Innholdsfortegnelse for 2022-01-12 i Star

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za Global consultancy group Bain & Company is sticking to its guns about having done its penance after the restitution of close to R200 million it earned for its role in the state capture fiasco. Pressure is mounting both locally and internationally for the US originating firm to be held accountable for its role in state capture as its executives were closely aligned with state capture principals and reportedly advised on the mechanics of siphoning billions of rands from state-owned enterprises and National Treasury. Bain's Nicola Wilson said in response to enquiries on its response to the Zondo report, "While we made mistakes in our work with Sars (SA Revenue Service), we remain confident that we did not in any way wilfully or knowingly support state capture at…

Dieketseng Maleke dieketseng.maleke@inl.co.za FISHING group Sea Harvest has added to its international footprint by acquiring Australian group MG Kailis in a A$70m (R788m) deal. The company said the deal would give it access to high-value species such as prawns. MG Kailis has more than 50 years in the seafood industry and is well-established in prawn and fish trawling, seafood trading, and engineering business in Australia. A 54.9 percent stake in Sea Harvest is owned by black-controlled and managed investment holding company Brimstone. During its last reported results in August last year, the group revealed that it had a net debt of R1.33bn at the end of the six months ending in June. The acquisition was brokered through Sea Harvest-owned Australian subsidiaries, Sea Harvest Australia Pty and Sea Harvest Marine,…

Sifiso Mahlangu sifiso.mahlangu@inl.co.za The residents of the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, Free State, are in for an ominous new year. The appointment of the acting municipal manager, Sello More, has been ruled to be illegal and null and void by the High Court of Bloemfontein. This was despite the last-minute effort of the MEC of Cogta, Mxolisi Dukwana, who attempted to regularise the appointment of More and tried to circumvent the fact that the municipal council had failed to extend More’s initial appointment which ended on October 30. Free State High Court Judge AJ van Rhyn delivered a scathing judgment on December 15 after he found that More was no longer the acting municipal manager of Mangaung as his extension had not been approved in line with the applicable legislation. “We…

Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za TEACHERS across the nation can now register their learners for the country’s two best-known maths competitions. The SA Mathematics Foundation (SAMF) announced last week that teachers can register their learners for the Nestlé Nespray South African Mathematics Challenge (SAMC) and the Old Mutual South African Mathematics Olympiad, co-sponsored by the South African Institute for Chartered Accountants (Saica). The SAMF said that for the first time in the foundation’s history, both competitions have full digital capabilities for the registration and payment processes, and the first-round papers. The SAMC is open for all Grade 4 to 7s and the Olympiad welcomes all Grade 8 to 12s. Both contests are open to all schools in South Africa and neighbouring countries. According to the SAMF, Quintile 1 and 2 schools can…

Zainul Dawood zainul.dawood@inl.co.za Durban-based pianist and composer Sibusiso Mash Mashiloane kicks off his album launch tour in Cape Town this month. He is releasing his sixth album, Music From My People, a rich album that reflects the composer’s collaboration, geographic travel and pure intergenerational inspiration and influence. Mashiloane is a virtuoso player and conductor, with his live performances being the draw card that has garnered him audiences across the world. This concert tour is organised by Jazz In the Native Yards and supported by Concerts SA. “This album is a multifaceted vessel and sonic document that archives some of the sounds people have used and continue to use as a testimony of their social conditions. “Cape Town has always played a significant role in the history of music, and…

T Markandan | Kloof I AM frightened when I see how young parents of today are bringing up their little ones. It’s so easy: no fuss, no bother. Just give the child the remote and the cellphone and you are free of them. What’s all this nonsense about discipline? The teacher says my little angel is so badly behaved, restless and disruptive in class. What if it’s the teacher’s fault, who doesn’t know how to discipline little children? From early morning till late at night the child sits on the sofa glued to the TV. So engrossed is the loved one that nothing you do in front of him/her will distract them from the TV. And when he/she eventually hears you, there’s the blank look on his/her…

