Innholdsfortegnelse for 2023-03-31 i Star

SHOPRITE is gunning for the more than R100 billion South African apparel retail market, aiming its new Uniq clothing chain at the women’s, men’s and children’s wear sector with medium to high- end price ranges. South Africa’s largest retailer opened the first Uniq apparel retail store in Cape Town yesterday. It touted select items such as T-shirts priced at R149, joggers priced at R299 and R799 puffer jackets as it gears up to roll out seven additional Uniq stores in the next few weeks. Shoprite is launching a foray into an apparel retail market that already has Pick n Pay’s clothing division, Mr Price and Foschini among other players. According to Statista, the South African apparel market will record about R108bn in revenues this year. However, a weaker rand,…

NINE banks are now in the Competition Tribunal’s crosshairs as in a crucial ruling the body ruled yesterday that it had the jurisdiction to hear the so-called “Forex Cartel case”, in which foreign and local banks (respondents) were implicated in alleged collusion to manipulate the rand-dollar exchange rate. The nine banks added are local banks (Nedbank Group; Nedbank Ltd; FirstRand; FirstRand Bank) as well as international banks (HSBC Bank USA, National Association; Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner and Smith; Bank of America; Credit Suisse Securities (USA) and Standard Americas). If found guilty the tribunal has the right to levy a fine of up to 10% of in-country annual turnover. This as local banks turnover amounts to billions of rands. The financial scandal came to light in 2013, involving 28 banks from…

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has assured the public that the government was working to address the impact of load shedding on different sectors of society and the economy. Ramaphosa told Parliament yesterday that the government’s primary focus was on reducing the severity and frequency of load shedding through a range of interventions that were being co-ordinated by the National Energy Crisis Committee. The president was responding to an oral question by ANC MP Nokuzola Ndongeni, who wanted to know whether the government had considered any interventions to ensure that load shedding did not adversely derail and/or affect plans to provide services. Ramaphosa said the government would ensure the continuity of basic services, especially for the poor, by focusing on commuter rail infrastructure, bulk water supply systems and facilities essential to the…

This week, three years ago, South Africa went into a hard lockdown due to Covid-19. Events and public gatherings ground to a halt. This impacted many industries, including the entertainment sector. Aside from the financial setback for artists who were unable to earn an income, many lives were lost. Some artists made the pivot to online to keep on doing what they love while, where possible, sustaining themselves through a dark patch. Thankfully, things are looking much better, even though we haven’t fully escaped the Covid-19 virus. But events have resumed and the entertainment industry is booming again. If you’re in Joburg this weekend, get yourself to Word War Hip Hop, an immersive and engaging event of rap battles, cyphers and performances. It takes place at Vinylifestyle Lounge in Marshalltown…

A pastor and two of her congregants tested positive for cholera following a baptism at the Jukskei river earlier this month. There are now 10 laboratory-confirmed cholera cases in South Africa. The department said the suspected source of local cholera infections is water from Jukskei River and Klip River. “The environmental health practitioners will collect water samples from the two rivers for analysis in order to establish if indeed the water is contaminated with cholera, and the department will announce the results as soon as they are available,” it said. “Cases seven and eight are a Diepsloot couple, aged 38 and 49, who were admitted to the Helen Joseph Hospital with acute watery diarrhoea and severe dehydration,” the department’s Foster Mohale said. He said the couple had been baptised at…

Esteemed Thespian Sello Maake KaNcube honours internationally acclaimed actor and playwright, John Kani, in a South African classic play, Nothing But The Truth, set to take the stage at the Theatre on the Square from March 29 to April 16. Directed by the talented Charmaine Weir-Smith, the play features local talents such as Mbali S Nhlapo and Ziaphora Dakile. Since its 2002 debut, Nothing But The Truth has garnered critical acclaim and is recognised as a contemporary South African classic. The play delves deep into the complex relationships within families and investigates the experiences of those who lived in exile during the apartheid era. Set against the backdrop of South Africa’s Struggle against apartheid, Nothing But The Truth offers a powerful examination of the tension between those who sacrificed…

