Innholdsfortegnelse for 2021-09-08 i Star

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za THE ECONOMY’S fourth consecutive quarter of growth may be positive, but uncertainty still abounds about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and disruptive violence and looting in July, economists said yesterday. GDP figures released by Statistician-General Rhulani Maluleke yesterday indicated the economy recorded its fourth consecutive quarter of growth, expanding by 1.2 percent in the second quarter of this year, discounting the July disruptions, which marked a major milestone since the onset of the pandemic at level 3 of the Covid-19 pandemic. Economists said despite the gains made over the last four quarters, the economy is 1.4 percent smaller than what it was before the Covid-19 pandemic, implying that the impact of the wave of severe business disruption, protest action and violence in KwaZulu-Natal and…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za THE COVID-19 third wave has not affected major vegetable produce prices, but there has been high price inflation for certain food commodities over the past year, the Competition Commission said in its latest essential food pricing monitoring report yesterday. The commission said an example of one such commodity was cooking oil. A clear retail price spike in cooking oil price in the first wave had continued to creep upward – both in wholesale and retail cooking oil prices – since May/June last year. The commission said, however, that there had been oil-producing crop shortages internationally, including sunflower, palm, soya and canola oil, which could be attributed to the increases seen in the local market prices for cooking oil. Reasons cited for the recent surge in global prices…

Gerry Cupido geraldine.cupido@inl.co.za Throughout the 1980s, Princess Diana was a fashion icon and up to today remains the most stylish of the royal family. Needless to say, fans of the late Princess of Wales have been keeping a watchful eye on what her character, played by Twilight star Kristen Stewart will be wearing in the biopic Spencer. The costumes for the movie were created by Oscar-winning designer Jacqueline Durran, who worked closely with Stewart to produce ensembles eerily similar to those worn by Diana. During the movie’s teaser trailer we see Stewart, a long-standing spokesperson for Chanel, wearing numerous antique Chanel items. At the beginning of the year the film released an image of Stewart’s character in a classic red tweed coat with a tailored collar, from the Chanel Fall…

Bongani Nkosi THE Constitutional Court has slammed Labour Court and Labour Appeal Court judges who award punitive legal costs in labour cases. In a unanimous judgment penned by Justice Sisi Khampepe and delivered yesterday, the apex court said it was concerned that labour judges at times slapped losing parties with costs despite the law being clear that they should not. “The established rule in litigation that costs follow the result does not apply in labour matters,” said Justice Khampepe. “Despite this, however, there is now a concerning pattern of this court being requested to overturn decisions of the Labour Court and the Labour Appeal Court applying the general rule that costs follow the result without more, to matters before those courts.” It was not merely out of overzealous generosity…

JAMES MAHLOKWANE james.mahlokwane@inl.co.za MOTORISTS with unpaid traffic infringement notices and warrants of arrests will not be able to make appointments to renew their driving licences. Gauteng MEC for Public Transport and Roads Infrastructure Jacob Mamabolo said there were thousands of such motorists being kicked out of the system. The MEC said they would have to make payments or arrangements before they could proceed with the licence renewals. Mamabolo reminded motorists that the new steps implemented to aid motorists renew expired licences did not mean traffic offences and warrants of arrests were written off. He said motorists who were unable to secure a spot to renew their licences was not as a result of system challenges, but due to outstanding fines and warrants of arrest. In an interview with The Star’s…

SONRI NAIDOO sonri.naidoo@inl.co.za A R2.7 MILLION sustainable township investment is expected to deliver 3 200 houses in a new township development for the Vaal community. The investment will also see some houses integrated into schools, churches, health-care facilities and shopping centres. The investment by the Transport Sector Retirement Fund (TSRF) is aimed at “improving the lives of communities and restoring the dignity of the people of the Vaal by building decent houses”. Speaking to The Star, TSRF principal officer Joe Letswalo said the township, known as Lethabong, was being built in Sebokeng, near the industrial cities of Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging. He said a national Treasury report showed that the cities’ performance was being held back by structural constraints. These included inadequate infrastructure, institutional weaknesses and the cities’ fractured…

Nyaniso Qwesha | Joburg AS I am writing this letter, I was listening to the song by Banners, titled Ghosts. What captured my imagination was the following verse: I hear noises Awoken from my sleep I’m haunted by the thoughts, I creep. This song made me think about the cries of the whistle-blowers. Do they wake up from their sleep? I could imagine that interruption in their sleep caused by the fear of not being believed, or targeted by everyone with a different view. People soon started speaking openly about state capture. What happened to those people? Why do we need to protect whistle-blowers? Whistle-blowing is essential for several reasons. It is also important to note that we will not succeed in combating fraud, maladministration and so on…

