Innholdsfortegnelse for 2022-01-18 i Star

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za CAPITAL & Counties Properties (Capco) said yesterday an independent valuation of its West End London retail estate Covent Garden had been revised upward by 4.6 percent in the second half of its financial year. The increase in valuations is noteworthy as London property, particularly retail, have reported falling or flat valuations through the pandemic as consumers stayed away from city centres and online shopping gathered pace. Capco chief executive Ian Hawksworth said in a trading update that consumers continued to be attracted to what he said was the West End’s “most vibrant destination”. Capco’s share price increased by up to 1.04 percent to R36.96 on the JSE yesterday morning after the trading update was released. “We are pleased with the strong levels of leasing activity…

Rachel Irvine THE ANNOUNCEMENT of the discovery of the Omicron variant in South Africa, just days before the country’s peak tourism season last year, only served to further the misery the sector has experienced as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns. As the industry looks to recovery after a number of crises ranging from load shedding and water shortages to crime and corruption, which has now been laid bare in the Zondo Commission’s report on SAA, SAA technical and ground handling services, rebuilding South Africa’s brand as a tourism destination will require the government and the sector to work together to address a number of issues. Invest in developing skills The tourism and aviation sectors are vast and require a number of skills to function, from foreign…

The Critics Choice Association has announced that it will hold the 2022 Critics Choice Awards ceremony on March 13, the same day as the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards, reports Variety. The final round of voting for this year's Critics Choice Awards will take place on March 9-11. Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story and Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast dominated this year's batch of nominees. Last month, the Critics Choice Association announced it would delay its 2022 awards ceremony because of concerns over the surge in Covid-19 cases and the Omicron variant. The event was originally set to take place on January 9. Variety quoted the organisation’s CEO Joey Berlin as saying: “We could have proceeded with our original date with limited attendance or switched to a virtual…

Bang Showbiz Britney Spears has said that her family treated her worse than a “death row” inmate during her conservatorship as she continued her feud with sister Jamie Lynn. The 40-year-old pop star – who was locked in a conservatorship governed by her family from 2008 until 2021 – claimed that Jamie Lynn “did nothing” to help her and is “hurt” by previous accusations by her sister. During the promotion of her autobiography Things I Should Have Said, Jamie Lynn told Nightline that her sister “locked her in a room with a knife” as she exhibited “erratic behaviour”, to which Britney called her “scum” on social media. In taking to Twitter for a new open letter, Britney wrote: “Jamie Lynn ... I don’t think your book is about me at…

Zainul Dawood HUNDREDS of people have been accommodated at the Ladysmith Indoor Sports Centre after being evacuated from their homes due to flood waters that covered the Ladysmith central business district in KwaZulu-Natal. The Klip River burst its banks on Thursday flooding the lower parts of the town in the Alfred Duma Local Municipality. The SA Weather Service forecasts partly cloudy conditions for Ladysmith area until tomorrow. Yesterday, the K9 Search and Rescue teams from Pietermaritzburg and Ladysmith used rubber boats to evacuate people who lived in homes or flats above or behind stores in the CBD. The premises of uThukela District Municipality ground level offices were also flooded, disrupting municipal services. Municipality spokesperson Jabulani Mkhonza said they have begun pumping water out of affected homes, evacuating homes…

Sonri Naidoo AN 82-YEAR-OLD Soweto woman says she did not know that she had accommodated one of the most-wanted suspects in South Africa. Vangile Dlamini lived alone in her tiny four-roomed house in Zola, once a notorious township in Soweto, until 29-year-old former SBV cash-in-transit employee Bathobile Mlangeni knocked on her door, seeking accommodation. It is alleged that Mlangeni in July 2019 brazenly stole R4 million from the SBV cash depot at the Mall of Africa. Mlangeni made her first appearance at the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court yesterday, where she submitted a bail application. She is charged with theft after she was reportedly seen on CCTV footage stuffing millions of rand into rubbish bags at SBV’s cash depot. It is further alleged that she cut open two bulk cash bags…

Lehlohonolo Mashigo lehlohonolo.mashigo@inl.co.za TROUBLES surrounding President Cyril Ramaphosa seem far from over. Last week Ramaphosa was drawn into a battle of opinion pieces, open letters and a press conference between Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo and his Cabinet members Lindiwe Sisulu and Ronald Lamola. ANC staff are declaring a “tools down” this week as they’re not paid their full salaries and yesterday the opposition DA called on Justice Zondo to have Ramaphosa charged for perjury for misleading the judicial commission of inquiry into state capture. DA shadow minister for public service and administration Leon Schreiber said that using a similar precedent established when the commission approached the Constitutional Court to obtain an order of contempt against president Jacob Zuma when he refused to appear before the commission, it was now…