The Communist Party of South Africa was formed in July 1921. To mark its centenary last year, renowned South African historian Tom Lodge published Red Road to Freedom: A history of the South African Communist Party, 1921-2021. It is a welcome addition to the literature about the oldest communist party in Africa. Most of the existing literature on the party is about its early history until 1950. In the last two decades, a number of publications about the party or leading members appeared. But policy analysis and exegesis are in most instances largely absent. A good example is what the party meant by “colonialism of a special type” – still a major ideological pillar of the party. But its ideological and strategic implications are not explored. This includes explaining how…

Poet and activist Maya Angelou has become the first black woman to appear on the US quarter, in a new version of the coin unveiled by the US Mint this week. Angelou, author of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, will also be the first figure commemorated through the American Women Quarters Program, which was launched in January 2021. The US Mint has begun shipping the first coins with Angelou’s likeness, a 25c piece. Another figure set to appear on the coin is Sally Ride, the first US woman in space. | AFP…

MANY moons ago, the Proteas could field three outstanding all-rounders in their Test team: Jacques Kallis, Shaun Pollock and Lance Klusener. While the latter two were both bowling all-rounders, they were good enough with the bat to score centuries. Pollock and Klusener contributed a number of half-centuries too, and were able to play to what the situation required – blazing strokes to set up a lead or unsettle the bowling, or to be patient to take the sting out of the opposition’s attack. Very few cricketers can compare with ‘King Kallis’, who was one of the finest batters in the world, and was also an outstanding slip fielder. As a bowler, Kallis was capable of bowling a ‘heavy ball’ that rushed on to batters quicker than expected, and was also…

HELLO and a healthy, happy and prosperous 2022 to all our Business Report readers. Around this time of year, many are sitting down to take stock of their lives, making resolutions, which may or may not be adhered to, and looking to the hope of a future that must surely be better than the past 24 months or so. Sometimes, in order to better plan for tomorrow it is pertinent to take stock of the past. If it is necessary to do this in our personal lives, I can safely say that as a country, South Africa should consider doing the same and urgently. Over the past few years, we have collectively faced serious challenges. We have been subjected to several viruses and diseases - not only corona, but…

Sonri Naidoo sonri.naidoo@inl.co.za AS LEARNERS return to school today, parents are encouraged to implement necessary safety measures in order to protect their children from becoming targets of kidnapping. The SAPS alerted parents on their social media to not write their children’s names on their belongings that are visible. These include backpacks. “Do not write your child’s name on his/her personal belongings such as a backpack where it is visible for everyone to see. Adults who prey on children have tricks to gain a child’s trust and one of these tricks is calling a child by his or her name,” read the SAPS post on Twitter. Anti-crime activist Yusuf Abramjee advises parents to write their phone numbers instead on their children’s backpacks in case of an emergency. He adds that it…

Thabo Makwakwa thabo.makwakwa@inl.co.za WITH the announcement by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) that matric results will no longer be available for everyone to access in public platforms, a health expert has weighed in and said that although this was a positive move, it was not enough as it would still impact negatively on the society. Counselling psychologist and public speaker Tholinhlanhla Dlamini-Ngcoya said this was a relief to a few, however, parents who had complained about the publicising of matric results of learners in newspapers, appeared to make this about them and not about the learners. On whether the move would affect businesses and individuals that had relied on newspapers to choose high-performing learners and financially support them through bursaries towards their tertiary studies, Dlamini-Ngcoya said this would undoubtedly…

Chulumanco Mahamba, Zainul Dawood and Willem Phungula THE country’s media houses have described the government’s decision to ban the publishing of matric results by newspapers as “ridiculous”. This comes after Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga’s announcement that matric results would no longer be published in the newspapers. Motshekga was speaking at a media briefing on the readiness of the start of the academic calendar yesterday. She said the decision not to publish pupils’ results in newspapers and on social media platforms was taken after parents’ pleas, who cited psychological reasons. Education spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said this was in line with the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (Act No 4 of 2013) (Popia), which came into effect on July 1 last year. The act was put in place for the…