Staff Reporter THE PRIME spinning event in the country, Red Bull Shay’ iMoto, is back to thrill Mzansi and crown its third champion. Once again, the best spinners across South Africa will go gusheshe-to-gusheshe for the top spot in a closed event taking place on Saturday. Now in its third year, the competition sees participants battle it out for the trophy by showcasing their best tyre-screeching skills and stunts, while tackling special obstacles including “the kitchen sink”, and “bread and butter”. Twelve of the country’s top spinners will come together to battle it for the coveted trophy. Last year Limpopo’s King Katra spun his way to victory and walked away with the trophy after impressing judges with his stunts in the freestyle section. “Winning last year was overwhelming and…

| The Conversation Governments can build credibility through consistent commitment to implementing policies efficiently and effectively. South Africa hasn’t done well on this score. As a result of the poor record, investors and the public have become sceptical of policy pronouncements. Recent examples of the credibility gap include its handling of two major policy initiatives. The first is the National Development Plan, launched in 2012. The second is the National Treasury’s 2019 economic policy paper “Economic transformation, inclusive growth, and competitiveness: Towards an Economic Strategy for South Africa”. Neither was fully implemented. The factors that lie behind poor implementation are varied and complex. They range from conflicting ideologies, a lack of capacity, corruption and poor governance at municipalities. But the government seems to be waking up to the fact…

A statue of Christopher Columbus in the heart of Mexico City will be replaced by one of an indigenous woman, authorities said this week, days before the country’s 200th independence anniversary. The figure of the Italian navigator, which was removed from Reforma Avenue last year as protesters vowed to topple it, will be moved to a safe place, the National Institute of Anthropology and History said. It will be replaced by a sculpture of an indigenous Olmec woman made by the Mexican artist Pedro Reyes. | AFP…

Aishah Cassiem aishah.cassiem@inl.co.za RECENTLY awarded bidder e-Movement may have not submitted documentation or proposals on the Cape Town Formula E track to the City of Cape Town, before being awarded the bid for the City’s first Grand Prix event. This, after claims that the City was using the intellectual property of the sidelined Cape Town Grand Prix South Africa (CTGPSA), who were in the running for the same bid for 22 years. E-Movement asked Independent Media’s Special Investigations Unit to hold back with a story on the Grand Prix bidding dispute, and to give them a few weeks to reveal their complete track intellectual property. “May I suggest that you wait a few weeks for the unveiling of the route,” reads the emailed communique sent to Independent Media’s investigations unit.…

Gerry Cupido geraldine.cupido@inl.co.za Even though spring is here, winter’s still making its presence known and between the spurts of icy weather and thengloom of life in a pandemic, even the most naturally cheerful person can do with a mood booster. We would love to treat ourselves to a day at a luxury spa. For some, a day off from our busy schedules can be near impossible. Whether you’re the mom desperately trying to juggle working from home, homeschooling and the rest of the challenges that come with motherhood, a student burning the midnight oil or a business woman chasing deadlines, time is precious. Because we’re spending more time at home now, there’s no real need to glam up. Most days we can’t even be bothered to get out of our…

Dr Thabisi Hoeane | Pretoria An unwelcome military coup has again occurred on the continent, with the Guinean army taking over power. What is tragic is that soldiers are not meant to rule, as they have dismally failed in all cases where they have been in power in Africa. Their ability to intervene in state affairs is simply based on their the monopoly of the means of violence. But what is worrying is the dripping hypocrisy displayed by states, and continental and international organisations in their reaction. As usual, they are quick to condemn the military takeover. But where were they when the deposed leader, Alpha Condé, was leading the country to chaos? He recently changed the constitution, by devious means, to guarantee himself a third term in…

Thami Zwane | Edenvale THE ANC has effectively used its strategic weapons, money and violence, hitherto. Indeed, it is a foreign culture to a former liberation movement. It was adopted from its late Siamese twin, the National Party. During the past 27 years, protests, taxi wars, inter- and intra-party fighting and other conflicts were resolved by either throwing money at these crises or reigns of terror. Its coffers have run dry, dissent has gone haywire and it suffers a crisis of confidence among its supporters of late. The present situation has rendered the party out of its depth. They’ve exhausted all their ammunition. To confirm disorganisation within, in 93 municipalities the ANC has not fielded its candidates to contest the coming local government elections. What’s left is to…

