they came under attack on August 19 along New Eisleben and Goven Mbeki roads. Cameron sustained injuries to his mouth…

LOCAL Government Sector Education and Training Authority (Seta) administrator Zukile Mvalo has defended his track record amid mounting criticism of his appointment. Mvalo, who is the Higher Education and Training Department deputy director-general for skills development, was named as one of the administrators by Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela. Former Limpopo provincial legislature Deputy Speaker Lehlogonolo Masoga was named as Services Seta administrator, and former manager of Emfuleni Municipality Oupa Nkoane as the Construction Seta administrator. Their appointments have been under scrutiny, with Manamela opting to ask the Public Service Commission (PSC) to vet the trio after he came under pressure to not only explain their appointments, but to reconsider his decision and withdraw the appointments. DA spokesperson Karabo Khakhau has openly questioned Mvalo’s credentials, underscoring his 8-year…

THE story of Lentegeur cannot be told without including the significance of the Lentegeur library and the contributions of the staff who worked there, especially during the 1980s. In 2006, Professor Archie Dick from the Department of Information Science at Pretoria University wrote in a paper, Struggle Libraries Under Cover, that the Lentegeur library served both political and non-political purposes during that time. “The Lentegeur public library staff, according to former librarian Reverend Clarence Cheemee, used the resources to reach out to the community despite difficult circumstances. Its space was both offered to and claimed by community groups to serve a range of purposes – both political and non-political. The UDF-aligned Mitchell’s Plain Youth Movement, for example, used the library hall,” he wrote. According to Dick, the library successfully recovered…

THE Grand Exhibition Burlesque Benefit will celebrate its 10th anniversary on September 27, at The Star Theatre, Homecoming Centre. The annual fundraiser, hosted by Lady Magnolia and The Rouge Revue Burlesque Company, raises money for the Rape Crisis Trust. Since its launch in 2015 with just 80 people at the Hope Street Market, the event has grown to fill theatres of more than 300 people and has raised over R250 000 for the organisation, which supports rape survivors and victims of sexual offences. Performers include both newcomers and international award-winning burlesque artists. Lady Magnolia said the benefit is about more than entertainment: “Burlesque is a space of healing, celebration, and high-voltage femininity. Our performers shed not only their gloves but also the shame and silencing placed on women’s bodies. This…

Every morning, while most of the country is still asleep, a quiet army of women is already at work. They sweep classroom floors, set out tiny chairs, colouring books and crayons, and arrange toys and learning aids that will spark curiosity and wonder. In township backyards and rural kitchens, they pull on aprons, stir porridge pots and eventually greet small, sleepy faces with love and warmth that makes them feel welcome and at home. Many of these women are “gogos” caring for grandchildren so that their own adult children can catch early taxis to jobs miles away. Others are employees and volunteers at early learning centres. All spend every day holding the hands that will one day hold our nation’s future. They are seldom, if ever in the news –…

Kaizer Chiefs’ midfielders Nkosingiphile Ngcobo and Mduduzi Shabalala have thrown their weight behind new teammate Luke Baartman, offering advice on handling the pressures of wearing the Amakhosi jersey and highlighting his potential to shine in Soweto. Baartman, a teenage sensation, was unveiled by Chiefs last Tuesday, following a ruling by the PSL Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) that declared him a free agent. The 19-year-old’s former club, Cape Town Spurs, had been relegated from the Motsepe Foundation Championship to the ABC Motsepe League, triggering the release. Spurs, however, have announced their intention to challenge the decision, with a review application expected at the SAFA Arbitration Tribunal. This is similar to the case of another new Chiefs signing, Asanele Velebayi, who was Baartman’s teammate at the Urban Warriors as well. Legal arguments…