Staff Reporter THE Competition Commission says it will continue to monitor the pricing of school uniforms and urged schools to keep uniforms as generic as possible. After investigations into anti-competitive behaviour in the school uniform supply chain, the commission and the Department of Basic Education last year jointly released a circular guiding schools and stakeholders about best practice for procurement. The commission says that a survey will be rolled out over the next few weeks to assess the level of compliance. It lists the principles governing these guidelines as: • School uniform should be as generic as possible, such that it is obtainable from as many suppliers possible. • Where deemed necessary, exclusivity should be limited to only a few “must” items that the schools regard as necessary to obtain…

Anita Nkonki anita.nkonki@inl.co.za WHAT better way to get in the groove of your home country, than to jump into a popular dance challenge? As the Nkao Tempela dance challenge was swirling through social media in 2021, with everyone taking part, Trevor Noah came home and decided not to miss the opportunity to take part in the popular dance challenge, leaving many people entertained over his attempt. After being in America away from his family and friends, Noah is finally back on home turf and reunited with his long-time friends, for a desirous vacation in Cape Town. The trip included his girlfriend, American actress Minka Kelly, media personality Anele Mdoda, radio host Sizwe Dhlomo, Khaya Dlanga, and Xolisa Dyeshana. Their time together as friends had many people wishing that they were…

Sihle Mavuso sihle.mavuso@inl.co.za AFTER suffering an early legal setback in her bid to have 50% of the estate of late King Goodwill Zwelithini set aside for her, Queen Sibongile Dlamini-Zulu now wants the court to allow her to amend her court papers. In the Pietermaritzburg High Court yesterday, the first order of the day was whether KwaZulu-Natal Natal Judge President Mjabuliseni Isaac Madondo should recuse himself or not. The recusal questions arose because Juege Madondo could be conflicted as he presided over the 2014 marriage of the late King and Queen Zola Mafu, the last young queen who lives in Ulundi in northern KwaZulu-Natal. But Judge Madondo said the matter should proceed as there was nowhere in the queen’s papers where the issue of the validity of the five marriages…

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was under fire yesterday after it emerged his private secretary had invited over 100 people to a “bring your own booze” party in the garden of Downing Street during the first Covid-19 lockdown. The revelations have drawn criticism from opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer. At the time of the gathering, people were prevented from bidding farewell in person to dying relatives. The UK’s death toll from the Covid-19 pandemic stands at 150 154. | Reuters…

The US and Russia remained deadlocked after crisis talks this week over Moscow’s desire to block any future Nato expansion to the east, but officials agreed to continue discussions on other high-stakes security issues that the Biden administration hopes can avert another invasion of Ukraine. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said US negotiators put forward suggestions related to the scope of American military exercises and the placement of US missiles in Europe, cautioning that the bilateral discussion in Geneva, the first of a series of talks this week on Russia’s military build-up around Ukraine, was only the start of a potentially lengthy process. “We were firm, however, in pushing back on security proposals that are simply non-starters for the US,” she said after the seven-hour meeting. “We will not…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za THE World Economic Forum (WEF) has flagged the prolonged economic stagnation in South Africa as the most serious risk to the country’s recovery over the next two years. South Africa entered a period of serious economic depression in 2020 when the gross domestic product (GDP) plunged to a 6.4 percent contraction due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Though a recovery is underway and GDP now seems on track to return to pre-pandemic levels of 2 percent in 2022, activity is still not stable following a contraction triggered by violent unrest in July last year. In its Global Risk Report 2022 published yesterday, the WEF cited this prolonged stagnation among five key risk factors that could affect the country’s stability in the short term. The WEF said employment and…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za SALES activity levels in all three major commercial property sectors: industrial, retail and offices increased mildly in the fourth quarter, following a “dip” in the previous three months that might have been KwaZulu-Natal/Gauteng unrest-related. FNB’s latest Property Broker survey showed the percentage of broker respondents perceiving business conditions to be satisfactory, had increased in the fourth quarter survey to 32 percent – up from 25 percent the previous quarter. However, despite the improvement, it remained at a “very weak level” and largely reflective of still weak business confidence across the economy, said FNB Commercial’s property sector strategist John Loos in the bank’s latest Property Insights. The level implies that 68 percent of respondents were dissatisfied with business conditions, but it was nevertheless the highest percentage of respondents…