On Sunday, the mutinying soldiers of the Guinea military forces detained President Alpha Condé, 83, and announced the dissolving the constitution of the West African country. The man at the centre of the overthrow is Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, the commander of the country’s Special Forces Unit. Five things about Colonel Mamady Doumbouya; 1. Doumbouya was born on March 4, 1980 in Kankan Region of Guinea. He is married to a European woman and has three children. 2. He was a French legionnaire, holding the rank of corporal before he returned to the country in 2018 to lead the Special Forces Group, which is an elite military unit Condé created. 3. Doumbouya has years of military experience which include operational missions in Afghanistan, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Central African Republic and other…

EXPERTS on the Covid-19 virus have called on humanity to confront the pandemic head-on and not be distracted by side issues. One of the South Africa’s leading voices on the pandemic, Professor Salim Abdool Karim, says understanding the genesis of the virus matters. But it’s more important to urgently find solutions to tackle the virus head-on “because there’s more coming”. In the past week, there has been several positive steps. But Karim’s stark warning comes amid fierce ongoing debate in mainly Western capitals over the origins of Covid-19, a discussion which takes centre stage ahead of solutions, inevitably dividing opinion. Even after stepping down as the chairperson of the ministerial advisory committee on Covid-19 in March, the KwaZulu-Natal epidemiologist and infectious diseases specialist remains in demand by the media for…

ANTI-vaccine protesters threw gravel at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a campaign stop in London, Ontario, on Monday. The federal election campaign has seen candidates of all political stripes reporting being targeted with sexist and racist slurs. Trudeau last month called a snap federal election for September 20, betting that his handling of the health crisis would help him regain a majority. But two weeks before the vote, his Liberals are neck-and-neck with the Conservatives. | Washington Post…

Piya Sachdeva THE PRACTICE of gratitude helped me through the Covid-19 lockdowns last year. Every day I would write down three things that I appreciated in my life. This allowed me to reflect on what made me happy. I recently found that gratitude journal and reading it again, it was clear that the things that made me happiest tended to be things that money cannot buy. This goes against everything I have been taught in my career as an economist, where gross domestic product (GDP) as a monetary value of an economy is the main measure of societal performance. I should only be as happy as the material things I own. Of course, I am not the first person to have considered this. About a decade ago, Nobel Laureate…

ITUMELENG MAFISA COSATU has dismissed the latest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures released by Statistics SA yesterday as meaningless. Stats SA announced that the economy grew by 1.2% in the second quarter of the year, which is the period from March to June. The growth is mostly attributed to the relaxation of restrictions that hinder economic activity. According to Stats SA, the transport storage and communication industry increased by 6.9% in the second quarter and made the largest contribution to GDP growth, namely 0.5 percentage points. Increased economic activity was reported for land transport and communication services. The personal services industry increased by 2.5% and contributed 0.4 of a percentage point to GDP growth. Increases were reported for community services and other producers. The trade, catering and accommodation…

Lehlohonolo Mashigo AND Sihle Mlambo GAUTENG police have arrested a 22-year-old man in connection with the murder of school teacher, Lerato Mosia, who was found stabbed to death in her flat in Jabulani, Soweto. According to police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Mavela Masondo, the man was found at a medical facility in Greytown. “We suspect that he might have poisoned himself. We are waiting for a medical report,” Masondo said. The man will be charged as soon as he has recovered. Mosia’s body was discovered last Thursday after the suspect allegedly stabbed her and then locked her inside a flat in Jabulani. “After being alerted by the members of the community, police went to the flat and broke down the door. The body of a woman, with a stab wound on…

My way or the highway, physician tells long-term group BONGANI NKOSI bongani.nkosi@inl.co.za A DOCTOR who put out a notice in his practice that he would no longer see unvaccinated patients says the move was intended to discourage vaccine hesitancy among a couple of his long-term patients. Physician Tafara Machiri put up the notice at his practice in Sonheuwel, Mbombela, in Mpumalanga. The notice, marked as effective from September 1, appears to have sparked debate in social media. Machiri told The Star last night that the notice was intended for a group of patients who had frequented his practice for many years. “It was really meant for a couple of patients of mine. “They are also people that I’ve known for more than 20 years. They were giving me a hard…