Betty Moleya betty.moleya@inl.co.za THE weekly My Car Boot Sale in Pretoria east is a way of reusing, re-purposing, and recycling goods and material for the betterment of the environment. The weekend boot sale brings sellers and browsers together, who sell and buy items at affordable prices. On Sunday many said most of the items there were valuable. At the Groenkloof and Faerie Glen markets, stalls were filled with old clothes, antiques, valuables, food, books, toys, crochet dolls and collectables, and some of the sellers used the opportunity to get together to socialise. One of the founders, Helga Roper, told the Pretoria News they have been booting for four years, and had accommodated the resale of tons and tons of second hand goods. Roper runs the Groenkloof market at the…

Lehlohonolo Mashigo lehlohonolo.mashigo@inl.co.za THE Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) have noted a study published in Obstetrics and Gynaecology medical journal, released on January 5, which found that vaccines may cause a small change to the menstrual cycle length, but that this change is temporary. The CGE is still concerned, especially if vaccination is mandatory. According to it, while health experts believe this finding is not clinically significant, they would like to caution businesses and various institutions against forcing employees to vaccinate and imposing harsh sanctions on them if they do not. “The commission is aware that several companies in the corporate and retail sectors have introduced mandatory vaccinations in their workplaces, and many more may follow suit,” said the commission. They would like to warn that mandatory vaccination does not…

Nomonde Zondi nomonde.zondi@inl.co.za ISIMANGALISO Wetland park has warned the public to be vigilant and keep a distance of at least 50 metres from wildlife after an elephant pushed a car with a family of four inside, rolling the vehicle over. The park authorities said in a statement that the vehicle was pushed by an elephant with its tusks. The car was rolled on its side and roof while the family from Mtunzini were inside. The incident took place on the eastern shores of the park on the road to Cape Vidal. “At midday yesterday (Sunday) iSimangaliso Wetland Park officials were alerted to an incident of an elephant pushing a vehicle that had two adults and children inside. Park officials responded to the incident and rescued the family,” said the statement.…

Siphelele Dludla siphelele.dludla@inl.co.za OXFAM has slammed the growing gap between the rich and the poor which has significantly widened during the Covid-19 pandemic across the world. In a report titled “Inequality Kills”, published yesterday ahead of the World Economic Forum’s Davos Agenda 2022, Oxfam said the wealth of the 10 richest men had doubled since March 2020 while the incomes of 99 percent of humanity were worse off because of Covid-19. The global charitable foundation reported that the wealth of billionaires’ had risen by $5 trillion (R76.72trln) since Covid-19 began, the biggest surge in the wealth of the ultra-rich since records began. “In July 2021, the world’s richest man launched himself and his friends into space in his luxury rocket while millions were dying needlessly below him…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za DISTELL’S shares will be suspended on the JSE on July 20 and delisted on September 6 upon the conclusion of a scheme to enable international brewer Heineken International to make a €2.2 billion (R38.53bn) offer for the local liquor group. Distell, which owns brands like Nederburg, JC le Roux, Klipdrift, Ama- rula, Savanna and Hunters Dry, and which sells wines on every continent and is the world’s second-largest cider producer, provided its shareholders details of the proposed Heineken transaction in a circular and prospectus that was released yesterday. Distell shareholders will vote on the transaction on February 15 at a general meeting. The deal is one of the biggest foreign investments into South Africa in recent times and will see Heineken offer R180 a share, which…

Dieketseng Maleke dieketseng.maleke@inl.co.za IN A BID to minimise its carbon footprint, diversified mining firm South32, has announced that it plans to use technology and automation in its Taylor Deposit, which is the first develop- ment option at the company’s Hermosa project located in Arizona, US. Listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, with secondary listings on the Johannesburg and London Stock Exchanges, the company was providing an update following the completion of a pre-feasibility study (PFS) in Taylor Deposit. The final investment decision to construct Taylor is expected in mid-2023. The Taylor Deposit is a large, carbonate replacement massive sulphide deposit, which extends to a depth of approximately 1 200 metres over a strike length of 2 500 metres and width of 1 900…

Chris Nicklin | Western Cape Bee Industry Association YOUR ARTICLE “Record spike in pollination demands puts honeybees in danger” on December 6 refers. Commercial beekeepers, like my- self, appreciate media coverage of the issues that confront our industry. Apart from airing matters of interest and concern, it also helps inform the general public about the work we do and the vital role honeybees play in the food production chain, and the natural environment generally. The tone of that article was, however, unfortunate, painting a picture of mainly unscrupulous pollination contractors, intent on maximising income at the expense of their honeybees. To be sure, we are facing difficult challenges as the exponential growth of the local agricultural industry demands ever more beehives for pollination. The surge in production of…

