Innholdsfortegnelse for 2022-03-30 i Star

ABSA GROUP has appointed Arrie Rautenbach, currently chief executive of the bank’s retail business, as CEO, effectively immediately, the first internally appointed CEO since 2006. He fills a vacancy that had been left open since the unexpected departure of previous CEO Daniel Mminele 11 months ago. The appointment also precedes by days the handing over of the board chairpersonship, from April 1, to Sello Moloko, by Wendy Lucas-Bull. Interim CEO Jason Quinn will resume his position as group financial director. Absa said yesterday that the CEO appointment had followed a thorough recruitment and selection process completed by its board. Rautenbach has more than 25 years’ banking experience, which includes serving as the group’s chief risk officer, simultaneously also providing executive leadership for the Group Separation Programme and Group Strategy Office.…

THE PASSENGER Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) has committed to ambitious plans to reduce its irregular expenditure by 2024. It told Parliament yesterday of a litany of problems, including heavily vandalised infrastructure, lack of qualified personnel in all tiers, sullied procurement systems, encroachment of its infrastructure as well as high diesel expenses. Appearing before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa), Minister Fikile Mbalula, acting board chairperson Leonard Rama- tlakane and acting chief executive David Mphelo acknowledged poor audit outcomes over three years and a R1.9 billion loss in 2020/21, with operating costs at R15.5bn. “The Covid-19 pandemic exposed Prasa to many risks, especially in emergency procurement, which inevitably resulted in some cases of corruption in the systems. “Prasa is not generating sufficient revenue and will have to…

THE DA has been accused of protecting its own affiliates whose contracts have illegally been made permanent. This includes the contract of the city’s director of Group Forensic Investigation Services (GFIS). Al Jama-ah, a minority party in the City of Joburg, is challenging the conversion of General Shadrach Sibiya’s contract which was made permanent in 2017. The Star understands that Sibiya was on a political fixed-term contract and now enjoys the benefits of full-time employment. This comes as the city is preparing to fire 130 workers who have been associated with the ANC and whose contracts were elevated from fixed-term to full-time employment. Al Jama-ah councillor Thepelo Amad said the DA was being disingenous in its behaviour towards the 130 workers. He said that should they be fired, then Sibiya…

l Fifth jobless rise of lockdown STATS South Africa yesterday revealed shocking numbers of an ever-increasing unemployment crisis in South Africa, which rose to a record-high of 35.3%. The Fourth Quarter Labour Force Survey for 2020/21 showed an increase of 0.4% compared to quarter three of the corresponding financial year. Youth aged 15-24 years and 25-34 years recorded the highest unemployment rates of 66.5% and 43.5% respectively. A total of 278 000 more people were recorded to have joined the unemployment bracket following a decrease of 183 000 in the previous quarter. StatsSA said this was the fifth unemployment increase since the start of the Covid-19 national lockdown, caused by the lack of movement. “In a quest to protect South African citizens from the novel Coronavirus, the government announced a…

A MPUMALANGA woman is suing the Gauteng Department of Health for R50 million after her left leg was amputated without her knowledge. The 21-year-old Nontobeko Shongwe claims she was admitted for nine days at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria in November last year. Before that, she had gone in and out of hospitals with complications to her left knee. She claims that a Dr Faleye botched her surgery and was forced to amputate her leg after he mistakenly cut her veins, which caused her to bleed profusely. She says the amputation also prevented her from writing her 2021 matric supplementary exam and she was therefore unable to pursue her accounting and auditing studies at a higher education institution. Speaking to The Star’s sister paper, the Pretoria News on…

WORLD peace is more than just an end to war and elimination of violence – which are currently the dominant means for managing national and international conflicts. Banning nuclear weapons, prohibiting the use of poison gases and germ warfare, although important, have not been able to remove the root causes of war. There is need for change in individual attitudes and creation of a universal framework to uphold peace. In the Bahá’í view, any new thinking about peace must begin with the belief in the oneness of humanity, and the goal should not be simply to end war, but the unification of all the peoples of the world in one global family. The Universal House of Justice, the governing council of the Bahá’í International Community, states: “World order can be…

This created a buzz of excitement, particularly for those who had always been devoted followers of this much-anticipated TV reality show. In what seemed like a long time, BBMzansi is now days away from wrapping up the third season, which has captured the attention of viewers to an immense extent. After having the house filled with 18 housemates all vying for the R2 million cash prize, they are now down to only five as we step closer to the announcement of the winner. With Gash1, Mphowabadimo, Libo, Themba and Tulz battling for the title, viewers are yet to see who will walk away a millionaire. The show kicked off in January this year, introducing the popular TV personality Lawrence Maleka at the helm as a host. The director of…