KEAGAN Dolly is a team player and it’s easier for him to lend a helping hand to a teammate during matches than look after his own game. When Dolly joined Chiefs from French outfit Montpellier two years ago a lot was expected from the Bafana Bafana player but he’s had an up and down time with his childhood club and he’s yet to be at his very best. He was expected to play a crucial part in their new dawn this season and help challenge his former club, Mamelodi Sundowns, for the championship. That hasn’t been the case. Not only are Chiefs out of the title race with seven games to go as they trail log leaders Sundowns by 22 points but Dolly himself has not hit the levels he…

KAIZER Chiefs want to run a tight ship when they finally launch a women’s team, which is why it was important to renew their partnership with Medshield medical scheme. Arguably the most successful and followed club in South Africa, Chiefs have been criticised for not investing in the fast-growing space of women’s football by not forming a women’s team. So much so that Jessica Motaung’s appointment by Caf as a member of the organising committee for Women’s Football Standing Committee last year was met with bemusement. In her defence, though, the Amakhosi marketing and commercial director said plans were already afoot to form the team which would compete in the national, semi-professional Super League. If that happens they would become the fifth PSL club to have a women’s team alongside…

CHARLES Leclerc cautioned yesterday against expecting any “miracles” from Ferrari at the Australian Grand Prix, in stark contrast to last year when he was the runaway winner. The 25-year-old clocked a commanding victory at Albert Park in 2022, leading from start to finish, having also won the season opener at Bahrain to be the early championship leader. But it is a different scenario this time as Ferrari struggle with power and reliability issues. “Yeah, good memories, but looking at this year we are not coming into this race in the same situation as we were last year,” Leclerc admitted. “I think clearly our performance is not as good as last year, but we are working massively to try and come back to the front. “I don’t think there will be…

NKOSIKHONA Mhlakwana knows that the nation is highly expectant, he knows that he has whetted the appetite of the running public, and he knows that he cannot disappoint. He knows only too well that he will toe the start line of the TotalSports Two Oceans Marathon on April 15 as a favourite to win. After all, he should have won last year. The runner popularly known as Caster finished a close second to Ednadale Belachew following a sprint finish in the 56km race. He crossed the line just three seconds behind the Ethiopian, his time of three hours, nine minutes and eight seconds highly impressive for a novice. A year later, Mhlakwana believes he is a much stronger and wiser athlete, having followed that brilliant Two Oceans debut with a…

A GROUP of business leaders and academics signed a letter asking companies like OpenAI, Google and Microsoft to stop training more powerful AI systems so the industry can assess the risks they pose. Twitter CEO Elon Musk, veteran AI computer scientist Yoshua Bengio and Emad Mostaque, the CEO of fast-growing start-up Stability AI, all signed the letter, along with around 1 000 other members of the business, academic and tech worlds, though the list was not independently verified. “Should we automate away all the jobs, including the fulfilling ones? Should we develop nonhuman minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart, obsolete and replace us?,” the letter said. “Powerful AI systems should be developed only once we are confident that their effects will be positive and their risks will be manageable.”…

THREE South African commercial banks made their submissions yesterday in the Competition Appeal Court, to challenge the order made by the Competition Tribunal to grant the Sekunjalo Group an interim order against the closing of their banking accounts. This follows the September 2022 granting of interim relief to the Sekunjalo Group, preventing the three banks from closing their group transactional bank accounts and ordering five others to reopen bank accounts that had already been closed. At the time, the Sekunjalo Group argued that the banks’ conduct of closing accounts or refusing to provide banking and payment services constituted an abuse of dominance, collusion, or co-ordinated conduct, which lessened competition and was in contravention of the Act. The nine banks are Nedbank Ltd; Absa Bank Ltd; First Rand Bank Ltd; Sasfin…

The Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) has dismissed reports that it is refusing to extend the contracts of more than 4 000 Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) workers. This week, the workers vowed to disrupt and sleep outside the provincial headquarters of the department on Wednesday until their demands for contract extensions were met. The affected employees have vowed to continue protesting as some of their contracts have ended as of today. However, GDoH spokesperson Motalatale Modiba denied the accusations levelled against the department, saying the protesting employees were given one-year contracts. He said the department was trying to clean up the system, which has been corrupted by those who failed to keep to the stipulations of the original contracts, resulting in some of the employees being engaged with the…

The drama playing out in Washington as the US establishment exerts pressure to push TikTok, the social media giant, out of the US markets may not be the last we have seen of Western targeting of Chinese tech companies. Huawei and other Chinese tech companies banned in the US and European markets, have shifted their focus to African markets making far reaching transformative socio-economic impact, re-asserting the importance of ICTS and tech co-operation as a major driver of development. While the 1.4 billion population, characterised by a dynamic youth bulge has poised Africa as a bustling tech-market, the continent lags in ICTS and new technologies. As reflected in current excitement following the launch of ChatGPT in the US and later Chinese backed Baidu, new technologies have become a crucial rapidly…

A Randfontein homeowner who was charged with illegally keeping three lions on his property could face jail time or a fine of up to R10 million. The NSPCA said it was contacted by the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD) regarding the illegal possession and captivity of three lions at a property in Randfontein. Keshvi Nair, NSPCA public relations officer, said they and Randwest SPCA carried out an inspection at the property on March 22. “In a joint operation between the NSPCA, Randwest SPCA, Isindile Big Cat and Predator Sanctuary and GDARD, the three lions were successfully darted, captured and moved from their illegal confinement. “Dr Peter Caldwell, a wildlife specialist veterinarian, performed a basic health check on each lion, and also microchipped, vaccinated and de-wormed them. “The…

The University of Cape Town recently hosted a session on extremist Islamist propaganda, following a UCT Palestine Solidarity Forum (PSF) event which took place on campus. This formed part of the anti-Semitic Boycott Divest Sanctions (BDS) movement’s annual Israel hatefest which runs on university campuses across South Africa, known as “Israel Apartheid Week” (IAW). On March 20, the UCT PSF facilitated the delivery of electronic video messages from political representatives of Hamas, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), on UCT’s upper campus. Members of the student body and PSF shamelessly hung Hezbollah and Hamas flags with images of military-grade rifles on them in the Leslie Anne building at UCT. Our universities should be places of rational debate and inclusive engagement, not hostile environments which encourage the…

THE Sekunjalo Group, an investor and shareholder in one of South Africa’s largest media houses, Independent Media, has set the record straight regarding its support for its media investment. The group also welcomed the settlement reached in the matter between the PIC and Ayo Technology Solutions Limited. This is in light of an internal memo to Independent Media staff that was leaked over the weekend, and the recent announcement of the settlement. The group said there had been “great confusion caused by certain aspects of the media and a concerted effort to conflate the two entirely independent organisations and their situations”. “As an investor and shareholder in both AYO and Independent Media (IM), the Sekunjalo Group (Sekunjalo Investment Holdings/Sekunjalo) has also been drawn into the maelstrom and so we would…

SOUTH Africa face having to travel to Zimbabwe to play World Cup qualifiers for the first time in history if the ODI series against the Netherlands is lost. The series takes the centre stage this weekend as South Africa look to secure direct qualification to the World Cup in India later this year. Seven teams have already qualified and only one spot is left for direct qualification to the World Cup. Four teams are still fighting for that spot to avoid the Zimbabwe qualifiers - South Africa, West Indies, Ireland and Sri Lanka. As of today, the West Indies have played out all their fixtures and occupy that spot (No 8) with 88 points, while Sri Lanka sit in ninth place on 81 points with one match remaining in the…

ROY Hodgson is solely focused on helping Crystal Palace retain their Premier League status and is banking on the connections he made in his previous stint at Selhurst Park to help him reintegrate, the former England manager said yesterday. Hodgson, who was in charge of Palace from 2017-2021, replaced Patrick Vieira earlier this month after the Frenchman was sacked following a poor run of form that left the team three points above the relegation zone. Palace are the only side in the league without a win in 2023, having drawn five and lost seven of their games. They are 12th on 27 points with 10 games to play. “The time I spent here were good years. I forged a very good relationship, not only with the owners and the sporting…