Debashine Thangevelo debashine.thangevelo@inl.co.za As the award ceremonies roll out across the world, so too are the film festivals. More recently, the 51st International Film Festival Rotterdam (IIFR) has been the talk of the town as it chose SA’s comedy feature Daryn’s Gym among a plethora of global releases to be showcased later this month. By the way, IFFR is one of the largest audience and industry-driven film festivals in the world. The festival’s Official Selection includes more than 570 feature, mid-length, and short films from almost 90 countries. In December, Daryn’s Gym launched exclusively on eVOD, which is eMedia’s streaming platform. The mockumentary comedy by Brett Michael Innes, who wears the hat of a writer and director, is produced by Paulo Areal and stars a host of familiar faces from…

Lehlohonolo Mashigo THE HEAD of the Oxfam EU Office, Evelien van Roemburg, said yesterday that extreme inequality is a form of economic violence. This comes after Oxfam International found that billionaires’ wealth had risen more since the Covid-19 pandemic began than it had in the last 14 years. Van Roemburg said economic violence was perpetrated where policies and political decisions result in wealth and power for a privileged few but direct harm to the vast majority of people across the world. Worryingly, Oxfam said, inequality was contributing to the death of at least 21 000 people each day, or one person every four seconds. Oxfam said the wealth of the world’s 10 richest men has doubled since the pandemic and the income of 99% of humanity are worse off,…

Loyiso Sidimba loyiso.sidimba@inl.co.za PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has handed responsibility for the control and direction of the State Security Agency (SSA) to Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele. Ramaphosa’s office said yesterday that this was in line with his announcement in August last year that the Ministry of State Security would be done away with, and political responsibility for the SSA would reside in the Presidency. ”Section 209(2) of the Constitution, which addresses governance of intelligence services, empowers the president to assume political responsibility for intelligence services other than those of the police or national defence force, or to designate a member of Cabinet to assume this responsibility,” the Presidency said in a statement. While Ramaphosa has assigned responsibility for the SSA to Gungubele, Zizi Kodwa will continue to serve as…

Sports Reporter DESPITE the Proteas losing both their opening games of the Netball Quad Series in London at the weekend, coach Dorette Badenhorst says lessons learnt against England and Australia will prepare them for today’s clash with world champions New Zealand (7.15pm). The match against the Silver Ferns is the final round-robin group stage game of the tournament. On Sunday, the Proteas, ranked fifth in the world, took on the world No 1 Australian Diamonds, who won 60-40. The two sides have met 40 times and South Africa are yet to win against the Aussies. On Saturday, England trounced South Africa 71–47. Badenhorst has taken stock of the team’s performances and will look to the players to step up their performances. “On Sunday we played better than we did against…

Banele Ginindza banele.ginindza@inl.co.za BUSINESS Leadership South Africa (BLSA) has maintained its position on the penance of advisory firm Bain and Company against the tide of criticism over its exoneration of the group in the wake of sanctions against it stemming from findings of Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo. BLSA chief executive Busisiwe Mavuso, in a weekly note, said yesterday that criticism that the business organisation had “embraced” or “defended” Bain following the Zondo Commission was nonsense. “This was certainly no embrace or defence. It reflected our absolutely clear view that our members must reflect the high standards of the integrity pledge that they made to fight against corruption,” Mavuso said. Critics, including the Black Business Council, have called for the consultancy Bain & Co to be blacklisted from further government…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za FORMER Old Mutual chief executive Peter Moyo was back in court yesterday in his bid for reinstatement and damages following his dismissal twice from the insurance and investment group in 2019 for alleged conflict of interest. His claim for reinstatement and damages is being heard in the Gauteng High Court. Moyo was fired in June 2019 for allegedly pocketing dividend payments of R30.6 million linked to an investment firm he co-founded, NMT Capital, in which Old Mutual has a 20 percent stake, which it acquired in 2005 as part of a black economic empowerment deal. Moyo chaired an NMT meeting in 2018 where he declared a R105m ordinary dividend and allegedly paid himself dividends, but Old Mutual’s preference share dividends were not paid. Moyo and…

ONE OF THE technology calendar’s biggest annual events, CES 2022, or the Consumer Electronics Show, took place in Las Vegas, US, from January 5 to 8. More than 40 000 people from 119 countries attended the event where 2 300-plus companies from all over the world showcased their latest technologies in digital health, food tech, automotive tech, space tech, Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs), gaming, autonomous vehicles, smart homes, 5G, and much more. The show displayed the next wave of innovation that would shape 2022 and the economy of tomorrow, such as the evolution of the metaverse and intelligent automation. According to Forbes, CES has often been the seismometer of the most seismic shifts in the recent history of technology. Wi-fi powered remote controls In the previous years of CES,…