White House records show a gap of more than seven hours in former US president Donald Trump’s official phone calls the day of the deadly January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. Eleven pages of records turned over to lawmakers showed Trump talked to at least eight people by phone before the gap and 11 afterward. Reports also cite multiple conversations Trump had that day with allies and officials, prompting a probe into whether he communicated through unofficial channels, the report said. | Reuters…

Russia promised at peace talks yesterday to drastically scale down its military operations around Kiev and the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, while Ukraine proposed neutral status with international guarantees to protect it from attack. Ukrainian negotiators said they had proposed a status under which their country would not join alliances or host bases of foreign troops, but would have its security guaranteed in terms similar to “Article 5”, the collective defence clause of Nato. They identified Israel and Nato members Canada, Poland and Turkey as countries that could help provide such guarantees. The proposals would include a 15-year consultation period on the status of Russian-annexed Crimea, and could come into force only in the event of a complete ceasefire, the Ukrainian negotiators said in Istanbul. Russian Deputy Defence Minister…

FIVE years ago, the Proteas Women’s team lay crestfallen on the Bristol outfield. The emotions were in overdrive with tears flowing freely down the cheeks of everyone. They were inconsolable after putting their heart and soul into a contest, only to be knocked out by the barest of margins. It is the pain experienced on that fateful Madiba Day that will be the motivating factor for the Proteas Women’s team, who are aiming rewrite history tomorrow (3am SA time) when they face off against England in a repeat of the 2017 World Cup semi-final, according to coach Hilton Moreeng. “They know how they felt on that day. Most of them that were there are here today. It was Madiba Day. It was Ayabonga Khaka’s birthday. It is one of those…

SOUTH Africa’s unemployment rate is likely to remain the highest in the world for the foreseeable future as economic woes force the number of jobs created to be outpaced by the size of the labour market. Data from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) yesterday showed 278 000 more people joined the ranks of the unemployed in the last three months of 2021, raising the jobless rate to yet another record high. Stats SA said the country’s unemployment rate rose by 0.4 of a percentage point to reach the dreaded 35.3 percent in the fourth quarter, up from 34.9 percent the previous quarter. This means that there were 7.9 million people of working age actively looking for work who had no jobs at the…

THE rand rallied back toward a 5-month high yesterday, buoyed by increasing risk sentiment in spite of rising job losses in South Africa. South Africa’s unemployment rate hit a new record high of 35.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2021, mainly due to job losses in manufacturing and construction industries. Anchor Capital investment analyst Casey Delport, however, said total employment partially recovered as the number of employed persons actually increased by 262 000. “This is reflective of economic activity having bounced back after the July riots,” Delport said. “However, due to a bigger increase in the labour force, the unemployment rate actually climbed from 34.9 percent to 35.3 percent in the fourth quarter.” Despite this, investors have been pouring into financial markets as the start…

BARLOWORLD’S Russia and Mongolia Caterpillar operation, Equipment Eurasia, is experiencing restricted trading due to supply chain disruptions, some cancellations among customers, and certain assets might need to be impaired. The group said in a trading statement of its operations in Russia and Mongolia: “The situation is fluid, and the team needs to be adaptable to ensure compliance with emerging regulatory changes that impact us both internally and externally.” The share price surged 5.1 percent to R112.55 yesterday morning, a slight recovery from the about R148 it reached until the middle of February, when Russia invaded Ukraine. Barloworld management said they expect restricted trading conditions to continue, despite a record firm order book. “We anticipate further cancellations once the full extent of sanctions, supply chain disruptions and recent announcement by…

AYO Technology Solutions chairperson Dr Wallace Mgoqi has said only the banks could explain exactly what they meant by “reputational risk”, because up to this day, they had not provided concrete substance as to what really constituted how certain entities or individuals presented such a risk. This after Mgoqi revealed in an interview with Independent Media’s investigations unit that Nedbank had terminated his personal bank account in February this year. “This was purely because of my association with (Sekunjalo chairperson) Dr Iqbal Survé, as is the case with the other companies. “The basis for it has always been from the banks’ side that it is due to the association with Survé.” The cartel-like conduct of South African banks amounts to the throwing of stones while living in a glasshouse, is…

IT IS tragic and hypocritical it took the bloodbath in Ukraine to catapult and propel the grim words “War Crimes” into the global lexicon. For the past 70 years the world has witnessed war crimes and crimes against humanity on a daily basis without a murmur or whisper. Today’s screams and shouts about war crimes, sanctions and illegal seizures of property on a global basis are a smokescreen for regime change. Any regime change in the periphery of Europe and Asia is a nuclear powder keg that could destroy all human life on Earth. These hypocrites were silent when Muslims were butchered on a global scale over the past 30 years in both hemispheres. Selective amnesia was their foreign policy posture. The nine leaders of the club of nine nuclear…

