Innholdsfortegnelse for 2021-08-04 i Star

IF SOUTH Africa is to maintain a competitive agri-food sector, there is an ever-present need for augmented knowledge-driven production. A strong public sector research and development capability must focus on translating public research and innovation investment into growth and development in areas such as health, sustainable and resource-efficient production as well as maintaining focus on leveraging the food sector throughout the value chain. South Africa should continue to position itself as an international hub where large international companies place their research and development (R&D) investments. However, this requires ongoing joint investments within the existing R&D communities. Furthermore, South Africa’s food research and innovation must be based on a strong international collaboration and focus on talent attraction and retention. To succeed, South Africa needs to prioritise its limited research and innovation…

Alyssia Birjalal alyssia.birjalal@inl.co.za Former Rhythm City actress Lesedi Matsunyane-Ferguson always thought of the late Shona Ferguson as a father figure after he married her mother, Connie, some 20 years ago. The two shared a close bond and judging by Lesedi’s latest Instagram post, she is in deep pain over the veteran actor’s death. The Ferguson Films production boss died on July 27 from Covid-19-related complications. Lesedi’s post was accompanied by pictures and videos of Shona. She reminisced about all the things she will miss about him but said she understood that he is in a much better place and pain free. “I cannot tell you how I’m feeling but I’ve never known a pain like this. Sunrise: 30 April 1974. (7+4 = 11) Sunset: 30 July 2021 – 47 years…

ZELDA VENTER zelda.venter@inl.co.za THE FATHER of the severely abused infant, known as Baby T, claimed he never had any contact alone with the child as the mother was “incredibly protective over the baby”. The child had about 31 fractures all over her body when she was admitted to hospital at the age of five months. The man, 24, and his now-former girlfriend face an array of charges, including attempted murder, child abuse and neglect. Both pleaded not guilty in the North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria. Several doctors, who examined the child when she ended up in hospital twice, testified they were horrified and shocked that a small child had so many fractures. They all testified how difficult it was to break a baby’s flexible bones and that a great…

Goitsemang Tlhabye goitsemang.tlhabye@inl.co.za THE AVERAGE waiting period for a kidney transplant is going up from 8 to 15 years. The Transplant Education for Living Legacies organisation has urged more South Africans to register for organ donation. As the country marks organ and tissue donation awareness month, the organisation says organ donor numbers have been steadily decreasing and the waiting period for patients has gone up dramatically. Managing director Stella de Kock said that in recent years the dwindling number of organ donors had resulted in the average waiting period for a kidney transplant going up from 8 – 10 years, to anything between 12 – 15 years. De Kock said that with August being Organ Donation Awareness month, the organisation felt it was important that the conversation surrounding organ donation…

JOHN Whitlock | Germiston Congratulations to the Pumas. They really are becoming a formidable outfit. No big names, superstars or legends, but they play with great enthusiasm and even greater dedication, and are reaping the rewards. With regard to the Currie Cup, two players have really impressed. Johan Goosen, the Bulls’ flyhalf, is back to his best. Dictates the game, varies his play, kicks well and is not scared to get stuck in on defence. Erasmus has three excellent flyhalves to choose from – Pollard, Steyn and Goosen. Johan Grobbelaar, the Bulls’ hooker, is another player who is here, there and everywhere. Always in the thick of things on defence and attack, and is an excellent ball-carrier. Man of the match against Western Province. Hopefully Jacques Nienaber has…

NORMAN V MAHLANGU | Siyabuswa SOME golden opportunities that people miss in life are a result of a dinosaur’s attitude – a failure to adapt to change. Life evolves. Should people resist positive change for any reason, they automatically block their own way to bettering their lives. The state of being incompetent puts one at a high risk of being substituted. So, self-introspection plays a pivotal role if we want better results in any area of our lives. The number of new good things you learned recently is a reflection of how much you managed to revolt against a regressive attitude. Be open to change as insanity is doing things the same way and expecting different results.…