Kailene Pillay kailene.pillay@inl.co.za PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa’s first weekly newsletter for the year not only addressed the loss of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Parliament inferno or the handover of part of the state capture report, but called for the protection of democracy as his ministers continue to publicly row following Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu’s recent comments on the judiciary and Constitution. In his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa called for greater efforts in defending South Africa’s democracy – seen as a veiled swipe at Sisulu. In his Monday “from the President’s desk” letter to South Africans, Ramaphosa said citizens should safeguard against any and all efforts to diminish the country’s hard-won democracy. He called for the protection of the Constitution, democratic state and electoral processes, “whether these efforts take the form of corruption…

Chulumanco Mahamba chulumanco.mahamba@inl.co.za AS LEARNERS who wrote matric last year anxiously await their results, AfriForum, Maroela Media and a 2021 matriculant will today face the Department of Basic Education (DBE) to decide whether the results will be made public on media platforms. Last week, the DBE shocked the nation after it announced that the usual practice of publishing the National Senior Certificate (NSC) matric results on public media platforms would not occur. DBE spokesperson Elijah Mhlanga said that 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 move by the department was praised by numerous organisations, especially in regard to matric learners’ mental health. However, not everyone was happy with the…

Thabo Makwakwa thabo.makwakwa@inl.co.za THE social media revolution has just begun and its use has become one of the most popular online activities. According to Statista Research Department, it was discovered that in 2020, over 3.6 billion people were using social media worldwide, projected to increase to almost 4.41 billion in 2025. With unemployment rocketing and governments failing to create jobs and opportunities for the youth, social media can provide much-needed income for young people, who each day spend hours there. The Daily News spoke to some of the most influential social media content producers and influencers, who have taken advantage of the revolution in the digital media space and used the platform to generate income. Social media influencer Daniel Marven, known on Twitter as @daniel- marven, said the youth had…

James Mahlokwane james.mahlokwane@inl.co.za THE Tshwane Taxi Industry has intensified security measures to protect vulnerable students, commuters and its members against criminal syndicates. McDonald Makata, spokesperson for the industry in Tshwane, said they had intensified their operations after criminals robbed passengers in a 65-seater bus in Soshanguve last week. Following a meeting yesterday, the taxi operators committed to deploying more monitoring teams, some of whom will wear reflectors while some will be camouflaged as ordinary citizens in hot spots like Pretoria Central, Soshanguve and other areas with tertiary institutions. Makata, on behalf of the SA National Taxi Council and National Taxi Alliance, said Pretoria was home to a lot of tertiary institutions that attracted thousands of young people from across the country, but some fell victim to thieves who robbed them…

Cometh Dube-Makholwa | Midrand DR JOE Phaahla, who was deputy to ex-minister of health Dr Zweli Mkhize, was appointed minister of health on August 5 by President Cyril Ramaphosa. The World Health Organization had hoped 40% of populations across Africa would have been fully vaccinated by the end of December. Sadly, this target was not met. According to statistics, more than 200 000 people have died of Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic in Africa, of which close to 100 000 occurred in South Africa as there have been concerns the official death toll does not reflect the accurate number of deaths from Covid-19 in the country. The high number of infections and deaths in South Africa is to be expected, as South Africa has absorbed…

VIRAT Kohli needs to shed his ego to play under a new leader after giving up the Test captaincy, icon Kapil Dev said as uncertainty swirled about the future of the national team. Kohli, 33, announced his surprise departure late on Saturday, having already quit as T20 captain last year and been sacked as skipper of the one-day international side soon afterwards. Dev, who led India to glory in the 1983 World Cup, welcomed Kohli’s decision, saying he was “going through a rough time” and “appeared to be under a lot of pressure”. But he said Kohli would have to knuckle down and bite his tongue if he is to remain in the team under a new captain. “Even Sunil Gavaskar played under me. I played under K Srikkanth and…

RAFAEL Nadal and Ashleigh Barty made devastating starts to their Australian Open title campaigns yesterday as the Grand Slam attempted to move on from the Novak Djokovic visa saga. Naomi Osaka launched the defence of her women’s crown with victory, but Coco Gauff was an early big-name casualty, the American 17-year-old dumped out in straight sets by Wang Qiang, who is ranked outside the top 100. The only Australian Open champion in the men’s draw after nine-time winner Djokovic’s deportation, Nadal started his quest to become the first man to win 21 Grand Slams by sweeping aside 66th-ranked Marcos Giron 6-1, 6-4, 6-2. The draw has opened up for the Spanish great with defending champion Djokovic out of the picture and the other member of the ‘Big Three’, Roger Federer,…