FAILING to poke holes in the credible testimony of his 13-year-old rape victim and her mother, a rapist’s appeal against his conviction and sentence has failed in the Western Cape High Court. Thanduxolo Nashwa, who went on trial in the Wynberg Regional Court, appealed against his 18-year prison sentence, but this was denied by acting Judge Esmari Jonker, who said his case was improbable and inconsistent with the overall probabilities that it could not reasonably be true. The rape occurred on November 21, 2021. In his appeal, he disputed the credibility and reliability of his victim as a single minor witness. Having faced the possibility of life term imprisonment, Nashwa was imprisoned for 18 years by the magistrate, who deviated from the prescribed minimum sentence. Despite this, Nashwa contended that…

The Justice Department is expected to issue a formal explanation this week after a significant delay was announced to the highly anticipated Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into political interference in the police. Originally scheduled to begin public hearings on September 1, the commission revealed that it will not be able to proceed as planned due to a failure by the department to secure critical infrastructure on time. In a statement released on Monday, the commission, chaired by retired Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, expressed disappointment over the setback, which it said was beyond its control. “The commission regrets to inform the public that hearings scheduled to commence on 1 September will not go ahead as planned,” the statement read. “This delay is a direct result of the Department of Justice’s…

THE Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) has registered 34 new political parties since the 2024 general elections – pushing the total number of officially registered parties to an unprecedented 472. This rise reflects a vibrant and active democracy, yet also exposes a stark political reality of the hundreds of parties now on the books, as only 18 have secured representation in Parliament. Addressing journalists at a media briefing in Pretoria yesterday, IEC Chief Electoral Officer, Sy Mamabolo, said the surge in registrations points to increasing political engagement. However, he emphasised the commission’s role in upholding electoral stability, transparency, and accuracy as more parties seek to contest elections. Of the 472 registered political entities, 287 are listed at the national level, while the remaining 185 are registered to operate at provincial,…

DESPITE economic and geopolitical uncertainty, with rental values outpacing capital growth in the first half of 2025, prime residential markets across the globe have continued to demonstrate resilience. This is according to Savills World Cities Prime Residential Index, which showed that while capital values rose by a modest 0.7% across the 30 cities monitored in the index, prime residential rents increased by 2%, reflecting a growing investor preference for income-generating assets and a shift in tenant behaviour amid ongoing market volatility. The lifestyle appeal of Cape Town attracts buyers, said Dr Andrew Golding, chief executive of the Pam Golding Property group, which is Savills’ exclusive residential real estate partner in Africa. “The Savills Index notes that cities with strong lifestyle appeal, such as Amsterdam, Cape Town, Lisbon and Sydney, saw…

I wonder how many rich countries in the world have a student funding system that operates in the same fashion as our own NSFAS (National Student Financial Aid Scheme) does, where everyone is assured of proceeding to tertiary education and given as many years as possible to stay at university or TVET college, no matter how bad their academic performance might be? Where they are funded by the state until they end up dropping out of the education system of their own volition, as they give up on ever succeeding in their quest for education. Many choose courses which they believe are easy to pass, only to find they are more challenging than they assumed; but those are the faculties with high enrolment figures and few employment opportunities, resulting in…

South Africa’s top-ranked men’s tennis player, Lloyd Harris, booked a place in the second round of the US Open against No 4 seed Taylor Fritz today after the qualifier stunned 39th seed Sebastian Baez with a straight sets 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 victory in Monday’s opening round. Harris, ranked outside the top 300, served well to win 80% of the points behind his first serve against the Argentinian, and won 53% of points on his second serve. The 28-year-old converted 55% of the break point chances he created. At the end of the match, Harris won 103 points while Baez won 75. He won an impressive four games in a row to see out the match after being broken early in the third. His reward is a match against American Fritz,…

Cadillac have fired the starting gun on their Formula 1 journey, confirming Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas as the drivers who will lead the American marque onto the grid in 2026. It’s a bold move that brings together two veterans with race-winning credentials and the kind of experience a brand-new team desperately needs. Checo’s next chapter For Sergio “Checo” Pérez, this is more than just another contract – it’s a career revival. The Mexican ace has been part of F1 since 2011, carving out a reputation as one of the sport’s sharpest operators on race day. His early days with Sauber and Force India showcased his uncanny ability to manage tyres and drag midfield cars into podium contention. The world really took notice in 2020, when Pérez stormed from…