Defenders of our liberal democracy must understand the danger of spite AS COMMUNISM imploded in 1989, American political scientist Francis Fukuyama asked if liberal democracy was “the end of history”, being the form all societies were destined to take. The past decades have suggested not. Illiberal democracies and hybrid democratic-authoritarian regimes continue to emerge. Fukuyama foresaw the possibility. He felt citizens dissatisfied with liberty and equality could destabilise liberal democracy – restarting history as it were. One way they could do so, I realised while writing a book about spite, is if such dissatisfaction led to spiteful acts. Defenders of liberal democracy must understand the danger of spite. Fukuyama argued that political struggle causes history. This struggle tries to solve the problem of thymos, an ancient Greek term referring to…

Cricket South Africa’s Social Justice and Nation Building hearings have been explosive to watch. Former Proteas and others have bared their souls and relived horrific personal experiences. It has been an emotional roller coaster for all involved. More importantly, it has flung open a door that cricket in SA has tried to keep shut for far too long. Race relations and politics are ingrained in the DNA of SA society. Why at any stage were we naive to believe that it would not have an impact on our sports teams, and in this case cricket? It was after all the game of cricket that set in motion the boycott of international sports teams to SA when Hendrik Verwoerd barred the touring England team of 1968-69 from selecting Cape Town-born Basil…

Mike Greenaway mike.greenaway@inl.co.za Next week, SA Rugby’s director of rugby Rassie Erasmus will answer World Rugby’s charges against him of bringing the game into disrepute, but I wonder if the right party will be in the dock. Okay, I understand that with SA Rugby being affiliated to World Rugby, there are rules that must be adhered to prevent anarchy, and technically Erasmus has done this by breaking the 11th commandment, which is: “Thou Shalt Not Criticise the Referees in Public”. World Rugby is furious because Erasmus has not followed the usual channels open to disaffected rugby teams when they want clarification on issues. But what if those channels are well-worn ruts on the road to nowhere? Rugby coaches have been sending video clips to World Rugby since before they were…

FBI helping Mirror Trading International investors with liquidation Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za America’s Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) is joining forces with the liquidators of automated forex trading company Mirror Trading International (MTI) in the interests of several US and local investors. The joint liquidators, consisting of five experienced trustee groups appointed by the Master of the Court after the Financial Services Conduct Authority (FSCA) found that MTI was a dubious venture and that no trading took place, had meetings with international law enforcement agencies including the FBI, after being approached by them. The focus of the investigations was on MTI’s chief architect Johann Steynberg, whose whereabouts are unknown though there were pointers that he obtained a flight ticket to Brazil, which too has baffled sleuths as there was no confirmation…

Botho Molosankwe botho.molosankwe@inl.co.za Two men looking to buy minibus taxis that were advertised online have been robbed of R300 000 by suspects who are still at large. One of the men lost R100 000 while the other was robbed of R200 000 at gunpoint on the day he was supposed to be paying for and picking up the vehicle. The latter had travelled from East London in the Eastern Cape to Wolmaransstad in the North West. North West police have since urged people to be careful when they respond to online advertisements, especially for livestock and vehicle sales in Makwassie, Leeudoringstad, Boskuil and Wolmaransstad. Colonel Adéle Myburgh said on July 19, a potential client paid R100 000 via bank deposits to buy a minibus taxi that was advertised on social…

THE structure and taking of leave have always been hotly debated. Over the past 16 months of the pandemic, the issue became confusing. Initially, the Minister of Employment and Labour said employers could not place employees on leave while businesses were ordered to be shut down during the lockdowns. The advice was wrong. The state of emergency, which has been ongoing, did not suspend our labour laws. Leave is governed by the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, Act No 75 of 1997 as amended. Chapter 3, Sections 19 to 27 of the act are applicable and have been applicable throughout the pandemic. Although we have discussed leave in a previous column, it is worth repeating. In essence, an employer has the right to structure the leave of all…