September marks Public Service Month (PSM). Chapter 10 of the Constitution demands that the public service maintains and promotes a high standard of professional ethics and efficient, economic and effective use of resources; and is accountable for its actions. The Covid-19 outbreak has affected us all. In addition to the health implications and loss of life, it has strained health-care facilities, disrupted the education system, wreaked havoc on businesses and economies, led to job losses and disrupted social life. For the Sustainable Development Goals to be achieved, effective delivery of public services is needed, including the response to the pandemic. If not contained, the pandemic will jeopardise meeting the 2030 deadline, by diverting resources from development efforts to crisis response. Hence, SDG 6 states that availability and access…

Peter Bachtis | Benoni Covid’s destructiveness has been felt by many in this country and the rest of the planet. But what is not easily assessed is irrational anxiety, mistrust, paranoia, cynicism and hysteria, as those who disagree with accepting vaccinations are being treated like pariahs. Governments are pulling rank, attempting to enforce the vaccination. Freedom of choice is being taken away. Who is right and who is wrong when the will of free-thinking human beings is subverted by politicians, and so-called medical scientists? World economies are imploding, as the manufacturers of Pfizer, Modena, Sputnik and so on show profits of galactic proportions for a vaccination without substantive, proven and guaranteed results. Man was born free, gifted with the ability to make his own decisions. Why is the…

James Mahlokwane AT LEAST half of the continent’s young people found themselves unemployed or had to pause their education in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is according to a report released by the Ichikowitz Family Foundation following the 2021 African Youth Survey. According to the survey, nearly four out of 10 youth (37%) polled across the continent had to stop or pause their schooling, and nearly two in 10 (19%) became unemployed and 18% were forced to move back home. The foundation said the economic impact of Covid-19 had been worsened by ‘vaccine apathy’. The survey reported that nearly four in 10 (39%) young African men and women polled would probably not or definitely would not take the vaccine, while 37% were not confident that their countries would…

Human Rights Watch accused Egypt yesterday of killing opponents in “unlawful extrajudicial executions” made to look like shootouts and urged international sanctions against Cairo. Citing interior ministry figures, the rights group found that at least 755 people were killed in 143 alleged shootouts, with only one suspect arrested. Authorities alleged that those killed were sought for “terrorism”. Egypt yesterday began trial proceedings against a human rights advocate for a tweet against alleged electoral fraud. | AFP…

Myanmar’s security crisis deepened yesterday after its shadow government, allied with ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, called for an armed revolt against the ruling military junta, sparking an escalation of fighting in parts of the country. The declaration sets the stage for a further unraveling in the crisis-hit Southeast Asian country, where the military has violently cracked down on protesters since it seized power in February. More than 1 000 have been killed by security forces, and dozens of soldiers have lost their lives in retaliatory attacks that have increased in frequency and intensity. “Today … we launched a people’s defensive war against the military junta,” said Duwa Lashi La, acting president of the National Unity Government (NUG), in a video address posted to Facebook. He called on citizens…

Wynona Louw wynona.louw@inl.co.za SPRINGBOK prop Ox Nche says knowing they will be playing in front of a crowd when they face Australia in the away leg of their Rugby Championship campaign has made him nervous, but also really excited. Since rugby resumed following the hard Covid-19 lockdown last year, all domestic and international games in South Africa have been played in empty stadiums. In Australia, on the other hand, the All Blacks completed a Bledisloe Cup clean sweep in front of a near-capacity crowd of 52 724 at Perth Stadium at the weekend. And even if the Boks versus Wallabies game doesn’t pull the same crowd in terms of numbers, it will still take some getting used to for the visitors. Nche, who started at loosehead in the Boks’ Rugby…

Ashfak Mohamed ashfak.mohamed@inl.co.za THERE were less than 15 minutes to go for Bafana Bafana to find a winning goal against Ghana at FNB Stadium on Monday when coach Hugo Broos made a huge decision. The Belgian mentor proved that he was not scared of reputations when he opted to take off Percy Tau and bring on Njabulo Blom in the 77th minute. Tau had produced a much-improved performance compared to last Friday’s clash against Zimbabwe in Harare, where he hardly troubled the defence. The former Brighton & Hove Albion attacker, who recently joined Pitso Mosimane’s Egyptian giants Al Ahly, was his usual busy self against the Black Stars on Monday, and had a goal disallowed as well. Tau was clearly on-side when he headed home from Nyiko Mobbie’s cross from…