From Page 1 Mgwaba also said during this time most pupils were not at their homes and out of their provinces visiting families and relatives, so they were getting results easily without travelling back home. Graeme Wild, SA Pulp and Paper Industries Limited (Sappi) vice-president sales and marketing, said newspaper readership was declining around the world, with consumers turning to online news sources. Wild said the newspaper industry was further affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, with an estimated drop in demand of about 20% in 2020. Wild said that Sappi was currently the only remaining local producer of newsprint in South Africa. He added that with newsprint constituting less than 1% of its overall sales, “Sappi does not foresee that the decision to cease publication of the matric results having…

Mwangi Githahu mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za Political and economic forecasters say they do not have high hopes for South Africa this year, unless the government introduces far-reaching reforms in governance and bold spending cuts in the economy. Looking ahead to what 2022 holds for the country, chief economist of the Efficient Group, Dawie Roodt, said he does not see a good year ahead. “We’re in serious trouble. The government is spending too much and must cut back, but it can’t because there are too many people depending on the state for income.” He said he understood the necessity of greater public spending, especially two years ahead of a general election, but the country could not afford it. Roodt said that in terms of growth statistics, 2022 is going to be weaker than 2021,…

BETTY MOLEYA betty.moleya@inl.co.za THE Mbatha family of Klipgat have finally received DNA test results that confirmed that a body found in the boot of a vehicle in June last year was that of their son. Sam Junior Mbatha was burnt beyond recognition, and the family were not able to give him a proper send-off as the remains had to be identified to confirm if indeed they belonged to him. His family last saw him on June 16, and the gruesome discovery was made the following morning. The police were called to what was described as a “horrific scene” at a soccer field in Klipgat, Ikageng Section, where they found a sedan that had burnt to ashes. The SAPS found the charred remains of what they believed to be a man…

Thabile Mange | Mogale City IMAGINE South Africa under the presidency of Julius Sello Malema. How would the country be under his leadership? Malema is a dictator. No doubt, the country will be under a dictatorship. It is an open secret that the EFF leader has an ambition of becoming the South African president. And he will do anything or everything to realise his ambitious dream. Juju is a clever and shrewd politician – and he has been in this game for a long time. He is also charismatic and speaks his mind unapologetically. As a result, he appeals to the youth. Over the years, Malema targeted ANC presidents (particularly Jacob Zuma and now Cyril Ramaphosa). So, at every given opportunity, he doesn’t miss an opportunity to…

FAROUK ARAIE | Benoni The world virtually came to a sombre standstill to pay its tributes to film icon Sidney Poitier. He was a Hollywood trailblazer who crashed through segregation barriers to become the first black actor to win an Academy Award at the height of ruthless racism in the US. His meteoric rise to stardom coincided with his historic Academy Award for the best actor for Lilies of the Field in 1964, the same year the Civil Rights Act was ratified. His dedication to the civil rights movement was directed with the highest ethical standards and moral principles that won him admiration from the world. Many knew him for his gentleness and humility, as a screen legend. He not only gave all of himself to the cause…

Nearly 1 million Hindu worshippers are expected to gather on the banks of the Ganges river this Friday and Saturday for a holy bathe despite Covid-19 infections across the country, an official said. India reported 168 063 new Covid-19 infections yesterday, a 20-fold rise in a month. Many states have announced night curfews and Delhi has also imposed a weekend lockdown to rein in the Omicron variant. But thousands of pilgrims have already reached the site of the annual ritual on an island in West Bengal. | Reuters…

Eshlin Vedan eshlin.vedan@inl.co.za FORMER Kaizer Chiefs and Bafana Bafana star Siphiwe Tshabalala is not planning to retire from football, according to his agent Jazzman Mahlakgane. The 37-year-old spent last season on the books of AmaZulu FC. However, he was used sparingly by the Durban-based club, and it was unsurprising that coach Benni McCarthy’s side opted to release him at the end of last season. The fact that the veteran has remained without a team since has led to speculation that he has retired. Mahlakgane, however, is adamant that Tshabalala still wants to play professionally. “He has not retired. I don’t want to start any conversations about Tshabalala at the moment because I might get distracted, as we are currently busy working on something for him,” Mahlakgane is reported to have…