MOHAMED SAEED | Pietermaritzburg THE deployment of army troops to support the overwhelmed police force was required to discourage lawlessness, to restore public order and maintain safety in affected areas. Given the recent orgy of looting, loss of lives, criminal behaviour and the unnecessary fear, anxiety and distress citizens of South Africa faced, influential leadership is now needed, from all stakeholders, to build sustainable peace, unity, and a shared sense of unified identity – that South Africa belongs to all who live in South Africa. In order to address and build on the fragile peace, as South Africans we need to do more for nation building, conflict resolution and, ultimately, long-term peace. There is a need to go back to the drawing board to ensure the dialogues are…

SEVEN months after the killings started, taxi operators in Cape Town have apologised to the public as a truce was struck on Monday. Since February, more than 80 people have been killed, including 20 people last month, in a violent war between members of the Cape Amalgamated Taxi Association (Cata) and the Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (Codeta). The taxi organisations were fighting for control of a lucrative route, between Bellville and Mbekweni in Paarl. Initially, the violence was restricted to the Bellville taxi rank, but soon it spread to other areas of Cape Town, causing chaos for users of public transport, particularly in Khayelitsha and Nyanga. The two taxi bodies only got serious about a brokered peace deal after the forced closure of taxi ranks in Paarl and Bellville,…

Wynona Louw wynona.louw@inl.co.za Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber is confident Franco Mostert will step up to the No 7 role in place of Pieter-Steph du Toit in the series decider against the British & Irish Lions. The Boks take on the Lions in the third Test at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday (kick-off 6pm) after dismantling the tourists 27-9 in the second Test at the same venue last weekend. Nienaber yesterday announced three changes to the starting line-up, with Du Toit and Faf de Klerk missing out due to injury and Mostert moving from lock to blindside flank. Du Toit took a knock to the shoulder in the second Test last weekend, while De Klerk has been ruled out due to a muscle strain in his leg. He has been replaced…

Zaahier Adams zaahier.adams@inl.co.za “They were still little and used to be in our change-room and run on the field at half-time.” These are the fond memories former South Africa men’s hockey captain Bruce Jacobs has of the Cassiem brothers, Dayaan and Mustapha, who recently lit up the international hockey stage at the Tokyo Olympics. Jacobs, who led the SA team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, has walked a long road with the Cassiem family. In fact, it began long before the brothers were even born with Jacobs and their father, SA Council of Sport (Sacos) hockey legend Abdullah ‘Casa’ Cassiem, tearing defences apart together for the Central Hockey Club in Athlone, Cape Town. “Yeah … their dad, Casa, he played Sacos hockey and that’s where their passion for the game…

Liam Karabo Joyce liam.joyce@inl.co.za Media personality Bonang Matheba is without a doubt one of the most recognisable celebrities in Africa. However, in the US, she isn’t. That was proved this past weekend when the star was out and about in New York City. The city is Matheba’s new home and the star has kept her fans informed on how she is settling in. Nicholas Pinto remarked that he saw large crowds gathering in New York, which in itself isn’t exactly a groundbreaking occurrence. But as he became aware of how many others were taking pictures, the youngster had to get himself involved – even if he wasn’t sure what all the fuss was about. Pinto captioned the video with the following: “Today, I saw tons of people taking pictures with…

SHAMELESS HALL OF SHAME M-NET, DSTV CHANNEL 101, 10.30PM After a lifetime of scheming to beat the system and support his many vices, Frank Gallagher is visited by the ghosts of his past, present and future. NCIS: NEW ORLEANS S7 M-NET DSTV CHANNEL 115, 7.10PM In this spin-off of the popular NCIS series, a dedicated team of agents fight crime in the vibrant city of New Orleans. FOR LIFE S2, M-NET CITY, DSTV CHANNEL 115, 8.50PM After being granted a retrial, Aaron (Nicholas Pinnock) realises that the fight for his freedom has just begun. Maskins (Boris McGiver) fears that O’Reilly (Erik Jensen) may be wavering.…