South African Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan has urged Bafana Bafana to maintain a winning momentum so that the team progress from next year’s Africa Cup of Nations (Afrcon) to 2026 World Cup qualifying. Bafana Bafana secured their Afcon ticket after defeating Liberia 2-1 at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium in Monrovia on Tuesday night. Jordaan said a strong campaign in Ivory Coast would be morale-boosting because straight after the tournament the draw for 2026 World Cup qualifying will be done. “As one of the 24 teams at Afcon in Ivory Coast, we need to make sure we come out tops,” said Jordaan at OR Tambo International Airport on Wednesday night. He was joined by hundreds of fans to welcome the victorious Bafana Bafana back from Liberia. “From now…

THE undiscovered country that is EPCR Challenge Cup play-off rugby will fully reveal itself this weekend when the Lions host Racing 92 – and the Cheetahs travel to Toulon – but if Francke Horn is to be believed, then it is all rather elementary. “Honestly, it is a knockout game but we are preparing for it as if it is every game,” was the Lions No 8’s response on Wednesday when asked if they are going to change their preparations and matchday plans. Both teams go into tomorrow’s Round of 16 clash at Emirates Airline Park (kick-off 6.30pm) with confidence after recent victories, so it will be doing the basics right that could get either of them over the line. Solid set-pieces, good decision-making, limited errors with ball in hand,…

SA Reserve Bank yesterday shocked the market with a severely hawkish stance HOMEOWNERS will be the most impacted by the cost of borrowing in South Africa, which has risen to its highest in nearly 14 years, in spite of dwindling economic growth forecasts. The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) yesterday shocked the market with a severely hawkish stance, and raised its benchmark lending rate by 50 basis points from 7.25% to 7.75% per annum. While the markets had expected a smaller 25 basis points increase, this rate hike raised the prime lending rate from 10.75% to 11.25% per annum. This was the ninth consecutive rate hike since policy normalisation started in November 2021, bringing borrowing costs to the highest since May 2009, in a bid to curb runaway inflation. Headline…

NAMPAK said yesterday that it had appointed a restructuring officer to drive turnaround initiatives at the packaging group, and a restructuring plan had been submitted to lenders along with requests for debt extensions. The update was not well received by the market, as the share price closed 2.11% lower at 93 cents on the JSE yesterday, well down from R3.41 a year ago, while five years ago, the share was trading above R16. Opportune Investments chief investment officer Chris Logan said he believed the price fell because the update held “more of the same bad news for Nampak”, including big foreign exchange losses and and “huge impairment losses to come.” However, he said the appointment of a restructuring committee comprising directors put forward by a dissident shareholder group was…

COMEDIAN Trevor Noah is set to host Amazon Prime Video’s first South African original, LOL: Last One Laughing. The subscription video streaming and rental service announced that the unscripted six-part comedy series and would launch early next year. In the show the 39-year-old former The Daily Show host will pit 10 famous South African comedians and entertainers against one another for a grand prize of R1 million that goes to a South African charity of the winner’s choice. US culture platform Variety reported that contestants would compete to see who could keep a straight face while trying to make their opponents laugh. The format for this series has already been produced in more than 20 territories with celebrity hosts such as Jay Baruchel (Canada), Eugenio Derbez (Mexico), Fedez (Italy), Michael…

Former ActionSA provincial chairperson Bongani Baloyi said he was breathing fresh air into the South African political space by announcing the formation of a new youth political party. Baloyi announced Xiluva as the new kid on the block in politics. He said the party was unique because it was centred on values such as ubuntu, family, non-racialism, and ethical leadership. He said Xiluva would offer young people the chance to determine their own futures through the platform that the party would provide. Young people between the ages of 18 and 45 were Xiluva’s target. He said many South Africans had been asking for an alternative to the ANC, and he said that is what Xiluva was offering. “Whilst young people’s lives further deteriorate, they are the ones leading the mobilisation…