WITH Israel Apartheid Week under way on the campuses of South African universities, the BDS coalition with their Palestinian support groups, as they do every year, fire up their normal accusations of apartheid, always the fall back emotive issue, that attracts the uninformed to any cause that they believe will gain them acceptance with the “in crowd’ and the “woke culture” so pervasive on campuses today. These tropes all flavoured with much fake and manipulative news go unchallenged by groups who proclaim themselves to be Human Rights Organisations, yet they have no interest in the tragedy of their own country. A report in a national newspaper, on March 25 revealed seven children in the Butterworth area of the Eastern Cape died of severe malnutrition in the last six months, six…

RENOWNED singer and actress André Hattingh has composed a tribute song, titled Gathering the Stars, for all the famous faces and beloved stars the local entertainment industry had to bid farewell to in the past few years. Having worked for decades in the entertainment industry, witnessing the loss of colleagues and friends weighed heavily on her. There is no denying that the past two years have been a long haul for everyone with the lethal outbreak of Covid-19. Many had to witness losing their loved ones and try to adjust to the new way of living, which was not quite easy to do. The SA entertainment industry had to bear the loss of various icons who played a huge role in shaping the entertainment industry. While pouring her heart into…

THE Competition Commission has launched a public inquiry into the fresh produce market. The inquiry will examine whether or not there are any features in its value chain which lessen, prevent or distort competitiveness. “A market inquiry is a general investigation into the state, nature, and form of competition in a market, rather than a narrow investigation of specific conduct by any particular firm,” added the commission. According to the commission, the terms of the fresh produce market inquiry, established under Chapter 4A of the Competition Act No 89 of 1998 (as amended), were published in the Government Gazette No 46093 on March 25. “The public and/or any interested party is invited to make comments on the proposed terms of reference on/before April 22. “The commission is of…

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, 95, made her first public appearance in five months yesterday when she joined the royal family and other dignitaries at a memorial service in honour of her husband Prince Philip, who died last year. At the time, only 30 mourners were able to attend his funeral service due to strict Covid-19 rules. Yesterday’s service of thanksgiving at London’s Westminster Abbey was a bigger event including Prince Charles, his son William and wife Kate and children, and foreign kings and queens. | Reuters…

SOUTH Africa have always been happy to drop their spinner. Heck, the Proteas have gone to the sub-continent, stared at a pitch that screamed ‘pick another spinner’, selected just one spinner and then had that one spinner bowl 81 overs out of 185 in a Test match. Keshav Maharaj did get a little bit of help at the SSC in Colombo in 2018, with Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram sharing 19 overs. South Africa’s post-isolation philosophy has been to back their quicks, even when the conditions aren’t suitable. So, it is no surprise that in that same period, the Proteas have never started a home Test with two front-line spinners. However, might history be made at Kingsmead this week? Elgar, now captain, wasn’t giving much away on Monday. The usual…

WHILE the battle for Ithala Bank to become a fully-fledged State-owned bank with a right to compete with the big five banks escalates, the KwaZulu-Natal legislature doubts Ithala would be able to acquire its permanent banking licence by the end of next month, which is the cut-off date. The bank has been struggling for about 10 years to obtain a permanent banking licence and as a result, it had, up to now, been operating with a renewable Banking Licence Exemption Notice, which is renewable every 12 to 24 months. The temporary licence limits the activities of the bank, which was established by the then KZN government, leaving bigger banks to still control the sector. The executive managers of the bank, which is an entity owned by the KZN Department of…

MIPIM, the world’s major international real estate event in Cannes, France, which ended on Friday, signalled a return to normality after the Covid health crisis. Under the shadow of a Russian- Ukrainian war, Mipim’s recovery from a two-year Covid break revealed good news amid clear global difficulties. Both listed and unlisted companies worldwide were represented at the event. There are many lessons for the South African property market, despite the visible lack of any African repre- sentation. For Inospace, it further validated the value we see in the industrial and logistics sector, which is booming worldwide with growing investor and tenant demand. More critically, we have also experienced strong rental growth in industrial units, and this seems to be a global trend in most first and second-tier investment destinations. A…

CONTRARY to his previous promise that the government would start subsidising the taxi industry by April 2021, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula now says his department is preparing a draft policy before consultations on the matter. Nontando Nolutshungu, an EFF MP, wrote to Mbalula asking for the date of the implementation of the taxi industry subsidy programme. She qualified her question by stating that, “taxi operators were promised a taxi subsidy which would be implemented by April 2021, and yet almost a year later not a single taxi has received the specified subsidy”. An upbeat Mbalula announced at a taxi industry lekgotla in September 2020 that the subsidy programme was a goal he aimed to achieve by the financial year starting in April 2021. “The participation of this industry in the…