THE TAXI industry has expressed its frustrations about the fuel hike which came into effect today. The petrol price has gone up by 91 cents a litre while diesel increased by between 54 cents and 55 cents per litre. Paraffin costs 50c per litre more. The SA National Taxi Association Council (Santaco) Gauteng spokesperson, Midday Mali, said the increase in petrol would affect the industry negatively, however, a price increase in fares cannot be expected as yet. Santaco is expected to sit with its provincial offices and regional leaders to look into issues that could lead to a “possible” increase in taxi fares. Mali said that in the past fuel increases saw the price of taxi fares increasing but at this stage, they are “reluctant” to increase and a decision…

Mwangi Githahu mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za A WOMAN has won a lawsuit against Shoprite and the police for damages suffered as a result of her unlawful detention following an alleged shoplifting incident at the Shoprite store in Parow in 2015. Joy Ewere Emordi was with her then 16-month-old daughter, when she was detained at Shoprite for several hours. Hours after Emordi had been detained, the police arrived. She was arrested and taken to the Parow police cells where she was charged and held overnight before being released on a warning. The following day she appeared in the Bellville Magistrate’s Court, and the charge of theft was withdrawn against her. Emordi had also sued the minister of police, and two security companies – FBS Security and Civa Security. In her suit, Emordi said she…

MUHAMMAD OMAR | Durban North IT IS with a deep sense of sorrow that we mourn the passing of a legendary auto industry doyen, Dr Johan van Zyl. His ability to remember and greet many dealership sales staff on a first-name basis is legendary and is confirmed by many. From the sales department of Toyota Marketing SA to MD of Toyota Africa, Europe, and working in Tokyo every month, this shows the esteem in which he was held by his employer, Toyota Global. Toyota SA transformed under his leadership from the Wessels-owned Toyota SA to Toyota Japan and he played a key role in the global supply chain where today Hilux, Fortuner and the hybrid/petrol Corolla Cross will be exported to Africa and Europe and Australia, all made…

professor Derek Lemoine SUMMER this year, will probably be one of the hottest on record as dozens of cities in the West experience all-time high temperatures. Here are four ways extreme heat hurts the economy – and a little good news. 1. Growth takes a hit Research has found that extreme heat can directly hurt economic growth. For example, a 2018 study found that the economies of US states tend to grow at a slower pace during relatively hot summers. The data shows that annual growth falls 0.15 when the average summer temperature is just above normal. Labourers in weather-exposed industries such as construction work fewer hours when it’s hotter. But higher summer temperatures reduce growth in many industries that tend to involve indoor work, including retail, services and…

HERMAN GIBBS Soweto-born Refiloe Jane, the first South African professional woman footballer to ply her trade in Italy, has been given a year’s extension on her contract at AC Milan, the crack Italian Serie A Women’s League team. Last season, Jane was a kingpin in the team and counted among the best midfielders in the Serie A Women’s League. It came as no surprise when her Milan contract was renewed after it had run its course at the end of last season. Milan are thrilled to retain her services and yesterday issued a statement which read: “The South African player will continue to wear the Rossoneri jersey next season. “AC Milan announces the contract renewal of women’s first team player Refiloe Jane. The South African player will continue to…

Ashfak Mohamed ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za SHAUN Maswanganyi belied his youthfulness and inexperience to finish as South Africa’s leading 200m runner at the Tokyo Olympics yesterday. The 20-year-old sprinter – who hails from Soweto and attended St Alban’s College in Pretoria – is now under the tutelage of former 100m legends Carl Lewis and Leroy Burrell at the University of Houston in Texas. And that kind of specialist training and intense competition on the college circuit is reaping dividends, as Maswanganyi qualified for the 200m semi-finals with a solid time of 20.58 seconds in his heat, and then went significantly faster in his semi-final. Racing against world-class athletes such as Canada’s Andre de Grasse and Kenny Bednarek of the United States, Maswanganyi faced a tough task to reach the final. But he gave…