With a new date for the auditions announced, gospel veteran Zaza Mokhethi is gearing up for Chapter 2 of the Woman in Chronicle project, a gospel ensemble made up of 22 women gospel singers. Speaking to The Star ahead of auditions on April 26 at the 430 Louis Botha Avenue, Rouxville, Johannesburg venue, the veteran gospel singer said she was ready to take the project to more deserving women gospel singers. The ensemble, which came as a result of inspiration and passion to empower and give back to the industry, kicked off a new mentorship programme for emerging gospel stars in the country. Mokhethi, who began her foray into the industry at the age of three, told The Star that God’s love is about giving back and shining one’s…

It has been slightly over five years since South African paramedic Gerco van Deventer, 47, was kidnapped while on duty in Awbari, Libya. Gerco was kidnapped on November 3, 2017 while on his way to the Awbari power plant where he was employed as an on-site emergency medical practitioner. Recently a video of him was shared online with him briefly explaining what occurred on that day. According to the video, Gerco stated the date on which it was recorded was March 15, 2023, mentioning that as far as he knew, he was the only South African being held by al-Qaeda terrorists in Mali after he was sold to them eight months after being kidnapped. Following the recent and only way of communication, confirming that he was still alive, Gerco’s wife…

This article relates to the true story of Nelson Mandela who faced many struggles and will serve to inspire readers. He believed that strength would triumph over struggle and he refused to be defeated on his journey to freedom. He has taught the world to never give up, turning his nation’s struggles into a global phenomenon and millions of people followed. We can agree that a powerful lesson is shown only if we find this powerful belief in ourselves – he has taken this belief to heart and with it shaped the world around him. His story began with his mission while growing up in a small African village. Studies show Ubuntu, is a word that captures the greatest gift from Mandela – living in togetherness where there is unity…

THE champagne will be kept on ice tomorrow at Loftus Versfeld, just in case Mamelodi Sundowns are declared winners of the Premiership ahead of their Champions League clash against Coton Sport. Undefeated Sundowns host Cameroon’s Coton Sport at Loftus in a Group B clash that may be of academic interest. Sundowns have already qualified for the knockout stage with 11 points, while winless Coton have already been eliminated. Prior to the kick-off at Loftus, Sundowns will be eyeing the outcome of a Premiership clash at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. Hosts Chippa United will be up against SuperSport United (5.30pm kick-off). If SuperSport (39 points from 23 matches) lose or draw, Sundowns will declared Premiership champions since they would be in an unassailable position with 59 points, and that will earn…

NEW Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel needs a successful start after joining the German champions last week with his former team, Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund, in town for Der Klassiker tomorrow. With the match being broadcast to 200 territories globally, all eyes will be on the former Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea coach who took over after Julian Nagelsmann’s shock sacking days after Bayern’s 2-1 loss at Bayer Leverkusen on March 19. Known for his tactical abilities and versatile game plans, the 49-year-old Tuchel is not expected to make too many changes to Nagelsmann’s team with a lot at stake tomorrow. Dortmund are top on 53 points, one ahead of Bayern after 25 games, in what looks like a two-horse race for the title, with nine rounds of matches left. Union…

THE last time the Bulls had a play-off in Europe, they were given very little chance of winning. Coach Jake White and his team headed to Dublin on a hope and a prayer of beating Leinster, who were also still smarting from losing the Champions Cup final 24-21 to La Rochelle in Marseille two weeks earlier. That result came after the Irish giants had dispatched Toulouse 40-17 in the semi-finals, so they would’ve expected to win the title. So, coach Leo Cullen and his team had the added motivation of pushing for the United Rugby Championship (URC) silverware, but they were out-gunned by a passionate Bulls outfit on a memorable Friday night at the RDS Arena and clinched a 27-26 triumph. White’s squad face a similar scenario heading into Sunday’s…