THE Gauteng Department of Education was struck by another tragedy when two learners drowned at a beach while on a rugby tour in Durban. Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi announced on Monday afternoon that he was disheartened by the news of an incident involving two boys from Hoërskool Birchleigh (Grade 10 and Grade 12) in Kempton Park, who drowned at Durban’s North Beach on Sunday during a school trip. Spokesperson Steve Mabona said the department could not release the names of the learners until it visited the school or got permission from both families. The learners were visiting Durban from March 24 to March 31 for a rugby tournament. Mabona said: “On Sunday morning, the learners and several teachers went swimming at Durban’s North Beach, where some learners were reportedly…

IT WAS supposed to be a happy occasion for a South African woman and her partner from Venezuela when they travelled here to get married. However, immigration officers detained the Venezuelan at the airport because her country had extended her passport manually. Elisa Serrano and Clair Breukel had to turn to the Western Cape High Court for intervention twice. On each occasion, Serrano was detained at Cape Town International Airport. Although Judge Matthew Francis ordered the Department of Home Affairs to allow Serrano to enter the country pending a review by the minister regarding the validity of her passport, she was not freed. Counsel for the minister said the department was disputing the order for her release. A second application – this time for contempt of court was brought before…

WHAT is it about Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane that makes a white feature writer for the respected Sunday Times refer to her as one of the “rotten apples” in our polity? What is it about her that makes President Cyril Ramaphosa give her 10 days notice to say why she should not be suspended? Doesn’t he have the guts to tell her what is wrong with her? Surely it cannot be because she is black and a woman? I get the impression some people in the media vilify her because she rattles the cages of some influential people, such as Pravin Gordhan, the ANC party faithful. And why is the president so keen to get rid of her? Is it because she is asking uncomfortable questions about him? As members…

A FARMER described as well known and very successful in the Western Cape is set to receive R350 000 in damages from his pastor, who had defamed him. The spiritual leader defamed him via two letters – one to his wife’s attorneys and the other to the University of Stellenbosch – in which he claimed the farmer often abused alcohol. The farmer, Frederick Becker, turned to the Western Cape High Court where he initially claimed R500 000 in damages from his long-standing family pastor, Gysbert Brits. Becker told the court that Brits’s allegations were both harmful and hurtful towards him. He said he has been a farmer for more than 20 years in the Cape, and was also an alumni of the University of Stellenbosch. He had been a member…

Leigh Davids is appealing to the public to help her make her dreams of becoming Miss Teenager South Africa a reality. The 20-year-old, from Clarke Estate in Elsies River, Cape Town, said she needed any form of sponsorship as the pageant did not cover anything that was needed. “I come from an area infested with crime and gang violence but I want to stand out and be the change and a role model in my community,” she said. “I need to pay R5 500 to participate as well as cover all the expenses, because the competition takes place in Johannesburg. I was not aware of all the costs involved before entering. We are not financially stable. However, my mom said she will help where she can.” Her mother, Carmen Davids,…

THE Russia-Ukraine crisis that began on February 24 has divided academics and keen observers of international politics. In a bid to assess the direction of the conflict and its implication for the future of Russia-Ukraine relations, the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ) Institute for the Future of Knowledge organised a webinar titled, “Russia-Ukraine Crisis: Escalation or Détente?” on March 16. The event was facilitated by Professor Suzy Graham, the vice-dean of teaching and learning in the Faculty of Humanities. The three key speakers were Ambassador Ilya Rogachev, of the Russian Embassy in South Africa; Ambassador Steven Pifer, the former US Ambassador to Ukraine; and Distinguished Professor David Marples, of the Department of History, Classics and Religion at the University of Alberta, Canada. Rogachev noted that Russia’s action in Ukraine was ignited…

THE UN is seeking to verify reports of mass graves thought to contain the corpses of migrants at a trafficking hub in Libya, said a report published yesterday that also documented incidents of rape, murder and torture. Libya is a major transit point for Africans seeking to make the perilous journey to Europe across the Mediterranean but many find themselves enslaved by militias and traffickers or forced into prostitution. Several migrants told the UN that there were mass graves in the city of Bani Walid. | Reuters…

The much-anticipated MetroWired Legends Golf Day held at the Bryanston Country Club yesterday was a huge success, with several footballers, coaches and prominent businesspeople from various sectors gracing the event. President of the South African Football Association (Safa), Danny Jordaan, hit the first tee shot of the day. The 96 Legends Golf Day is one of the many celebratory events that will be held around the country as part of honouring our 1996 heroes who lifted South Africa’s only Africa Cup of Nations title. “This was planned about a year ago to mark the 25th year of winning the trophy, but due to Covid, we were unable to celebrate this last year,” said Jordaan. “We are really delighted that the day has finally come and we are able to celebrate…